The Role of Aluminium Power Wheelchair in Home and Outdoor Mobility Solutions

An effective electric wheelchair should be able to perform both jobs in the home and outside in the real world. Inside,it must maneuver around narrow door frames,limited space, and soft flooring. In the outdoor environment,it has to deal with uneven pavements,low slopes, and changes in weather. No frame material bridges these two worlds more than aluminium power wheelchair. We have produced thousands of aluminium power wheelchairs within our 20,000 m2 factory at Ningbo Baichen Medical Devices Co., Ltd. There are four applications of aluminium in home and outdoor mobility solutions as illustrated below.

Indoor Maneuverability Through Tight Spaces

Home settings are a source of endless difficulty: small door frames,tight kitchen spaces,crowded living rooms,and small lifts. The wheelchair is a heavy steel chair (30-45 kg) that is hard to maneuver and may cause damage to door frames or baseboards.

The weight of our aluminium power wheelchair is generally 20-25 kg,which is much lighter and more manoeuvrable indoors. The lighter frame is less forceful to turn,which means that users can navigate a 70 cm door in the building or maneuver in a small bathroom without banging on walls over and over again. The stiffness of aluminium also ensures that the frame does not bend when subjected to tight maneuvers allowing the user to have a fine control. In multi-storey houses,an aluminium chair will be light enough to be moved to the staircase by the caregiver or put in a stairlift.

Outdoor Performance on Pavement and Gentle Slopes

Outdoor mobility requires shock-absorbing,stability and sufficient motor power to accommodate sidewalks,crosswalks,and ramps in the driveway. The natural damping of vibration (better than steel and a bit worse than carbon fiber) which is inherent in aluminium smooths cracks and expansion joints.

Our aluminium powered wheelchairs combine a rigid aluminium frame and either pneumatic (air filled) or foam filled tires. The mix gives a comfortable ride on the paved ground and the total weight of the chair remains low enough so that the users can carry it to a car after spending a day out. The aluminium frame can be used on gentle slopes (up to 6-8 degrees) with no flexing or twisting,to transfer the motor torque efficiently to the wheels. Steel can ascend steeper hills but aluminium can easily manage the huge percentage of urban and suburban outdoor routes.

Car Transport and Multi-Modal Travel

The majority of users do not reside wholly within a rolling radius of stores,physicians or places to interact with others. You must drive the wheelchair in a car, taxi or ride share. Here is where carbon fiber and steel chairs are not feasible.

Our power wheelchair can be folded or disassembled (less than 30 seconds) into a package that can be carried in most trunks of a car. It can be lifted by one individual at 20-25 kg without the use of a powered hoist. The aluminium chair is simple to load and unload several times a day for users who use a combination of walking and wheeling (i.e. parking at a trailhead and then riding). It also fits on bus ramps and train lifts without exceeding weight limits. Aluminium enables true multi-modal mobility: home → car → destination → car → home,all in one day.

Adaptability to User-Specific Accessories

There are no two users with the same needs. Others need to have custom seating,some need oxygen tank holders and most need bags,cup holders or phone mounts. These additions should be allowed in the frame material without causing instability.

Our aluminium power wheelchair is designed in a modular design with predrilled mounting points of accessories. In contrast to carbon fiber (which cannot be drilled or modified once manufactured),aluminium can be safely modified in the field. In contrast to steel (which gets heavier with each bracket),aluminium does not increase the overall weight of the chair with accessories attached. This flexibility renders aluminium the choice of rehabilitation centers and long-term users whose requirements could vary with time.

Conclusion

The aluminium power wheelchair is a fundamental component of home and outdoor mobility, as it is a combination of indoor agility,outdoor operation, automobile transportability,and adaptability of accessories. It is the most convenient overall frame material used by people who require a single chair to do it all not an indoor and outdoor chair.

We produce aluminium power wheelchairs at Ningbo Baichen Medical Devices Co., Ltd. with 60 frame processing machines,3 American Binks painting lines and 4 assembly lines. Call us now to discover the aluminium chair that suits your house,your car and your life.