This was an ongoing project that was part of the UC Berkeley EnableTech club. Our project was called "Mobile Platform" where we were designing a portable, elevator-like platform to help our client easily get in and out of their wheelchair. The device was required to be lightweight, easily removable, and safe to use. The footplate was required to be at maximum, 3 inches off the ground, and after ascent, at maximum, 6 inches from the wheelchair seat. I was in charge of designing the footplate and prototyping the footplate.
Initial Designs
Rack and pinion
Worm drive
Initial footplate
Initital designs included a rack and pinion, worm drive, and rotating footplate, but these were deemed inefficient, unsafe, or hard to make accurate.
Final Design
FEA results
We created a new footplate design that utilized shoulder screws and ran multiple simulations on SolidWorks with a max load of 100 lbs. We chose to use aluminum 6061 for its cost-effectiveness, strength, and ease of manufacturing.
Results:
Max stress: 133.1 MPa
Max displacement: 0.9121 mm
Min FOS (for 1.5 max): 0.4143
Max stress: 133.1 MPa
Max displacement: 0.9121 mm
Min FOS (for 1.5 max): 0.4143
Top clamp
Top frame
Bottom clamp
Bottom frame
We designed and machined the frame, top clamp, and bottom clamps out of aluminum.
We are currently in the final process of attaching the motor and delivering to our client!
