The following link is to the federal standards and regulations for infant and toddler rockers.
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/10/26/2023-23322/safety-standard-for-infant-and-infanttoddler-rockers
Concept 3 is based on this patio chair that encompasses the swivel feature of the office chair, as well as a spring between the seat and swivel to provide a bouncing option as well. We aim to incorporate the swivel feature from this chair, as the family mentioned enjoying their home office chair. This, unfortunately, is a more stationary approach, which removes the potential for portability.
see image below
Our initial production primarily focused on fabricating the base of the chair. The base itself was a wooden piece cut out to be circular in the fabrication shop. This base is where we would mount our chair and perform most of our modifications to allow the chair the degrees of motion the child needs. We imported a prebuilt chair for the main seat and then modified its movements. Many of our modifications to the base included incorporating a ball bearing circular ring to allow for smooth spinning, as well as adding a locking mechanism to secure the spin. Next, we sanded and stained the base plate to enhance its durability and minimize splinters and rough edges. Then, we reviewed the cushioning on the chair itself, making adjustments to ensure maximum comfort. For the cushioning we sew together some cushions with instructions from the fashion department to allow for a more comfortable sitting ground.
After testing our initial chair build, we found that it would not rotate under load easily. In order to solve this, our team got together and made a ball bearing rack to allow for a more seamless spin on the base. We also needed to reduce the bouncing on the wooden slider itself, so we opted to cut and stain the slider to help reduce the bouncing it was experiencing.
The Chair itself came out as a success, and we are excited to hand off the chair to the family in the upcoming days. The initial design phase, where we set out our priorities and listed different designs and their pros and cons, was essential to the result we achieved. The chair itself is able to not only rock, but also rotate while maintaining comfort in its motion, and this result is only possible after many hours of fabrication and testing, as well as the many hours spent researching different designs and regulations.
Looking back, there could have been more effort put into researching the chair’s ergonomics and cushioning, rather than getting carried away with its rotation and rocking, as there has been a recent rush to get proper cushioning for the chair. There could have also been more research into the materials we used, though it feels like finding a better selection of materials would be extremely difficult.
Overall, this project was a great way for our team to gain real-world engineering experience while also learning to work as a team. The project allowed for the team to get personal with a family, learn about their situation and needs, then curate a design our team makes and contribute to the livelihood of that family.
