Stretching Station

For my group's final project in my first year projects course, we decided to design a stretching station for a paraplegic friend of our professor. Following the design constraints, requirements, and considerations, we iterated our design and utilized physical prototyping and CAD software to assist in creating a strong final design.

Constraints, Considerations, and Requirements

Design must be adjustable, have a footprint no greater than 44'' x 24'', and wheelchair accessible. We wanted to put an emphasis on safety, specifically resistance to tipping

Initial Concepts

We started our project by creating some simple initial design concepts.

Quantified Decision Making

To ensure we made an unbiased decision, we used a classic decision matrix to effectively decide which initial concept we would go with.

Design Iterations

Each iteration, we looked at our current design and discussed what needed to be changed. The next iteration would then focus on addressing those changes.

Physical Models

I 3D printed multiple of the iterations, and my group partners constructed a wooden scale mockup.

Key Design Features

Two key design features were the base extensions and the rectangular slots for the bar. The base extensions allowed for a larger base for extra stability while technically fulfilling the footprint requirement, as it was unobtrusive. The rectangular slots for the bar were extremely important as they allowed for the circular bar to be adjustable while not spinning when in use.

Analysis

Using SolidWorks FEA suite, we performed an approximate analysis of our design under expected loading conditions. However, we treated the model as one piece of steel, and ignored weld properties.

Takeaways

One of the primary takeaways I had from this project was being wary of over engineering solutions. We did not have a good grasp for how strong steel really is, and so we ended up designing a product that was far stronger than necessary as well as horribly overweight.