3D-Printing Arms at Penguicon
Penguicon’s official charity for 2015 is a clearinghouse that connects people who can 3d-print inexpensive prosthetic arms with families in need across the world, including in Vietnam, Mexico, and right here in Michigan. (Check out those Wolverine claws!)
We’re so proud to be helping out our Hack of Honor, Enabling the Future, represented by founders Jen and Ivan Owen.
We also have engineer Albert Manero as a Guest of Honor – he’s the designer of the 3D-printed myoelectric (or “muscle sensing”) limb you may have seen on 6-year-old Alex’s arm as he meets with Robert Downey Jr. who shows off his own bionic arm (video)!
Enable relies on open source designs to print assisting limbs. Penguicon is passionate about teaching and sharing with open source ideals, so when we heard about Enable, we knew we had to help.
Help Us Help Others
We are getting the word out amongst our community of makers to help print arms for Enable, both in advance of the convention and during the weekend.
We can’t do this alone! Before our event, you can help us in 1 of 4 ways:
- Use a 3D printer to create a limb from their open source designs and bring it to Penguicon. (DIRECTIONS)
- Bring your 3D printer to Penguicon so we can print on location during the weekend.
- Help us acquire tools (small hammers, pliers, snips, jeweler-size files) for the assembly process. They’re only needed during the weekend of April 24-26.
- Get the word out about our effort.
Organizations like Frog Force 503, Miracle Software Systems, All Hands Active, First Robotics, and many local high school robotics teams intend to contribute arms they’ve printed, with the ambitious goal of supplying over 100 limbs for those who can’t afford a traditional expensive prosthetic.
Additionally, Penguicon will be collecting money throughout the weekend via a raffle (win a brand new Myo wireless gesture control armband!), charity costume contest, and direct contributions throughout the weekend.
We’ve even got some events planned where you can contribute some of your time to help assemble arms for the people Enable helps.
If you’d like to be involved, just email us and we’ll get you started.
PRESS: A quick primer (PDF) on Penguicon and Enable.
Frog Force 503 shows off their first hand they printed to bring to Penguicon for Enable