INTERCONNECTS

California State University, Chico manufacturing technology students used SolidWorks Education Edition 3D mechanical design software to design a next-generation wheelchair that recently won the grand prize at the WESTEC Expo, the largest annual machinery show in North America. The wheelchair's unique design uses pump-action levers for propulsion, three speeds for varying terrain, and disk brakes for sure stopping. The levers let wheelchair users more easily apply power to the chair, even if their grip is compromised by disability, and keep their hands off dirty wheels. Unlike previous lever-based prototypes, the Chico students' wheelchair levers are inboard of the wheels for better leverage and navigation through doorways. "SolidWorks software's ease of use and efficiency enabled students to create more than 30 custom components for the chair on their own time - a daunting task I wasn't sure they could achieve," said Dirk Vanderloop, coordinator of CSU Chico's manufacturing technology program. "SolidWorks is also the software our advisory board of regional industry leaders urged us to standardize on, and the software our graduates most frequently see in their careers. SolidWorks is easy to teach, easy to learn, more intuitive, and interfaces more easily with CAM than all other software we looked at. It became an industry standard because it's the tool that makes the most engineering and economic sense. Our students and faculty couldn't be happier with it." More than 400 students in the school's mechanical engineering, mechatronic engineering, and manufacturing technology programs use SolidWorks Education Edition software, which includes COSMOS design analysis software. SolidWorks software supplanted AutoCAD software two years ago when it was time for CSU Chico to evolve to 3D design. Another win at WESTEC The Expo and Manufacturing Challenge are sponsored by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), which has more than 400 professional and school-based chapters worldwide. CSU Chico's manufacturing technology program has an SME chapter and 85 student majors. Students presented SolidWorks-based wheelchair designs from a laptop to demonstrate to judges every step of the wheelchair conception, design, refinement, and construction - an important step to prove students did all the work. The Manufacturing Challenge is held on opening day of WESTEC. CSU Chico won grand prizes at WESTEC in 1991, 1992, and 2003, and first places in 1987, 1993, 1995, and 1998. In the April 2005 edition, CSU Chico bested a field of collegiate competitors that included Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, San Diego State, Washington State, Oregon Institute of Technology, and Brigham Young University. CSU Chico students worked with construction management student and wheelchair user Amy Jones in designing the wheelchair. Jones tested the modifications and provided feedback to the engineering students. The challenge was to create an alternative to the fatiguing hand-and-arm wheel-turning method of propelling traditional chairs. The design was adapted from one created by Bryan Hilton, an industrial technology student in the 1980s who died from a brain tumor shortly after graduating. CSU Chico is now investigating patent possibilities for the chair. "CSU Chico students deliver consistently impressive performances at WESTEC and in their day-to-day work, and SolidWorks Corporation is proud its software played a small part in such an innovative and award-winning design," said Rosanne Kramer, director of worldwide education markets for SolidWorks Corporation. "This design has far-reaching implications for wheelchair users, and for the future of wheelchair design. We look forward to seeing how this product evolves and what else these gifted students can accomplish with their CSU educations and SolidWorks experience." CSU Chico relies on authorized SolidWorks reseller GoEngineer for ongoing software training, implementation, and support.