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DIY Powerchair??
Oct. 12th, 2010 06:19 pmOK, who wants to help me build a new powerchair that actually suits me?
The sort of thing discussed on the ultimate powerchair, only customised for a Ricky not the guy who wrote that particular web page ... if you're interested there's a ton to read through on his website [see reading list], and it's not particularly laid out in a useful order so you sorta have to read it all and then cook the information around in your brain (I'll add the links to the end of this post). But the upshot of it is he turned this ugly green Quickie F55 powerchair:
Into this:
Major changes:
There's various other things too, replaced anti-tip wheels, different batteries and electronics, etc. There's honestly very little of the original chair left! My changes would be somewhat different, and I'd have to start with a different base because my chair's tilt-in-space, but the basic theory is pretty much the same.
Would make a great project - anybody interested?
Cheers,
r
PS
Reading List:
The sort of thing discussed on the ultimate powerchair, only customised for a Ricky not the guy who wrote that particular web page ... if you're interested there's a ton to read through on his website [see reading list], and it's not particularly laid out in a useful order so you sorta have to read it all and then cook the information around in your brain (I'll add the links to the end of this post). But the upshot of it is he turned this ugly green Quickie F55 powerchair:
Into this:
Major changes:
- Entire seat is mounted further back on the chassis, so the center of gravity's just forward of the back wheels. This makes it more manouverable and easier to jump up kerbs and things. Also more likely to tip you on your ass if you aren't paying attention, but that's the standard wheelchair tradeoff. It also incidentally makes the whole chair shorter from front to back.
- Standard swing-away footrest deal replaced with a compact footplate that makes the chair shorter still.
- Joystick controller is reprogrammed to give more power/control to the user, which again (tradeoffs) means it's a bit less safe in some senses but much nicer to use.
- Redesigned and replaced armrest mounts to make them more usable and also end up with a chair several inches narrower.
- Weirdly sized wheelchair wheels/tyres (both front and back) replaced with standard sized wheels and tubeless anti-puncture tyres.
- Everything's been powder coated or converted to steel so it won't corrode or break down.
There's various other things too, replaced anti-tip wheels, different batteries and electronics, etc. There's honestly very little of the original chair left! My changes would be somewhat different, and I'd have to start with a different base because my chair's tilt-in-space, but the basic theory is pretty much the same.
Would make a great project - anybody interested?
Cheers,
r
PS
Reading List:
- The Mk2 Powerchair Build description is 6 pages long, very detailed.
- The Off-road everyday powerchair (aka Mk3) build is another 3 pages but doesn't make much sense unless you've read the Mk2 stuff first.
- Final built chair specs
- There's also various other powerchair related pages which are referred to or assumed knowledge.
- .... lastly the message booard may or may not have relevant stuff.
