E-NABLING THE FUTURE A network of passionate volunteers using 3D printing to give the World a "Helping Hand."
For my action plan I am going to 3D print a hand for a child and hopefully this will lead to Rutland High School to help other students participate in this awesome program. Some frequently asked questions from their website are below.
What is the E-Nable Group?
E-NABLE is a growing group of over 1500 members who have come together from all over the World to help create and design 3D Printed assistive hand devices for those in need.
We are engineers, artists, makers, students, parents, occupational therapists, prosthetists, garage tinkerers, designers, teachers, creatives, philanthropists, writers and many others – who are devoting our “Free time” to the creation of open source designs for mechanical hand assistive devices that can be downloaded and 3D printed for less than $50 in materials.
Our designs are open source – so that anyone, anywhere – can download and create these hands for people who may need them and so that others can take these designs and improve upon them and once again share with the World in a “Pay it Forward” type of way.
• Where can I find the files to create these hands?
Since E-Nable is about developing new designs, as much as it is distributing current ones, we do not have a singular “E-Nable hand” design.
We currently have a variety of designs.
You can find the most current files on our “Designs” page.
You can also find video tutorials for a few of our designs.
If you find that you are having trouble with sizing or need some assistance in creating a different variation for a hand that may not fit in our current designs – please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected]!
• How much will one of these hands cost?
Each design is different and dependent on which materials you choose to use. On average – the costs run anywhere from about $20USD to about $50.
Some designs use formed leather, some use medical orthoplastic and some use mostly 3d printed parts padded with medical grade padding.
Where can I find a 3d printer or someone to print parts for me?
The easiest way to find a printer near you is to message our Match Making Team – ( [email protected] ), email us directly at [email protected] or join the Google+ community. If you do not have a member of the E-Nable group near you, we can almost always find someone local with a printer who is willing to help.
Local colleges and high schools are also a good source of printing services and may offer to create a hand for you as a project for their own students.
If you would like to purchase your own 3d printer, there are several preassembled machines that range in price from $5oo to $3000 depending on your needs. Solidoodle, Lulzbot, Makerbot, Ultimaker, SeeMeNCN, Afinia and Rep Rap are all popular choices and more and more consumer level printers are coming out onto the market every day!
Is it medically tested and approved?
Our current designs have been approved for testing through Creighton University. We recommend careful observation while using these devices that involve your family physician’s input and guidance.
If any redness or discomfort occurs, please stop using the device you have created, until you can consult a licensed medical professional who can make an informed decision whether the device is appropriate for you and possibly help you improve the fit of your device with medical orthoplastic or padding.
This need for observation is why we discourage the use of these devices with exceptionally young children (<4) Young children do not always express when they are uncomfortable, so the possibility of injury is higher.
Please do not use these devices without consulting a physician prior to use and consult with them as to the best fit and use for you or the person you have created it for.
Can I make my own hand?
Absolutely. That is what E-Nable is all about! All you need is access to a 3d printer and a few hand tools. For help in locating a printer near you – please visit and message our facebook page and a member will contact you to help find someone in your area with a printer. You can also send an email to [email protected] and someone will help guide you to find the information you are seeking!
Please make sure you communicate with a licensed medical professional before you begin and consult with them as you begin to use the device.
How old should one be to use these devices?
As a rough guideline, we recommend children be at least four years old. Exceptionally young children may not communicate that their device is uncomfortable, which increases the risk of injury. In all situations, we recommend careful observation of these devices involving your family physician’s input and guidance. In some cases, medical professionals may recommend we move forward with a prosthesis before 4.
What is a Robohand and do you make them?
Robohand is the name that was given to the original design that was created by Ivan Owen and Richard Van As in 2012 that was shared as an open source design so that others could use the files to create their own devices.
Richard has gone on to take the original Robohand design and has since started clinics in various parts of the World where people can go to get fitted and have these hands created for them and also offers kits that can be purchased through the Robohand page.
Ivan has gone on to focus on continuing to research and develop new designs with members of the E-nable group, teaching 3D print workshops and designing and creating other things. As an “Ideas guy” – he plans to create many more wonderful things to help better the World!
The E-nable group is not officially affiliated with the Robohand Project that continues with Richard and his team – We build off of the original files and the re-designs of those files by others.
If you are seeking to purchase a fully created device – please visit the Robohand page where you can purchase a completed hand or a kit to create one on your own.
E-Nable is focused on improving the design, creating solutions for problems with the current designs and enabling people to create them on their own with guidance from the group and we seek to come up with designs that cut costs as much as possible so that more people will have access to these devices.
Who is Ivan Owen and Richard Van As?
Ivan Owen is a prop maker from Bellingham Washington and Richard Van As is a carpenter from South Africa – who collaborated together to create the first 3d printed prosthetic hand for a little boy in South Africa named Liam – and then gave the plans away for free so that anyone take and use them to create one for themselves.
Will this device work for me?
These hands work best for people who still have a palm and at least a 30 degree motion in your wrist. The device relies on wrist movement to work to provide the appropriate movement to cause the fingers to close and open.
Websites:
http://enablingthefuture.org/
http://shop3duniverse.com/products/e-nable-hand-assembly-materials-kit-cyborg-beast-edition?utm_source=eNABLE&utm_medium=ContentLink&utm_term=ContentLink&utm_content=FrontToKitBeast&utm_campaign=Campaign101
For my action plan I am going to 3D print a hand for a child and hopefully this will lead to Rutland High School to help other students participate in this awesome program. Some frequently asked questions from their website are below.
