Dec 2, 2015 | By Benedict
3D printing firm Voodoo Manufacturing has teamed up with prosthesis provider e-NABLE to provide 3D printed prosthetic hands to children in need. Voodoo’s donation of 150 hands currently stands as the largest donation received by the nonprofit organization.
With Christmas just around the corner, children all across the world will be furiously posting their present lists to the North Pole before the postal service takes its seasonal break. Millions of kids will no doubt be unwrapping their favorite toys, clothes and pets come the 25th, but what about that small group of children who would struggle to even unwrap a present? e-NABLE is a nonprofit organization which specializes in delivering 3D printed prosthetic hands to underserved populations, and has already provided 1500 hands to people in over 40 countries. The organization provides most of its 3D printed hands to children, giving them to the ability to perform basic tasks which would be impossible without the prosthetic devices.
3D printing enthusiasts might already be familiar with New York based 3D printing studio Voodoo Manufacturing. The company was in the news last week for its role in a planned 3D printed city of towers, which will be exhibited at the Outsider Art Fair in January 2016. But whilst the company will be devoting some of its time to that exciting art project over the next two months, it has also been producing 3D printed prosthetic hands for e-NABLE.
The 3D printing company will manufacture 150 units of e-NABLE’s Raptor Reloaded hand, which will be exhibited at the Autodesk University Convention in Las Vegas from December 1-3. The Raptor Reloaded, designed by volunteers, is made for for people who lack fingers but still have functional wrists. The 3D printed prosthetic hands can be made with or without thumbs and are printed in a variety of sizes, for both left and right arms.
“We want to help e-NABLE focus on what matters most for their organization while we handle the manufacturing,” explained Max Friefeld, CEO and Co-founder at Voodoo. “When Jon reached out to us about Autodesk University, they had a deadline quickly approaching, so we put enough 3D printers on the job to get all 150 hands made in less than 5 days.”
The 3D printed hands are fully functional, with wearers able to flex the fingers of the prosthetic device with muscle movements of the wrist or elbow. In most cases, recipients and their families work closely with e-NABLE so that the nonprofit organization can produce an optimal device for each wearer. To provide 3D printed hands in more far-reaching locations, e-NABLE will bulk-print a set of hands to be distributed to clinics and other non-profit groups.
“We are fortunate to have Voodoo join our community and delighted to have them become a consistent provider of e-NABLE hands,” said Jon Schull, President of the Enable Community Foundation. “Their generous donation allowed us to provision the Autodesk University showcase and has opened the door for other opportunities for collaboration. A manufacturing partner with their capacity is a huge advance for us.”
“e-NABLE’s cause represents the power of 3D printing in a way that I’ve never seen before,” Friefeld added. “The largest businesses in the world have started to notice what e-NABLE is doing. They can all learn something from how successful e-NABLE has been with 3D printing at this scale.”
The 150 3D printed hands donated by Voodoo will be assembled at the Autodesk convention, before being distributed to those in need.
Posted in 3D Printing Application
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