eNABLE teams with 3D community and organisations to deliver inexpensive prosthetics.
eNABLE, the name behind the original 3D printed mechanical hand, has embarked on its biggest mission yet with a crowdsourcing project that’s set to deliver the largest donation of 3D printed hands ever created.
The organisation is calling upon the 3D printing community to respond to over 1,000 requests for hands across the globe with the help of groups like 3DPrinterOS, Florida State, Purdue, Duke, Mind-to-Matter and Fargo 3D, by mid September.
“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,” Melina Brown, Director of Operations at eNABLE, explained.
Designs for the Raptor Reloaded hand have been added into 3DPrinterOS who will be awarding t-shirts to the first 30 3DPrinterOS users who print and mail the hand kits to eNABLE. There’s also a prize of a Raspberry Pi 2 for the user who prints and sends the most hands by September 15.
John Dogru, CEO of 3DPrinterOS commented: “We challenge the 3D printing industry as a whole to take the time to print at least one hand to help eNABLE meet their goals. Working with eNABLE and utilizing our network of printers is a prime example of how 3d printing can affect real change and this is just the beginning.”
Raptor Reloaded hand file has been added as a stock project into 3DPrinterOS.
The eNABLE story has already inspired over 3,500 volunteers to sign up to help 3D print inexpensive prosthetic solutions and change the lives of people all over the world. Google recently awarded eNABLE with a $600,000 grant to help further develop the hand designs and technology as part of its $20 million Google Impact Challenge focused on disabilities.
These Hand kits allow eNABLE to provide hands to those in the remotest parts of the world and are assembled by groups through assembly events.The most recent hand files can be found on Thingiverse and anyone who prints one is encouraged to share on social media with the tag #enablethefuture. All hands can be posted to eNABLE at - Attn: Melina Brown, 216 S 8th St. Opelika, AL 36801.
