Apr. 13, 2015 | By Kira

Steve Wood, the mechanical CAD design engineer behind UK-based Gyrobot Ltd. is quickly becoming a legend in the world of 3D printing, thanks largely to his game-changing Flexy-Hand concept, the most realistic prosthetic hand available to date.

The original Flexy-Hand was released in March 2014, and an improved version, Flexy-Hand 2, came out in July last year. Earlier this year, Wood released the "Flexy-Hand 2 – Filaflex Remix". Now Wood has again revolutionized the 3D printed prosthetic world with his latest design, the Flexy-Hand - Filaflex Remix.

What made the Flexy-hand so unique was his use of Filaflex filament, a material that allows you to create flexible, elastic 3D printed objects. This gives the hand a more realistic look and feel compared to the generic and more "robotic" prostheses we are used to seeing.

The Flexy-Hand - Filaflex Remix featured many key properties, such as:

  • Hidden finger hinges.
  • Fingers that are compatible with the Flexy-Hand family.
  • Each finger and thumb is printed in one piece, using CraftWare customisable supports.
  • Silent and realistic articulation.
  • Two thumb angle variants.
  • Base mountable, can be used as a terminal device for an existing prosthesis.

In addition, the new version was optimized to be printed with flexible filaments. Wood used the Skin I Filament for the example above, but notes that that the darker coloured Skin II is also available, giving end-users the ability to choose which shade more closely resembles their actual skin-tone.

The design is available for free on Thingiverse, and has the potential to greatly improve the lives of those in need of prosthetic hands.

 

 

Posted in 3D Printing Applications

 

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