As our global e-NABLE Community grows and expands, we are finding more and more wonderful stories of parents of limb different children who are participating and not only just building and assembling hands for other children in the limb different community…but they are innovating and creating tools that can be 3D printed and shared with the rest of the world!
As end users, they are the ultimate designers!
The model that e-NABLE has created for open-source sharing has created a tight-knit group of makers from all walks of life, from all over the world – who are creating prototypes for assistive devices and then sharing them online so that others can benefit from or take them and improve upon them to further their impact.
This is exactly what we hoped e-NABLE would become!
Today, I want to introduce you to the “LimbBo Cam Buddy,” a 3D printable design created by Adam Dengel of the LimbBo Foundation!
Adam shares, “My son Tommy was born missing his right hand due to Amniotic band syndrome. He is so determined and surprises me every day with what he achieves. Things that I thought were impossible (for him), he just adapts to and overcomes.
My Mum is a professional photographer and Tommy has always loved spending time with his Grandma and her cameras. She let Tommy play with some of her smaller cameras and he loved to try and imitate what she was doing and be her little photo helper. However as far as I’m aware not a single camera by a mainstream manufacturer is made left handed.
To them it may seem silly to even consider why anyone would need a left-handed camera, you don’t need to be ambidextrous to be able to press a button right? Well unfortunately for Limb Different children (and adults) who are missing their right arm, this is very, very difficult to do and impossible to see the screen whilst taking a photo.
It saddened me that Tommy and others like him could not use a camera like everyone else. It just felt unfair and I decided I was going to do something about it!
I discussed the ideas I had with work colleagues and after a brainstorming session, there was a very basic model to work from.
I spent the following 2 weeks engrossed in Tinkercad trying to design a working aid that would take a picture using only a left hand.
I have only been 3D printing for 4 months and had very little design experience… so if I was to say it was an easy ride… I’d be lying!
After a lot of tinkering, I finally settled on what would be version 36 of the prototype!
Once printed I had to take it step by step during the construction, altering and adapting things until they worked and fit. Finally, once all the parts were together, I let Tommy try it out.
I’m not normally an emotional person but seeing him beam with joy that he could now do something he was unable to do before, be just like everyone else and be able to be just like Grandma… brought a tear to my eye.
He gave me a hug and said: “Thank you, Daddy! Look! I can take a picture now!”
That will stay with me for the rest of my life.
It’s not perfect by any means but I’m proud of what I achieved. The aim of LimbBo was to better the lives of children with limb differences and I really hope this helps and makes kids just like Tommy, smile too.”
Thank you Adam for sharing your design as an open-source file!
Over the years, there have been countless individuals who have contacted us to ask for something that would help them to take photographs and I am excited to share this design today so that others may take the design and create versions for other models of camera so that anyone with a right-handed limb difference, can have a helper tool to allow them to more easily take pictures of their own!
If you would like to create one of these for yourselves or if you would like to take these files and modify them for other camera types, please do! We would love to see this expanded and developed further!
If you create a design from these files, please be sure to credit back to Adam and also please share images, videos and your progress or changes on social media (Use the #enablethefuture hashtag! ) or in our facebook group so that we can share this design for other types of cameras!
e-NABLE R&D Facebook Group
e-NABLE Community Bulletin Board
Thank you, Adam and everyone, that works so hard to make assistive devices for others and for sharing them open source so everyone can benefit from your gifts!
“Sincere and generous collaboration is the best way to fulfill the legitimate aspirations of each person and achieve great collective goals for the common good and the general interest.” – Felipe VI of Spain