Lightweight custom composite prosthetic components using an additive manufacturing-based molding technique
| Autor: | Aaron M. Dollar, Michael T. Leddy, Joseph T. Belter, Kevin D. Gemmell |
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| Rok vydání: | 2015 |
| Předmět: |
Engineering drawing
Fabrication Bending (metalworking) Computer science business.industry Polymers Polyesters Composite number Acrylic Resins Mechanical engineering 3D printing Core (manufacturing) Artificial Limbs Epoxy Molding (process) Bending Prostheses and Implants visual_art Materials Testing Printing Three-Dimensional visual_art.visual_art_medium Computer-Aided Design Polystyrenes Lactic Acid business |
| Zdroj: | EMBC |
| Popis: | Additive manufacturing techniques are becoming more prominent and cost-effective as 3D printing becomes higher quality and more inexpensive. The idea of 3D printed prosthetics components promises affordable, customizable devices, but these systems currently have major shortcomings in durability and function. In this paper, we propose a fabrication method for custom composite prostheses utilizing additive manufacturing, allowing for customizability, as well the durability of professional prosthetics. The manufacturing process is completed using 3D printed molds in a multi-stage molding system, which creates a custom finger or palm with a lightweight epoxy foam core, a durable composite outer shell, and soft urethane gripping surfaces. The composite material was compared to 3D printed and aluminum materials using a three-point bending test to compare stiffness, as well as gravimetric measurements to compare weight. The composite finger demonstrates the largest stiffness with the lowest weight compared to other tested fingers, as well as having customizability and lower cost, proving to potentially be a substantial benefit to the development of upper-limb prostheses. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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