All-terrain wheelchair: Maintenance-free and robust

Profile

• What was needed: iglidur plain bearings
• Requirements: Simple but robust and low-maintenance bearings were needed.
• Industry: Medical, leisure and sport
• Success for the customer: In particular, the long service life, the comparatively low price and the large selection of sizes were the decisive factors for the developers in choosing polymer plain bearings. In addition, they are self-lubricating and maintenance-free, resistant to dust abrasion, corrosion-free, lightweight, robust and exhibit smooth running behaviour.

Problem

For many years, the handicapped sports association "Handisport Annecien" in Annecy has been organising rides with all-terrain wheelchairs. This is where the idea of an all-terrain wheelchair came up, with which one can use the ski lifts in a sitting position. The idea eventually turned into a steel prototype, which proved to be promising, so that a company was founded to implement the project. The company was founded in 2007 and the "Quadrix" was already approved for use on ski lifts in 2008. For the implementation of the design, it was a major concern of the founders to develop a reliable product with low maintenance requirements so that people with limited mobility can enjoy it. As the Quadrix was designed to simplify the life of the user, simple, reliable and tough components were needed for all joints.

Solution

Therefore, the designers decided to use plain bearings made of the iglidur material everywhere where bearing points occur in the aluminium frame of the Quadrix. In concrete terms, this means that all front axes (triangular suspension mount) have been fitted with the plastic bearings. The plain bearings are used to hold the suspension triangle at the front and to accommodate the entire kinematics for the use of a ski lift. In particular, the long service life, the comparatively low price and the large selection of sizes were the decisive factors for the developers in choosing polymer plain bearings. In order to simplify the handling later on, some other factors were also important. Thus, the self-lubricating iglidur bearings can be used without maintenance, have a very good resistance to dust abrasion, are corrosion-free, lightweight, tough and demonstrate a quiet running behaviour.