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Hello everyone, for some personal (physical) reasons and also as a challenge, I’m considering about building my own next manual wheelchair from scratch (as a wheelchair user myself) , as what I got in head is not yet available on the market (or super confidential at a crazy price) I was wondering to what extend, 3D printing could be helpful. I mean, I got no experience yet with 3D printing and, from what i’ve seen 3D printers can only print small objects , is that right ?

Is there a model which would be able to print an entiere wheelchair frame on the market ?

Is it possible to print out tubes or structures or parts of structure in fiberglass , carbon fiber or, even better in magnesium (or different type of magnesium alloy which can be found as powder ?

Any sort of advice for me ?

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Hi @Thibault_Nieva there are 3D printers that can print enormous objects, but yes, once you get beyond roughly a 30cm (12") cube the available choices become fewer and the prices begin to rise substantially. I’d guess for a wheelchair you’ve be looking at some objects with at least one dimension greater than 60cm (2’) and few hobbyists will have such capabilities, but they definitely exist (this is just plucked at random from the Net: Large-Format 3D Printer - Affordable Price - BigRep ONE with a build volume of a cubic metre, more than enough, I’d suspect).

Materials wise, it’s looking better every day. A lot of companies are producing “interesting” filaments now and carbon fibre is certainly available for even hobbyist/enthusiast printers. Magnesium is possible, but (as far as I know) only currently with larger, specialist printers.

So, in short, it’s all possible, it’s more about cost and availability.

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Printing an entire wheelchair would be an expensive ordeal. I would focus more on developing something where you could source as many parts as possible. The frame made with aluminum tubes or extruded aluminum, or cut CNC material, or even PVC piping. Large parts that can be CNC cut will be affordable, 3d printing not so much. Utilize existing materials where available, and where mass production has lowered the costs. Be creative with this approach, and it will be much more affordable.

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Thanks to both of us for your quick and detailed and instructive answers and approach . by making a wheelchair I was thinking about the main frame design, definitly,@Perry_1 I understand what you mean about scale coasts and existing industrial processes. But i’m not sure of what you mean by CNC material and CNC cut (i’m not a specialist and my english is far from being perfect, sorry ) Anyway it was just an old idea I got in mind and wanted to share it out, knowing that it wouldn’t necesseraly be efficient idea. Thanks again to both of us for your interest :slight_smile:

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If you can read this, or translate, it might help with what I am talking about.

Computer controlled cutting of materials, instead of printing. Cheaper for large mechanical parts.

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