3DPrinterOS - the world’s first cloud based management platform for 3D printers launched the “August Print Challenge” to help e-Nable crowdsource from the 3D printing community the largest donation of 3D printed hands yet.
MatterThings, one of e-Nable’s volunteers in Pincourt, the West Island of Montreal (Quebec) Canada is donating twenty-five (25) 3D mechanical prosthetic hands for kids to help meet worldwide demand.
MatterThings is using a MakerBot Replicator 2 to build the prosthetic hand kits in PLA (Polylactic Acid or Polylactide) - a bioplastic derived from renewable resources, such as corn starch. It takes approximately 6 hours to 3D print each kit.
Thanks to @MatterThings for stepping up for the @Enablethefuture challenge, every hand helps! http://t.co/ef4xutJOCw pic.twitter.com/hFYbRusicf
— 3DPrinterOS (@3DPrinterOS) August 18, 2015
The goal is to reach 1,000 hands by mid-September and in order to accomplish this, e-NABLE is asking for all of those in the 3d printing community to “lend a helping hand.”
Statistics state that 1 in 1,500 children are born missing fingers or hands. Because children grow so quickly, there are few prosthetic devices available to them and those that are available - can cost thousands of dollars.
Many families around the world cannot afford to pay to get their child a commercially made prosthetic device they will outgrow in 4-6 months - but now, thanks to 3D printing and e-Nable, a global online community of volunteers who have donated their time, talent and resources to producing open source low cost prosthetic hands - children as young as 3 years old are able to obtain prosthetic devices.
“We challenge the 3d printing industry as a whole to take the time to print at least one hand to help e-NABLE meet their goals. Working with e-NABLE and utilizing our network of printers is a prime example of how 3D printing can affect real change and this is just the beginning,” said John Dogru, CEO of 3DPrinterOS.
The e-Nable community connects people who need prosthetics with volunteers around the world who use 3D printers to design, print, assemble, and fit them, for free. This dramatically cuts costs and increases speed of distribution.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eX5qscaKNN0
Google recently announced their support of the Enable Community Foundation’s efforts with a $600,000 grant to advance the design, distribution and delivery of open-source 3D-printed upper-limb prosthetics.
“With the help of the larger 3d printing community, we hope to provide several thousand hands over the next two years and reach those in the remote areas that need them most. No contribution is too large or too small, together we can change the world,” said Melina Brown, Director of Operations at e-NABLE.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmwKuGzHPIc
If you have a 3D printer and want to help, all hands can be mailed to e-NABLE at this address:
Attn: Melina Brown, 216 S 8th St. Opelika, AL 36801, U.S.A.
Files: Raptor Reloaded by e-Nable on Thingiverse
Source: http://www.matterthings.com/blogs/news/41483329-matterthings-donates-prosthetic-hands-to-e-nable-to-help-make-a-difference-in-a-childs-life
MatterThings’ Hub: https://www.3dhubs.com/montreal/hubs/matterthings
