This senior project is a continuation of a master’s thesis by Toan Le. Our objective is to design a product that can isolate a scanning tunneling microscope from ambient vibrations so that it can take accurate atomic resolution images. The scope of our project is to expand upon previous design work already completed, and manufacture, test and validate Mr. Le’s designs as well as our own.
While it might not look like much, inside this composite panel are two layers of foam separated by a carbon fiber layer. The current design for a new walking wheelchair presented to the team consists of heavy, chromoly steel trusses which need to be replaced with a lighter and more structurally sound alternative. Charlie Gutierrez believes that the solution to this design criteria lies within the use of composites, to create a new design replacing the three trusses with two simple panels. By doing so, it would be easier for the user to sit, stand, and walk using the new Dynawalk Wheelchair.
The goal of this senior project was to design and build a new version of our project sponsor Charlie Gutierrez’s LiftWalker for Shurouq, our client.
Shurouq is a young woman who lives with her family in Egypt. She was born with multiple health conditions which resulted in leg contractures that have since left her unable to walk.
Charlie’s device, the New LiftWalker, has helped dozens of people with disabilities similar to Shurouq’s. However, Charlie’s standard design is made of stainless steel weighing up to 80 lb, which is both difficult and expensive to send to Egypt. For this reason, Charlie turned to the Mechanical Engineering Department at Cal Poly, challenging us to redesign his LiftWalker out of lightweight composite materials.