What is the E-Nable Group?
E-NABLE is a growing group of over 1500 members who have come together from all over the World to help create and design 3D Printed assistive hand devices for those in need.
We are engineers, artists, makers, students, parents, occupational therapists, prosthetists, garage tinkerers, designers, teachers, creatives, philanthropists, writers and many others – who are devoting our “Free time” to the creation of open source designs for mechanical hand assistive devices that can be downloaded and 3D printed for less than $50 in materials.
Our designs are open source – so that anyone, anywhere – can download and create these hands for people who may need them and so that others can take these designs and improve upon them and once again share with the World in a “Pay it Forward” type of way.
• Where can I find the files to create these hands?
Since E-Nable is about developing new designs, as much as it is distributing current ones, we do not have a singular “E-Nable hand” design.
We currently have a variety of designs.
You can find the most current files on our “Designs” page.
You can also find video tutorials for a few of our designs.
If you find that you are having trouble with sizing or need some assistance in creating a different variation for a hand that may not fit in our current designs – please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected]!
• How much will one of these hands cost?
Each design is different and dependent on which materials you choose to use. On average – the costs run anywhere from about $20USD to about $50.
Some designs use formed leather, some use medical orthoplastic and some use mostly 3d printed parts padded with medical grade padding.
Where can I find a 3d printer or someone to print parts for me?
The easiest way to find a printer near you is to message our Match Making Team – ( [email protected] ), email us directly at [email protected] or join the Google+ community. If you do not have a member of the E-Nable group near you, we can almost always find someone local with a printer who is willing to help.
Local colleges and high schools are also a good source of printing services and may offer to create a hand for you as a project for their own students.
If you would like to purchase your own 3d printer, there are several preassembled machines that range in price from $5oo to $3000 depending on your needs. Solidoodle, Lulzbot, Makerbot, Ultimaker, SeeMeNCN, Afinia and Rep Rap are all popular choices and more and more consumer level printers are coming out onto the market every day!
Is it medically tested and approved?
Our current designs have been approved for testing through Creighton University. We recommend careful observation while using these devices that involve your family physician’s input and guidance.
If any redness or discomfort occurs, please stop using the device you have created, until you can consult a licensed medical professional who can make an informed decision whether the device is appropriate for you and possibly help you improve the fit of your device with medical orthoplastic or padding.
This need for observation is why we discourage the use of these devices with exceptionally young children (<4) Young children do not always express when they are uncomfortable, so the possibility of injury is higher.
Please do not use these devices without consulting a physician prior to use and consult with them as to the best fit and use for you or the person you have created it for.
Can I make my own hand?
Absolutely. That is what E-Nable is all about! All you need is access to a 3d printer and a few hand tools. For help in locating a printer near you – please visit and message our facebook page and a member will contact you to help find someone in your area with a printer. You can also send an email to [email protected] and someone will help guide you to find the information you are seeking!
Please make sure you communicate with a licensed medical professional before you begin and consult with them as you begin to use the device.
How old should one be to use these devices?
As a rough guideline, we recommend children be at least four years old. Exceptionally young children may not communicate that their device is uncomfortable, which increases the risk of injury. In all situations, we recommend careful observation of these devices involving your family physician’s input and guidance. In some cases, medical professionals may recommend we move forward with a prosthesis before 4.
What is a Robohand and do you make them?
Robohand is the name that was given to the original design that was created by Ivan Owen and Richard Van As in 2012 that was shared as an open source design so that others could use the files to create their own devices.
Richard has gone on to take the original Robohand design and has since started clinics in various parts of the World where people can go to get fitted and have these hands created for them and also offers kits that can be purchased through the Robohand page.
Ivan has gone on to focus on continuing to research and develop new designs with members of the E-nable group, teaching 3D print workshops and designing and creating other things. As an “Ideas guy” – he plans to create many more wonderful things to help better the World!
The E-nable group is not officially affiliated with the Robohand Project that continues with Richard and his team – We build off of the original files and the re-designs of those files by others.
If you are seeking to purchase a fully created device – please visit the Robohand page where you can purchase a completed hand or a kit to create one on your own.
E-Nable is focused on improving the design, creating solutions for problems with the current designs and enabling people to create them on their own with guidance from the group and we seek to come up with designs that cut costs as much as possible so that more people will have access to these devices.
Who is Ivan Owen and Richard Van As?
Ivan Owen is a prop maker from Bellingham Washington and Richard Van As is a carpenter from South Africa – who collaborated together to create the first 3d printed prosthetic hand for a little boy in South Africa named Liam – and then gave the plans away for free so that anyone take and use them to create one for themselves.
Will this device work for me?
These hands work best for people who still have a palm and at least a 30 degree motion in your wrist. The device relies on wrist movement to work to provide the appropriate movement to cause the fingers to close and open.
Websites:
http://enablingthefuture.org/
http://shop3duniverse.com/products/e-nable-hand-assembly-materials-kit-cyborg-beast-edition?utm_source=eNABLE&utm_medium=ContentLink&utm_term=ContentLink&utm_content=FrontToKitBeast&utm_campaign=Campaign101