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GO – the world’s first 3D printed wheelchair – was unveiled at the Clerkenwell Design Week on 24th May.
Designed and realised by Benjamin Hubert from Layer Design, the chair is still in prototype stages, but already looks as though it could be a real breakthrough in user-comfort.
A user’s height, weight and postural requirements are inputted into the 3D printing software. The program then takes all their unique biometric data to create a completely made-to measure wheelchair with a bespoke seat and foot bay. The chair is ‘printed’ in two materials, a semi-transparent resin and a polyurethane plastic for shock absorption, while the foot bay is constructed from titanium.
More aesthetic elements of the design are taken care of via a related app. Users can download this to customise optional extra elements and colours.
Once the design stage is done, the wheelchair will take just two weeks to create and deliver.
This feels like a really positive step forwards in wheelchair design. We’ll be keeping a close eye on this one to see.
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