Wheelchair Ramp Attachment

For my Senior Design Project we worked with a sponsor Scott, a TA/PHD Candidate in Aerospace Engineer at UCSD. Scott has spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) so he uses a wheelchair to assist him. The goal with our project was to be able to design a wheelchair ramp that attached to the chassis of a Tesla Model X. The reason for this car was because Scott wanted to upgrade his ride, but no manufacture had designed a ramp for the Model X. Our final deliverables provided Scott with our CAD files with proper dimensions as well as a Build of Material (BOM). He could later take these to a mobility equipment supplier in San Diego, who could create and install the ramp for him when he purchases his Model X.

Here you can see a summary of our Ramp with each component that serves to help it work . The intention for our ramp was to serve as a 50/50 foldable ramp that would automatically extend and retract with the help of a motor and gearbox. The ramp also providing handles for a manual option in case it ever got stuck.

The most difficult part of our design was making sure that the ramp would adhere to the tight door frame dimensions of the Model X. Below you can see the SOLIDWORKS animation of our design showcasing the ramp in action!