Aug 7, 2015 | By Simon
As we continue to see what’s possible when sensors, electronics and 3D printing come together, some of the most impressive projects we’ve seen to date include various efforts towards building bionic hands for enabling those in need of a prosthesis.
Almost a year ago, 3Ders reported on an Italian start-up called Youbionic, which was founded by design engineer Federico Ciccarese. At the time, Ciccarese had revealed a 3D printed bionic hand that was capable of moving all five fingers. In comparison to commercial bionics that cost up to €20,000, the custom-made Youbionic hand costs just €1,000.
As if the low cost wasn’t enough of a game-changer, Ciccarese designed the hand to be modular so that individual parts could be swapped out when the need arises rather than purchasing an entirely new device - a feature that’s especially important for young users whose bodies haven’t fully developed.
Today, Ciccarese emailed 3Ders to give us an update on the project’s development, which recently underwent a more extensive user experiment period that “proved to be excellent”.
“We validated our initial idea that material deformation is necessary in order to optimize the hand’s movements,” explains Ciccarese.
“The mechanical intuition that we derived from a direct observation of muscular fibers have provided us with the necessary elements to design the entire bionic hand.”
Ultimately, now that the design and the final Bill of Materials have been established, Ciccarese is looking forward to creating the most refined version yet of the bionic hand by the end of the year, which will then be sent to the lab for final testing.
Among other updates to the latest iteration will include design updates which are based on the results of numerous feedback sessions from users, as well as refined design and engineering details that are more in line with the project’s strict requirements for being a highly-versatile and dependable product.
“We hope that this bionic prosthetic will simplify people's lives while also enabling them to reduce the feeling of embarrassment that sometimes occurs when showing a prosthesis,” said Ciccarese.
Among other design decisions, Ciccarese and his team chose to create the entire hand using SLS 3D printing after looking at several manufacturing choices. The resulting white hand design looks straight out of a science fiction movie.
Although Ciccarese and his team still have some more work to do over the next year, they’re currently looking for investors who can help them speed the process along and support the project.
“The passion for these technologies and the knowledge that our efforts will, even if only in part, truly help someone, drive us to seek new paths and encourage us to continuously improve,” adds Ciccarese.
Those interested in finding out more about the development and staying updated on the final release date can find out more over at Youbionic.
Posted in 3D Printing Applications
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