Cr1 Wheelchair by Doug Garven is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2024 Golden A' Design Award in Product Engineering and Technical Design Competition Category.
GoldEngineering· 2024
Cr1 Wheelchair
by Doug Garven
Client: Permobil
Golden A' Design Award Winner in Engineering Category
Verified Award Winner
Verify Award Status for #156779The Design
About Cr1 Wheelchair
The CR1 is a carbon fiber wheelchair that is fully customizable to the user's individual specifications and preferences. The unique, dual-angle front end was designed to follow the lines of the user's body, allowing them to get closer to objects for improved accessibility and maneuverability in tight spaces. The aerodynamic tube profile and its orientation were designed to improve strength, user comfort in areas contacting the body and aesthetically to promote a sense of speed. The dual-purpose sideguards provide protection to the user while acting as a structural member for support.
The Recognition
About the Golden A' Design Award
Cr1 Wheelchair is a Golden A' Design Award winner, an immensely prestigious recognition granted to first-rate, marvelous, and outstanding designs. Golden winners are exceedingly innovative, visionary, and glamorously dazzling creations that reflect the prodigy, wisdom, and prowess of their designers. Cr1 Wheelchair is expected to be a highly praised, trendsetting, and monumental invention that delivers unprecedented value. This Golden A' Design Award-winning design is a spectacular, respected project that highly benefits and advances the boundaries of art, science, design, and technology. Cr1 Wheelchair creates intense feelings of desire, evokes passion, encourages creativity, and fascinates us.
Where to Get It
Custom Carbon Fiber Wheelchairs for Advanced Users
We engineer ultralight carbon fiber wheelchairs tailored to your exact body specifications and mobility preferences. Our award-winning designs combine Formula 1-inspired performance with over 30 years of expertise, creating personalized mobility solutions that enhance independence and accessibility. Each chair is uniquely crafted for optimal comfort and maneuverability.
Inquire NowInterviews
Design Interview
What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?
The idea was to create a state of the art, custom fabricated, high-end carbon fiber wheelchair. This design was inspired by aerodynamic racing bicycles and Formula 1 race cars.
What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?
The main goal was to develop a design out of carbon fiber, that could be fabricated in different configurations and sizes to accommodate each user's unique body shape and dimensions.
What are your future plans for this award winning design?
To continue spreading the word about the CR1 and that it is available to purchase.
Grand Interview
Your innovative approach to the CR1 Wheelchair's dual-angle front end design represents a significant advancement in accessibility - could you elaborate on how your personal experience as both a designer and wheelchair user influenced this groundbreaking feature?
This was an observational design improvement I noticed through using my wheelchairs every day for over 30 years. There are many times during the day when you want to get close to something and the frame on your chair is the limiting factor. The dual-angle front end on the CR1 can help the user get a little closer in many of those situations.
The CR1 Wheelchair's carbon fiber construction and aerodynamic tube profile draw inspiration from Formula 1 cars and the F-22 Raptor - how did these high-performance vehicles inform your design decisions regarding strength, comfort, and aesthetic appeal?
Everyone wants to look cool and the CR1 tries to take away that negative stigma and image of being in a wheelchair. F1 race cars and fighter jets are cool looking, purposeful machines driven by function. This inspired the CR1's aerodynamic form and tube shape, which could realistically only be achieved through using carbon fiber along with its strength to weight benefits. The aero inspired elliptical tube shape also offers a smoother and flatter surface area in front where a user's legs contact the chair frame.
The development of the CR1 Wheelchair involved creating an entirely new style of caster fork bearing - what drove this technical innovation, and how does it contribute to the chair's enhanced maneuverability and reduced footprint?
The driver for the development of a new bearing was looking at what was currently being offered, industry-wide, and knowing that a better solution existed. Having a bearing created for the intended usage allowed it to be smaller in size and weight. This has a trickledown effect of allowing the parts associated with the bearing to be smaller and lighter which in turn allows the design to be smaller and improve the chair's maneuverability.
Behind the Design
Press Kit
Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.
- Unique Properties
- The CR1 is a custom fabricated carbon fiber wheelchair. Each one is unique and built around the user's individual body specifications and their desired preferences. Carbon fiber was selected not only for its performance benefits of strength and light weight, but also for the freedom to optimize the tube shape. The ovalized tubing is orientated at different angles along the frame to maximize strength and comfort for the user. The unique front-end design allows improved environmental access by allowing the user to get closer to objects.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Each chair is unique and based upon the information supplied by the user's order form which is 5 pages long and covers 9 specific measurements based upon the individual body proportions and chair set-up preferences. There are also numerous component and accessory options available to make each chair unique. The chair length dimensions are 330-483 mm, x 330-457 mm width, x 381-533 mm height.
- Tags
- everyday performance, ultralight, custom, made-to-order
- Production Technology
- Production is through a vendor that specializes in the creation of carbon fiber products and their use of a proprietary foam core fabrication process that adds additional strength and helps to absorb vibrations. Their team was able to optimize the specific material layups and the fabrication methodology. Every frame consists of two mirrored sideframes that each have 3 bonded together sections of different angles and lengths, joined with a bonded crossbar. These modular components combine with others to make each chair unique and match the user's specifications. The design was refined through FEA analysis, user evaluation and finally, through mandated functionality and durability testing ANSI/RESNA, ISO 7176.
- Design Challenge
- The key challenges were improving accessibility and maneuverability while reducing the overall weight in a fully customizable product. We partnered with outside vendors to develop special components, like an entirely new style of caster fork bearing. Its creation allowed for smaller parts, lighter weight and a smaller footprint to the chair's design and overall proportions for improved maneuverability. Another key component was the ability to customize the frame designs in as economical and manufacturable method as possible that also minimized waste. The final realization of that was the modular, 3-section design to the sideframe. Different materials are utilized on different parts of the chair to maximize durability like titanium trim rings on the footrest for wear and SMC carbon reinforced parts for impact protection when the rear wheels are removed. The foam core of the carbon fiber parts improves strength and the perception of being too delicate and fragile a material for this application.
- Research
- The background research for this project was inherent in over 30 years of being a professional wheelchair designer and user. This product was intended for advanced users who know how they want to sit and how they want their chair to feel and respond. The needs and requirements for this product are something that I live and experience every day. We also presented early prototypes to other users and industry experts for their opinions and feedback.
- Inspiration
- The CR1 was inspired by over 30 years as a product designer in the medical industry and as a chair user personally. I was given the task of creating the ultimate, daily-use chair and in doing so drew upon previous designs and what I would have liked to have done but wasn't able to either from a materials perspective or project parameters. The form is functionally driven but inspired by Formula 1 race cars and elements of the F-22 Raptor.
- Project Duration
- This project started in Nashville, TN in early 2018 and was officially completed and for sale on the market in October of 2023.
- Operation Flow
- The CR1 is operated like any other manual wheelchair through the propulsion of the two drive wheels. What is improved over other devices in the market is how lightweight it is, the complete chair is only 6.8 kg and the increased maneuverability and accessibility through the kinked front-end design. The customized frame dimensions ensure a secure and comfortable fit for the user, much like a wheeled prosthetic.
- Patents
- US 20230233387 A1
- Team Members
- Jace Westcott
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