A new Madiba

Abstract

This report is the result of a graduation project executed at the Delft University of Technology for the company Shonaquip, situated in Cape Town. The most important parties that are involved in this project are the University, Shonaquip, Sander Projects and me. The context of the new wheelchair is South Africa, where also a part of the design process is executed. The assignment is to make a redesign of a wheelchair called the “Madiba”, one of the main products of Shonaquip. The Madiba is a well functioning posture support wheelchair for children and adults with special seating needs. The current design gives however also some problems. The goal is to redesign in such a way that the wheelchair becomes more appealing, easier to transport and cheaper to produce without compromising the key qualities of the current solution. After the introduction a research gives more insight into the context, the user and the clinical features of a posture support wheelchair. Furthermore the design aspects such as the stability, the pushing efficiency, the transportability and the adjustability are explained. The design goal together with the List of Wishes and Requirements implicate what should be achieved with the redesign and what not. A chapter about the concept development shows how a selected wheelbase slowly turns into several frame concepts. Leaving a nice three wheeler. Also the design of the seat is explained. During the development all kind of research topics and discussion points are pointed out. An example can be the optimal position of the tilting point, taking into account balance and safety. A prototype is build and evaluated to see how the design performs and what improvements are required. After improving the lap tray, the seat and the push handle the final design is presented. A render reveals the appearance, a sporty three wheeler with a yellow frame. Construction details show how the for example the rear wheels are suspended and sketches give an idea of the usage. Furthermore the production and assembly are showed. In the evaluation the result is compared to the design goal. It can be concluded that the design goal is achieved and that it is worth to make the investment to take the design to a next level.