Honda Walking Assist

MEEN 475-502 Jorge Acosta, Ryan Broeckelmann, Charles McStravick, Keegan Smith,

Grant Tollette

Background●In the US, over 17 million individuals

have walking disabilities

●There are approximately 7,800 spinal cord injuries per year

○ Resulting in approximately 4,000 newly paraplegic and 3,800 newly quadriplegic individuals each year

●In addition, over 50 million individuals are diagnosed with Arthritis

○ Approximately 1 in 6 of these individuals, or 8.3 million individuals, express difficulty walking

Honda Walking Assist Device

Back SupportFunction ● Support plate

● Protect battery

Constraints ● Plate Dimensions● σf > 0.5 MPa

Objective ● Minimize Mass ● Minimize Cost● High Strength

Free Variables

● Choice of Material● Process Selection

Material Selection 6061 Aluminum Polyethylene ABS Nylon

Material Analysis of BackplateAHP Rankings

Material Score

6061 Al 0.363

PE100 0.236

ABS 0.214

Nylon 0.235

LegsFunction ● Support leg weight

● Transmit power to user

Constraints ● Dimensions of legs● σf > 0.5 MPa● Cannot Buckle

Objective ● Minimize mass● Minimize Cost● Maximize Strength

Free Variables

● Choice of material● Process Selection

Material Selection 6061 Aluminum Polyethylene ABS Nylon

Material Analysis of LegsAHP Rankings

Acceptable confidence ratio value of .06

Material Score

6061 Al 0.436

PE100 0.159

ABS 0.193

Nylon 0.212

Manufacturing Process for BackplateChosen process: Injection Molding

Manufacturing Process for LegsChosen process: Die casting

ConclusionBack Support

Nylon

Legs6061 Aluminum

Referenceshttp://www.honda.com/mobility/walking-assist-technology

https://www.disabled-world.com/disability/statistics/census-stats.php

http://polymerdatabase.com/polymer%20classes/Polyamide%20type.html

http://mech.vub.ac.be/teaching/info/Ontwerpmethodologie/Appendix%20les%203%20Materiaal%20Indices.pdf

http://www.grantadesign.com/download/pdf/teaching_resource_books/2-Materials-Charts-2010.pdf