Jimmy “Shredder” Wilson is 8 years old, and like many children his age, he loves to ride his bicycle and has dreams of performing tricks, jumps and spins on his trusty BMX. This is something that takes a lot of hard work, grit and determination to accomplish when you have two functional hands to maneuver the handlebars, but can be extra tricky when you are born missing your left hand.
One of our top designers, Peter Binkley, teamed up with Intel and pro-BMX athlete Jeremiah Smith, to design a 3D printed device that will aid Jimmy on his quest to becoming the newest daredevil rider on the block!
The team worked together with an Intel-powered device, to design a new design for Jimmy that would allow him to keep a firm grip on the handlebar and then printed it out on his Ultimaker 2 3D Printer
Peter envisioned a ball and socket type of design that would allow Jimmy’s arm to swivel around without losing contact with the handlebar.
Peter shares, “What I was thinking first, is that you’d need to have a swivel that rotates on the z-axis, but then you’d also need something that you need to be able to rock. That’s the plan. Is to connect a ball to the handlebar and then make a socket that Jimmy can wear on his hand to pop over the ball. That should give him a lot of mobility.”
This device is still in it’s prototype stage and Jimmy is going to work with Peter to refine the design as he tests it out and gives him feedback on what he can do to improve the comfort and functionality of the design so that the design can be openly shared for other children and adults in need of the same!
“When you make a device for a person, there is a kind of satisfaction that comes from putting a smile on someone’s face that you just never forget, you never let go,” shares Peter.
In the coming year, we expect to see this device and may other task specific creations come to life as the e-NABLE Community not only continues to refine the current designs for hands and arms, but also starts working on solving every day challenges that five plastic fingers just can’t accomplish for the end users.
We are “Enabling The Future.”
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Happy new year e-nable im Etienne Nguyen thanh s a lot for a contact at Paris is Mr Oquidam Thierry thank s aguain too all the moments you do too the children on the world and this world.we love you
Thank you so much! So glad Thierry was able to help!!
My daughter races BMX and is missing her lower right forearm and hand. Her elbow works fine and something like this may work if she can push and pull the bike, and with her elbow extended and bent without it not coming loose. She’s ready for this next step but where do I find someone to make it? Our local high school robotics class built her a 3D hand that opens and closes with her closing her elbow but that design will not be durable or grip enough for racing. Any help would be appreciated.
Hello Scott! I am not sure this design is fully released yet but when it is – it will be open source. Please email me at jen.owen@enablingthefuture.org and I can forward you to Peter!
Hi Scott, this is Peter Binkley. If you’re interested in a customized device, I can help out with the design files. Do you have access to a 3d printer that will print nylon? It needs to be a very strong material. Let me know if this is something you’d like to pursue, and I’ll assign you a little homework.