Office Chair Design Teaching

Office chair design teaching can be carried out from three aspects: structural design, application of ergonomics, and design process, as detailed below:

Structural Design Teaching

Taking Zhongwang 3D software as an example, the design of support components needs to be completed step by step:
Support rod design requires initial assembly, inserting the circular chair base and support rod parts and securing them; entering the support rod editing mode, drawing a sketch on the XZ working plane and rotating it to generate a cylinder, adding Boolean addition operations; finally completing the detailed designs such as threaded holes, chamfers, and stepped holes.
Support frame design requires inserting parts and securing them, creating a new plane offset by 217.5mm on the YZ working plane to draw the armrest sketch, completing the armrest structure through stretching, surface division, rounding, and punching; for the bracket design, a sketch is created based on an auxiliary working plane, and the support structure is formed through parallelogram projection and sweeping operations.

Application of Ergonomics Teaching

Seat dimensions must strictly match human body data:
Seat height should accommodate the sum of the lower leg height, foot height, and shoe thickness minus appropriate space, with a reasonable range of 43-53cm to avoid compressing leg blood vessels; seat depth needs to cover the distance from the buttocks to the waist, with a range of 39.5-46cm to ensure the back fits against the backrest; seat surface angle should avoid a bowl-shaped design to prevent the femur from rotating upward and compressing the hip muscles; seat width is set based on the buttock size plus the range of motion, with a range of 46-50cm.
Armrest height needs to maintain a distance of 19-25cm from the seat surface, with the front angle adjusted according to the inclination of the seat surface and backrest; lumbar support height should be positioned at the fourth and fifth lumbar vertebrae, 15-18cm from the seat cushion, conforming to the natural curve of the spine. Design parameters should refer to ergonomic principles: for work chairs, the seat height is 35-50cm, depth is 30-40cm, and the rear inclination is less than 5°; the backrest height is 46-61cm, inclination is 103°-112°; and the armrest height is 21-22cm. Material selection should prioritize materials with firmness that can disperse the pressure on the ischial tuberosities, with soft and breathable materials used for the seat surface and backrest to optimize body pressure distribution, and equipped with adjustable mechanisms such as seat pan elevation and four-way headrests.

Design Process Teaching

Preliminary preparation should be guided by practical usage value, combining ergonomic principles and measurement data, and comprehensively considering audience preferences, interaction methods, environmental friendliness, and functional configurations.
Conceptual sketching stage requires breaking away from single-dimensional design thinking and exploring design directions from multiple perspectives, such as combining a streamlined appearance with a modular structure.
Subsequent refinement involves selecting the final design, annotating dimensions through three-view drawings, presenting materials and colors through rendering, and verifying whether ergonomic parameters are met, such as using CAE software to simulate sitting pressure distribution.