A US man with a missing left hand has said a new 3D printed prosthetic arm costing $50 to make is better than his former prosthesis.
Plastics Today reports that Jose Delgado junior contacted self-described additive manufacturing evangelist Jeremy Simon, who runs the 3D Universe website.
Delgado was using a “myoelectric” prosthesis, costing $US 42,000, and half paid for by himself (his insurer paid the other half).
Simon dubbed the replacement prosthesis the Cyborg Beast, and based its design on the Robohand. It cost $50 in ABS plastic to print, and was finished in acetone vapour.
“There are a series of non-flexible cords running along the underside of each finger, connecting to a “tensioning block” on the top rear of the device (the “gauntlet”),” Simon wrote on his blog over the weekend.
“It turns out, this simple, mechanical design provides Jose with more day-to-day functionality than his far more expensive myoelectric prosthesis. If a part does break, I can easily print a new one for him in a matter of hours.”
Delgado describes the new hand in this video as more useful for grabbing things such as boxes.
Image: http://www.3duniverse.org/