PDG Mobility is pleased to announce the release of the new generation Fuze T50. In addition to a subtle polishing of the chair’s overall design, the T50 will have improved stiffness and adjustment options for seat height, seat depth, and center of gravity. It will also receive a new fold-down backrest, new single-post armrests, and additional options for mounting third-party accessories.
PDG Mobility first introduced the Fuze T50 in June of 2007. With its sleek aluminum frame and effortless tilt system, it was an instant success. The chair’s maintenance-free tilt performance and simple setup and adjustments have made it the 50° tilt chair of choice for clinicians and technicians worldwide. Over the years, PDG has increased the T50’s allure by growing its weight capacity and seat width ranges, and by adding features like power tilt and many factory-installed third-party accessories.
Starting July 1, 2020, we are rolling out the new generation T50. Below is a list directly from our Engineers containing all upgrades that you can expect to see on all Fuze T50 chairs. A word of caution: Some of these items are very technical and a bit dry ?. Rest assured, all of these improvements will make the Fuze T50 an even better tilt chair ?.
- Improved Easy-Out compatibility
- Now the Seat Tube mounts the Easy-Out Front Rigging on all T50’s.
- Previously an expensive welded Seat Tube was used to facilitate the Easy-Out Front Rigging in place of the standard Seat Tube. If a customer wanted to change to the Easy-Out Front Rigging in the field they also needed the Seat Tubes which were cost prohibitive and made for a significantly more laborious re-build.
- Improved COG and Seat Depth adjustability
- Now you loosen 2 fasteners per side and adjust the position of the rear seat tube assembly, no disassembly of the backrest mounting is required.
- Previously you needed to disassemble the 4 backrest mounting fasteners on each side of the chair. This made it easy to accidentally change the recline angle and possibly omit a required spacer during reassembly.
- Improved wheelchair stiffness
- Now we have a crossbar bolted inline with the axle receivers and axle plates to minimize camber.
- Previously the axle plates relied on the rear lower frame crossbar and as such could develop a small amount of camber under higher loading.
- Improved Seat to Floor adjustment
- Now you remove the 4 x 5/16-18 fasteners that connect the axle plates to the lower frame, then reposition and remount.
- Previously you had to remove each axle receiver which use a ¾-16 Thin Nylock (requiring a large adjustable wrench) and remount during which it was relatively easy to overtighten the 3/4-16 nut which would comprise the fit the axle inside the receiver.
- Improved Backrest Fold-Down Mechanism
- Now we use a four-bar linkage which can be fitted with a cord to achieve one-handed release.
- Previously we used a slider which was prone to jamming and required two hands to release.
- Improved Recline Option
- Now we bolt the recline gas spring to a plate which is mounted to the base of the backrest tube freeing up backrest mounting tube real estate for upholstery and 3rd party backrests.
- Previously we fitted an additional lower section to the backrest which had the recline gas spring plate in a location that could make it challenging to mount upholstery and 3rd party backrests.
- Additional mounting flange for armrest and other accessories
- Now we have a Mounting flange to which the Armrest and Hip Guides can be mounted in a number of positions.
- Previously we had only one standard Armrest mounting position and we required additional brackets to mount accessories like the Hip Guide.
- Reduced Pivot Plate (Upper Frame) Profile
- Now the plate size has been reduced to improve access near the base of the Backrest.
- Previously the Backrest was mounted to the Pivot Plate and so the Plate had to be larger to accommodate this function.
- Additional Rear Wheel Options
- Now the Narrow configuration Axle Receiver can be used (at standard widths) to open up more STF options for the small rear wheels.
- Previously we were limited by the single axle plate being mounted either upwards or downwards and so had several potentially desirable options between that were not available.
- Improved Tie-Down (Anchor Points) Accessibility
- Now the Rear Tie-Downs have been moved below the base of the Backrest and the Front Tie-Downs have been moved to the Lower Frame directly rearward of the Caster mount. In both cases this improves access.
- Previously the Rear Tie-Downs were slightly ahead of the base of the backrest and the Front Tie-Downs were on the Upper Frame directly rearward of the Leg-Rests.
- Improved Tilt Limiting
- Now the a symmetric set of bumpers mounted to the Pivot Plate are used to easily set the tilt limiting stop at the desired angle
- Previously a shaft collar on the Mech-Lock under the chair had to be set to a positioned along the rod with no immediately available angle reference.
All Fuze T50 orders shipping on or after July 1, 2020 will automatically be upgraded to the new generation chair.
We invite you to provide your feedback directly to your sales representative or through our contact form.
Learn more about PDG Mobility and our Wheelchairs: pdgmobility.com
