Engineering a Vision to Improve Back Pain into Reality Wins the Diamond Design Award

JNDC Ltd, an engineering design company based in Kingston-Upon-Thames has engineered a unique working prototype of a revolutionary chair to aid people to sit correctly and comfortably, therefore assisting in preventing future back problems.


Simon Freedman an osteopath and inventor had a vision to improve the way we sit with a key focus on our body structure. From his experience he realised that a lot of back problems were the result of incorrect chair design. The basic idea and design had been completed, the challenge now was to engineer this into a working prototype. The design brief proved impelling; to name a few: A funky, dynamic design, six connection points to the body and five for the floor, flat packed and easy to assemble, using as little material as possible to obtain the lowest weight achievable minimising the carbon foot print.

The original seat pads, made in Simon's garage, were 3D laser scanned and imported into Computer Aided Design (CAD) software at JNDC. Using the power of Finite Element Analysis the pads were engineered to produce an optimum design using the minimum weight of material as possible. Further down the line the pads were investment cast, printed in wax, covered with a ceramic coat and then fired to produce a mould that could then have molten aluminium poured in to produce the final product. Other parts were CNC machined and turned directly from the CAD data resulting in a perfectly fitting high tolerance design.

A high grade aluminium was selected as the material with the best mechanical properties for weight and price. With the idea of using the Norwegian manufacturer Norsk Hydro, who use recycled aluminium and hydroelectric power to create the parts for the chair.

Winning the diamond award for design at the British Invention Show. The results was a chair with a difference and an edge. This is not just any chair, it is a chair for comfort, to prevent back pain and to have a positive effect on our lives. Let's think about it, how many hours a day do we spend sitting? Lets' make it as easy and beneficial as possible.