Prototyping Session #1
Last week we left of with the order of materials for our favored Up Chair Strategy!
You can find everything we ordered right here-
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0039XSRTG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NF1K1QO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DO2ZY4M/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00339911O/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s03?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Our first order of chairs and ratchet straps has arrived!!!
Ill talk about each item we purchased then go into overall lessons learned in our first round of prototyping.
The first thing we did was break this chair! It is made by bending a tube into its self and then pinning those loops across each other. The problem is if a load is applied unevenly across the top, it will bend yanking the tube out of itself. Also this chair, is tiny only really useful as an experiment, or footstool.
These Ratchets are really hard to use!!!! The Strap has to go in perfectly square and the short metal handle gives you little leverage and is actually quite painful. The 15 foot strap is long enough to go around the chairs to make a real seat!
Love this chair! its lightweight and more sturdy than the other. We did eventually break it, but not irretrievably, the legs began to bulge out because of the great force applied to lift a whole body! (We solve this problem soon, then figure out how not to face it to begin with!)
This Strap is awesome really wide witch makes a much nicer seat, although this means it has to come into the ratchet perfectly square. The Big handle on this ratchet, gives a much better ratcheting comfort and mechanical advantage. However this Ratchet is really really heavy!
LEARNINGS!
-Keeping the strap square is a challenge because, esp with the curved edges of the top of the chair, they are prone to slip around! Using Zip ties, we can keep them in place. we put on zip tie on the bar, to either side of where we want the strap to sit, to provide a barrier, then loop one tie, in between those ties and the bar, and around the strap, in case in slips over, the barriers.
-As far as tangling is concerned we have had the most luck combining the 1 inch strap with the 2 inch ratchet this means it doesn't have to go in square!
-Where are we going to put the ratchet! So far we have tried in the middle behind the seat or in between the legs. Both are awkward but the latter is better, since at the least you can reach and see what you are doing.
-We first solved the bowing, splaying leg problem by ratcheting the legs of each curved bar across. This totally solves the issue, unfortunately also adding weight and complexity. Second we learned that if we start the chair at a slightly higher angle, the splaying doesn't become a problem to begin with.
-Because Ratchet straps wrap the strap up, they get full, so having too much excess will fill it too fast, this can be prevented by cutting the excess strap. Fortunately the amount of strap necessary to get the chair up to sitting position isn't too much!
