Mealtime Chair Assistance

Our Customer had developed an assisting technology for use in senior living centers and elderly care facilities. The device provides the leverage and ability to bring the chair up on wheels to allow it to easily slide in and out from a dining room table. It’s easy enough for a child to push a full-grown adult. However, for large quantity production, they looked to transform from sheet metal fabrication to injection molding to reduce the cost and better blend with the aesthetic of wooden furniture.

We designed an assembly of injection molded parts that allow the flexibility to suit a wide variety of chair dimensions and meet the Customer’s product specifications. To meet the desired maximum load capacity, we performed numerous calculations on all of the components to ensure the maximum stress was far below the ratings of the selected materials. 3D-printed prototypes were fabricated to evaluate the look, feel, and functionality of the device. The design was refined, and multiple sets of CNC machined prototypes were fabricated for full-strength testing before initiating the tooling expense for injection molding.

This product was recently showcased in the 2013 “Best of NeoCon” Entry Level 1 category and will be available from ComforTek Seating.