MakerBot Industries

Youssef Tayeb's full-scale model of a trans-tibial socket, printed on a MakerBot

I was joking earlier when I referenced the OLAF as an MakerBot printable prosthetic for frogs.  Youssef Tayeb has clearly taken the idea of printable prosthetic very seriously.  He designed this full scale trans-tibial socket to be printed as 16 separate pieces, glued them together, and then reinforced them on the outside with fiberglass.  Youssef has also started an OpenProsthetics.org project group for publishing and getting feedback on his designs.  If you’re interested learning more about printed prosthetics, be sure and check out OpenProsthetics.org, the Trautman Hook uploaded to Thingiverse by Erik de Bruijn¹, and the Prosthetic Hand Kit uploaded by SpedZero.

Besides being of noble purpose, Youssef’s designs demonstrate an interesting way to build larger forms out of smaller MakerBot sized print jobs.  With a set of calipers and a 3D printer, making one’s own prosthetics could soon become a reality.

(Thanks Make!)

1. Erik is one of the inventors of the Ultimaker! [↩]