High-tech wheelchair

Aero Innovative Research (AIR) of Valley Center, Kansas, has developed a new high-technology wheelchair.

The wheelchair, dubbed the Flight, weighs just 8.2kg and measures only 24.1cm from hand-rim to hand-rim when folded, which provides greater mobility,  ease of use and independence to people with physical challenges.

‘It’s the world’s lightest and tightest-folding, fully adjustable, customisable wheelchair,’ said Matt Cochran, AIR production manager.

The new design sports a sandwich panel frame made of lightweight, damage-resistant materials. All the parts are CNC machined and precision assembly techniques are used in the manufacturing process - including gun-drilled hinges.

The design process began when Cochran created a 3D model of the wheelchair using Alibre Design computer-aided design (CAD) software. Then, Algor software was used to analyse the result.

Cochran modelled and analysed every component of the design, including the frame panels, caster fork, rear axle plate, folding footplate and a custom hinge screw. The goal of the analysis was to remove extraneous material and make the design as lightweight as possible while maintaining necessary strength and ensuring a factor of safety.