Dec 17, 2014 | By Alec
Two weeks ago we reported on an upcoming 3D Print-a-Thon, that was to be held on the 13th of December in Costa Mesa, California. The occasion? A record-breaking mission organized by 3D printer manufacturers Airwolf 3D and 3D printing charity Robohand to gather as many printers as they can to print as many prosthetics as possible in just 24 hours.
It was a chance for 3D printing hobbyists to do something meaningful in the spirit of the Holidays. All the prosthetics that were made, will even be used by Robohand US to help people lacking fingers, hands and limbs. For those of you who never heard of Robohand, it's a charitable organisation that, like E-Nable, provides functional, safe, cost effective upper extremity assistive devices to help enable any individual with an upper limb difference.
And we're very happy to report that the Print-A-Thon was a marvellous whirlwind of success: not only did they manage to set a new world record for the number of 3D printers active at the same time, but the gathered crowd even printed a very respectable 201 prosthetics throughout the day.
As Airwolf 3D explained to 3ders.org, they had been considering a contribution to a number of different charities for the holiday season. When someone suggested Robohand, the 3D printing link quickly convinced everyone 'Being a manufacturer of 3D printers, the team figured that they were in the unique position to do the most good for this particular charity. We contacted Ty Esham of Robohand USA and she said she would be absolutely thrilled to take as many of the printed prosthetic hands as we could give her.'
The whole concept was so appealing, that Airwolf and Robohand decided to maximize its potential by inviting everyone to contribute through the concept of a 3D Flash Print event. This quickly brought the world record into view. 'The amount of Robohands that we wanted to contribute required an army of 3D printers. When we assessed the number of printers that we had in house, paired with the contributions we were anticipating from the public, we realized that we would reach a record setting number of 3D printers. We thought this would be such an exciting element to add to the event: Make history while helping to enable hundreds of people.'
At the time, the world record of 3D printers running simultaneously had been set at 102 printers, by Letourneau University. As it turned out, the record holder would break its own record just days before the Print-A-Thon in Costa Mesa, upping the ante to a staggering 158 3D printers. This made the build-up to the event even more arduous and nerve racking, but fortunately the 3D printing community came in droves to contribute. 'Everyone from engineers to high school teachers volunteered their printers to contribute to the cause. Matterhackers delivered seven printers and many local enthusiasts showed up in the final hour with various models of printers!'
Overall, 50 printing enthusiasts came by to plug and print, filling the Airwolf's Costa Mesa headquarters with people and machines. Even Cerritos College of Design provided six printers, all under the guidance of department chair Dr. Miodrag "Mickey" Micic. One o his students, Jonathan Valdivia, even brought along his fully automated Robohand which he had programmed to flex and point its 3D printed fingers. 'This is really the future of 3D printed prosthetics,' Micic said. 'One day they will all be automated.'
The atmosphere at the event was described as inspiring. Airwolf designer Cameron Williams told 3ders.org that 'Even though I have been in the 3D printing industry for over 6 years, I had yet to be a part of something as exciting and rewarding as this.' Marilu Flores, head sales representative for Airwolf 3D, added that 'It was nice to be able to interact with our customers in such a positive way.'
In the end, the Print-a-Thon cranked out 201 Robohands as part of the record attempt, which proved to be sufficient. Jeff Cain from the USC School of 3D design officiated as the expert witness, while members of the Orange County 3D Printer Meetup served as stewards to the attempt. The results are currently under review by Guinness officials, and Airwolf and Robohand would like to thank everyone who participated.
The Print-a-Thon was thus a great success, but its charitable focus isn't gone yet. Airwolf 3D is still printing a variety of differently sized hands to ensure that Robohand has a full stock at its disposal, while international contributions are still pouring in from all over the world. Thirty have already arrived, even from as far away as Nigeria, while more are still expected. Airwolf has already announced that 'a large wall in our factory features stamps in honor of each of their contributions, detailing the maker's name and location.'
To add fuel to this charitable fire, Airwolf even presented a tearful Ty of Robohand USA with a $2000 donation, and is exploring other ways to support 3D printed charity. Mark Mathews, president of Airwolf, said that 'Everyone has a certain talent or gift, and the key is using it to help people out. We happen to be experts at 3D printing, and this is how we can help people.'
One of the ways this might take shape is in expanding their testing protocol. Every Airwolf 3D printer is tested for 20 hours before being shipped to a customer, but they are currently looking into expanding that to 24 hours to give each printer the opportunity to print a Robohand as well. 'We want to provide continual support to what we believe is truly noble cause.'
This wonderful event perfectly illustrates the way 3D printing can connect people across the world and improve peoples' lives everywhere. Some of these hands will even help children on the other side of the globe. Ty from Robohand has reportedly teamed up with Water is Life, an international charity that has been working with Chinese orphanages for years. She will travel to China in February, where she intends to teach volunteers how to make the castings that form the basis of customized Robohands. Thanks to Airwolf 3D and all the volunteers that participated in this record-breaking Print-a-Thon, those children will receive their very own, perfectly fitting 3D printed prosthetics as soon as possible.
Posted in 3D Printing Events
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As we can see on 7th photo, they are using highly sophisticated tools, like hammer for example :D
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