What started out as a project between a handful of students in Edmonton, and Print Your Mind here in Calgary, has grown into a truly international effort. The humanitarian and educational roots of this project have sparked the interest of many across the province. Thanks to a very successful crowdfunding campaign, we were able to raise $3500 in just 28 days to put on a live event where we will 3D print, assemble and donate 30 3D printed prosthetic e-NABLE hands to children in need around the world. The event will be taking place on March 11 at Calgary Board of Education’s Career & Technologies Centre. We expect to welcome 50+ students from Edmonton and Calgary to take part in this globally spirited event. Stay tuned for further announcements regarding the event coming soon.
We are now joining forces with many new students, teachers, school boards, parents and businesses to extend the reach of the benefits that will come from the project. We are excited to be working with the Calgary Board of Education along with Edmonton Public Schools, the University of Lethbridge, Roots 2 Stem and other organizations who will be helping us bring this project to life.
There are currently 15+ students in both Edmonton and Calgary who are gaining high school credits specifically for 3D printing prosthetic hands for this e-NABLE hand project through the Innovate program. These 3D printed prosthetic hands will be donated to the e-NABLE foundation where they will be distributed around the world to children who would otherwise not have access to them. Not only have people wanting to help reached out to us, but also those with sons or daughters in need of hands right here in Alberta. We are very excited to say that we will be matching at least two students taking part in the project with recipients within Alberta.
We also wanted to share a story with you that was very special to us. We recently met with McKenzie and Clara (pictured below). Mckenzie is a high school student taking part in the project. She will be creating a custom hand just for Clara, a 4 year old Calgarian born with deformity in her left hand. We met with the two of them to take measurements so we can begin building a new hand for Clara. Clara told us that sometimes her friends in dance class aren’t sure if they should hold her effected limb while doing group activities. She wants a purple “robot-hand”, as she calls it, so she can hold hands with her fellow classmates and feel like she is the same as the other students. We will be working with McKenzie over the next month to make sure she can do just that.
We are so thankful to every one of our friends, family, community members and people around the world who contributed to helping us bring this project to life. Without your support we would not be able to undertake this truly inspiring initiative. Real change will come from this, both here in Alberta, and around the world. If you would like more information on how to get involved, please contact us at support@printyourmind3d.ca or give us a call at 587-226-2645.
Great to see you getting involved with eNable @Colin_6! I’m sure the other Calgary Hubs would love to find out about it at your next meetup and perhaps you can get some tips from @CharlotteJ on hosting an eNable print-a-thon?
We had a crazy marathon last december when we tried to print and assemble as many raptor hands as possible within 24 hrs. These were all shipped to the Moore foundation to be used as show models.
@Colin_6 One thing to consider is the aftercare. If you have 8 people dedicated to printing an assembling the hands, Quality control is easy. However, if you get swamped (like we did) with helping hands during the event aftermath, you will get a few hands here and there that won’t necessarily meet the standards. As a result we’ve spent another 2 nights of correcting mishaps and finishing all hands. Reducing our total volume from 50 to 40 finished hands.
Another thing to mention is shipping. If you stay local this is not a big deal, but you should consider the cost of shipping and potential paperwork for customs to ship abroad. We had our shipping lane secured through Amgen Inc. (company I work for) but it is worth exploring your options with companies that are used to shipping as it ain’t a regular postage deal :D. You should avoid using the terms “medical, device, prosthetic” on your shipping documents. As it may trigger unwanted delays in the shipment as there are specific requirements for shipping these type of goods (which you are not likely to meet). Just call them what they are “3D printed hands”. It is worth considering the value too (i assigned a customs value of $10,-- for each hand e.g. $400,-- for the total shipment). For customs purposes you need to declare a value (even if it is a donation) to avoid additional fees, make clear with a separate statement that your shipment is a donation for charity and will not be sold.
That’s a bout it.
And to echo Charlotte’s comment, let us know if you need to know more…
