The Challenge

Many young wheelchair users struggle to access chairs that fit them well. Most frames are fixed in size, expensive to replace and require specialist workshops to adjust. Children often outgrow their chairs faster than services can refit or issue new ones, leading to discomfort, strain and reduced independence.

Why It’s Hard to Fix

• Traditional welded frames are difficult to alter once built

• Growing children may need several chairs in quick succession

• Repairs often require full frame replacement

• Custom-fitted chairs are costly and not widely accessible

There was an opportunity to rethink the chair as something that could grow and adapt alongside its user.

Makerchair

Makerchair is a modular wheelchair frame system built from straight tubing and interchangeable 3D-printed brackets. By altering tube lengths, the frame can be resized, refined and repaired without specialist tools or fabrication equipment.

The chair becomes adjustable rather than fixed.

Designing for Adaptability

I worked with wheelchair users and athletes to understand comfort, posture and load-bearing needs. Sketching, physical mock-ups and iterative CAD informed the bracket geometry, ensuring stability while remaining simple to assemble. A half-scale prototype demonstrated that the frame could be built, adapted or repaired using only basic tools and locally printed parts.

A Chair That Can Evolve

Makerchair reframes the wheelchair as a system that changes with the person using it. It offers:

• adjustability as children grow

• lower-cost repair and replacement

• the potential for local, distributed manufacturing

• a pathway to custom fit without specialist intervention

This approach supports independence and comfort, while making mobility equipment more accessible in communities where fabrication infrastructure is limited.