One Piece Flexible Articulated Prosthetic Hand

thingiverse

Status as of 11/25/17: The Original "Flexible Hand Mockup" is worth taking a closer look at. It seems to work better without the need for bowden tube than version 2, and requires less force to actuate. I added stabilization towers to the STL file, which will need to be modeled in FreeCAD before any changes can be made. I'm still uncertain about which direction to take this project, but the idea works. Note that the scale is off on the Mockup so it needs to be scaled up by 2540%. 11/18/17: Test Finger Added and started working in FreeCAD. Hopefully my scatterbrain modeling habits won't drive anyone too crazy. I've printed this with NinjaFlex SemiFlex and it's very promising. There's potential here for one roll of SemiFlex to print up to six hands, and the filament itself can be used as the string for actuation, although I would recommend a stronger non-flexible string. I envision this being something that could be made on a reprap in Africa, for example, without needing a trip to the hardware store (which may not be an option). It works best with pieces of bowden tube inserted into the routing holes for the string. Since bowden tube is a necessary component of a printer that would be capable of printing this filament, I feel safe assuming it will be available in a remote village that has a 3D Printer that can handle SemiFlex. I'm planning to go with elbow articulation for this since it will need a bit more 'throw' and force than a nicely jointed hand. My hope is this would allow kids "to carry their own water," I hope it's strong enough to carry a bucket of water. I'd like them to be able to catch a tennis ball, etc. as well. Anyone in need of a proven design should look at Gyrobot's Flexy-Hand 2. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:380665 He also has a one piece printable hand, https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:439484 Thanks for looking!