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Designed with Disabled Users in Mind
Thanks to the George W. Housner Research Fund at Caltech, the IMI founders were awarded fellowships to develop the wheelchair and manufacturing process. Over the summer of 2007, the IMI team created a special workbench to place the bicycles for disassembly. The workbench serves as a jig to hold the bike frame steady while a portable band saw makes the cuts. This allows for easy disassembly that can be done all with one hand. Disabled IMI employees will be able to use the templates to easily and efficiently perform the manufacturing process. Training is also easy, which is essential since IMI employs the poor and disabled who have little background in manufacturing. In this way, IMI implements the concept of the “community-centered product”: products that serve a greater purpose to enhance the communities they’re used in.
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Repeatable, Accurate Cuts
The workbench acts as a template, allowing each bike to be held in exactly the same place time after time. This translates to cuts that come out the same consistently. Since these cuts later determine the wheelchair’s dimensions, consistency in cutting is essential.
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Minimal Production Time
The template also drastically reduces the time needed for the cutting process. Only four cuts are used in the entire process -two per bike frame. The manufacturer simply drops a bike frame into the template, makes the first cut, and flips the frame around to make the second cut. The process is repeated for the second bike frame. The cut handlebar assemblies are then flipped down to become the wheelchair casters. The whole disassembly process can be done in under 10 minutes.
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Engineering diagrams are used to outline exact lengths and angles. Above, one of two pieces that make up the top of the X-brace. 
A tubing notcher is used on a drill press to create notched faces in the tubing. All drill presses and tooling will be made to accommodate for wheelchair access. 
The notched faces allow for tight fits with the bike frames, making the tolerances on the X-brace tighter and the welding process significantly easier.
