THE JAZ & AT2

RETHINKING
MOBILE SHOWER
COMMODE CHAIRS

STRONGER, LIGHTER FRAMES: WE USED GAS ASSISTED INJECTION MOLDING TO CREATE HOLLOW SECTIONS, MAKING THE FRAMES STRONGER AND LIGHTER THAN PREVIOUS ALUMINUM MODELS. GAS ASSIST ALSO HELPED US MAKE MORE AESTHETICALLY PLEASING SHAPES, RESULTING IN A MORE ATTRACTIVE AND EMPATHETIC DESIGN.

ONE PART, MANY FEATURES: WORKING WITH PLASTIC, WE WERE ABLE TO ENGINEER MANY FEATURES INTO A SINGLE PART. THIS IMPROVED AESTHETICS & LOWERED OUR CLIENTS MANUFACTURING COSTS.

LOWEST TILT EFFORT: WE DESIGNED A PATENT-PENDING TILT LOCK MECHANISM THAT DELIVERS THE LOWEST TILT EFFORT OF ANY SHOWER COMMODE CHAIR ON THE MARKET.

A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS LOOKING TO GROW

Raz Design’s Booth at the REHACARE trade show in Dusseldorf

Nelson Pang and David Harding are co-founders of Raz Design. Raz Design creates and manufactures mobile shower commode chairs. We were introduced to Nelson and David through our client Patrick Harrison who we worked with on creating The Core Chair.

We first started working with Raz in 2014. At the time, the business was doing well but the co-founders ambition to innovate and grow their product line was outpacing their in-house abilities to do so.

Looking to bring 4 new chairs to market, Raz Design was looking for support with design, engineering and manufacturing.

JOINING FORCES AND PUSHING BOUNDARIES

David and Nelson are both successful serial entrepreneurs with a ton of engineering expertise. From the first time we first sat down together, the co-founders were brimming with ideas on how they wanted to push the boundaries on the design and engineering fronts within the mobile shower commode chair space.

This kind of energy coming from our clients is infectious. When it’s paired with the talent and experience of our product design teams, great things happen, and indeed did happen when we started working with Nelson and David.

The Inertia team was made up of engineers Ethan Maiolo and Lukas ten Kortenaar,  mechanical designer Kay Khalkhali along with industrial designers Randy Yang and Danian Yang. Working closely with David and Nelson, the team set out to design 4 new mobile shower chairs: Trakz, AT2, Jaz and Zūm.

For this case study, we’re going to look at some project highlights from the design of the Jaz and the AT2 chairs.

Inertia Engineer Lukas ten Kortenaar

PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS: REDESIGNING THE JAZ

  • Raz’s original Jaz chair had some challenges. It was an aluminum chair intended to compete at a lower price point that ended up costing almost as much to make as their premium stainless steel models.
  • The main goals for the redesign were to improve the aesthetics while reducing manufacturing costs and adding some previously desired functionality.
  • Here are a few pictures from the Jaz redesign project as well as some renderings of the end result:

PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS: DESIGNING THE AT2

  • Among the main objectives for the AT2 design were to reduce tilt effort, shorten the frame, reduce manufacturing costs and improve aesthetics.
  • Here are some images and renderings from the project:

WHAT'S NEXT?

New wheel design, available on the Jaz and Zūm models by the end of the year

  • Up next for David, Nelson and the Inertia product team is the release of The Zūm mobile shower chair. This will be Raz’s first folding chair and it’s got some great innovations.
  • The Zūm has low folding arms that allow the chair to back farther over a toilet, thereby allowing better alignment of the Zūm’s aperture with the toilet bowl.
  • Also on deck is Raz’s new wheel design. The wheels will be available on all Raz self-propel models by the end of the year.
  • The new design provides Raz branding, consistent quality and improved aesthetics. The hand rim design has a comfortable, ergonomic grip that facilitates wheeling.

GET IN TOUCH

What our clients are saying

  • Working with Ray and his team at Inertia has been a game changer for AMJ.

    Bruce Bowser, President & CEO, AMJ Campbell

  • They perform miracles with their turnaround times, especially on prototypes.

    Yuri Dobrovolsky Vice-President, Technical Director, Newcon Optik

  • The Inertia team gets it, they are good at having empathy and putting themselves in the shoes of the product user. Inertia always exceeds expectations in terms of communication, setting expectations, and the way the team conducts themselves.

    CEO, Ingenyewity (founders of yewtwist)

  • The Inertia team is exceptionally good at communication – it is their clear differentiator.  Their team is very hands on and flexible.  They really care and go above and beyond to make sure things are done right.

    Tino Alavie, President & CEO, Qvella

  • The team at Inertia is honest, straightforward and their drive to work collaboratively really stood out for us.  They are also meticulous and do what they say they will do.  If we were to attempt this kind of product development in house it would have taken us 5 times longer.

    David Harding, CEO, RAZ Designs

  • At Inertia, you immediately know that you are working with people who care about your product and your success. I especially respect the way they handle challenging situations. Inertia has far exceeded my expectations for professionalism and care.

    Ali Ghafour, Founder & CEO, 20/20 Armour

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