Rollator Wheel Brake D4E1

This project is a collaboration between disciplines from Howest University in Kortrijk (Belgium). Our instructable was created for Willem, a resident of 'het havenhuis' care center who suffers from a non-congenital brain injury, and it is in need of a solution for his walker. You can check the rest of the projects of D4E1 at designforeveryone.howest.be.

The team members responsible for this project are:

Armando Guadarrama (Industrial Design)

Nienke Poortemant (Occupational Therapy)

Lars Callier (Industrial Design)

Wikke Van Den Brande (Industrial Design)

Necessary tools for completing this project:

• Two 2" caster wheels
• 3D printer
• 2 Wooden clips
• Rubber strip (bicycle tire)
• Drill + Drill bit
• Two 2mm bolts and nuts
• Scissors
• Screwdriver

This wheel brake consist of three 3D printed pieces, a bracket piece that sits around the caster wheel, a plug that gets inserted onto the walker as lastly the brake arm which will do most of the work.

The 3D printed pieces mentioned above should be printed in the orientation shown in the picture to achieve a better lifespan of the product. Everything was printed at a resolution of 0.25 and an infill of 15% achieving in this way a balance between strength and printing time.

To start this project, first we are gonna need to grab our set of caster wheel and measure a 1cm length at the top, then drill a set of wholes, in accordance with our 3D printed model "Brake-Wheel2_Bracket.Stl".

After drilling the set of holes, the wheel bracket (Brake-Wheel2_-Bracket.Stl) must be dropped in as shown on the first picture and later fastened to the housing with a set of two 2mm bolts and nuts.

Continuing with the assembly of the wheel, we will grab the coil spring from our wooden clip, and bend it as shown in the picture above.

Before attaching the brake arm to the housing, a square piece of rubber from a tire shall be cut and glue to the bottom of the brake arm "Brakewheel2_Brake-pad.Stl".

Once the glue has dried and the rubber square has been set in place, lift the spring coil with your right hand while inserting the brake arm from the left, after completing setting up the components, lock them in place by inserting a metal pin from one of the holes in the bracket piece that's fastened to the caster wheel.

Lastly, screw in the 3D printed plug named "Plug-Part_Brake-Wheel.Stl", once inserted and in place install your fully assembled set of brakes into your walker and enjoy.