Prototype Prosthetic Hand

myminifactory

Hello, I'm a 16-year-old boy with a passion for designing all sorts of things. Lately, I've been eager to become a biomedical engineer who designs prosthetics. This was an ideal opportunity to kick-start my journey. Throughout my design process, I decided on flexible fingers paired with a superficially rigid palm and four-arm. Next came the challenging task of designing. I found that determining the angles on the fingers was the most difficult part. To function properly, they needed to be angled at a certain point, which proved tricky. After multiple designs, I finally got it as close as possible. Then, I tackled the palm. Since my design was based on measurements taken from my hand, I knew one of the harder parts would involve my hand. Until I remembered a video I watched where photogrammetry was used to scan a house. I then scanned my hand and hollowed it out, reduced its poly count, and added finger holes in a different software. The most disappointing part was working with electronics. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to obtain the necessary components to make the arm/hand portable (which was my goal). I had envisioned doing many things with it, but I came up with a simple solution using K'NEX and my dad's electric drill. By creating a stand for the hand out of K'NEX, I made an axle and connected the filament inside the fingers to a servo-like grip. Then, I connected the drill and tightened it up. It worked, which made me very happy. A few things I forgot to mention: The fingers move because filament or some kind of string is attached at the top of the finger(s) running down through all of the holes. All major parts are 3D printed or glued into place. Most parts will require support when printing. The wrist snaps back into place when moved because a rubber band connected to Top Wrist.stl and runs down the F-arm.