Pop Can Opener | Designed for People with Prosthetics or Severe Arthritis

thingiverse

Description This is a pop can opener… more specifically though it’s an incredibly simple, easy to print, and inexpensive lever extension for opening up pop cans with ease. simply slip the lever into place on the tab of a pop can and pull the lever back. Voilà the pop can is open with barely any force required! This project started out as a gift for my mother and was a complete success. It has a long way to go, though. While this pop can opener works great and doesn't need a whole lot more tweaking, it's only the beginning. I want this design to inspire new similar designs with a focus on simplicity, inexpensiveness, and ease of use. There's no moving parts, no unnecessary fanciness (although early versions of the design had both of these), it's a simple solution that just works. I plan on continuing to come up with similar designs and I hope everyone who sees this can be inspired to pursue a similar line of thought when coming up with tools for those with arthritis/prosthetics. Video Print Settings Rafts: Yes Supports: Yes Resolution: As high as you can manage Infill: The arm needs to be strong so use a high infill. Notes: When printing this design, it's important to consider how FDM printing works and how the layers affect the strength of the part. The can opener's arm has to go through a decent amount of strain when it's being used so the print layers need to be oriented to maximize its strength. if you print the part vertically you'll get stacked layers on the arm that won't be able to withstand the sheer forces for very long. It's much better to print horizontally so the layers are parallel with the length/direction of the arm. How I Designed This As I mentioned above, this pop can opener was originally designed as a gift idea for my mother. My mom has Lymes disease which causes her to have a substantial amount of arthritis like pain in her hands. I wanted to design and print her something that would help her regain a little bit of independence, even if that independence is as simple as being able to open a pop can without help from others. Needless to say, she was very excited to receive the gift. It was shortly after that, that I realized the pop can opener had an even bigger potential as a tool for individuals with prosthetics. It's about getting your freedom back. Doing so doesn't have to be complicated, and it definitely shouldn’t have to be expensive. That’s the line of thought that I'm trying to inspire in myself and others with this design. Yes it's "just" a pop can opener, it's not necessarily going to revolutionize much. However maintaining/inspiring this perspective of efficient, inexpensive, simple solutions for those who deserve independence in their everyday lives… that could make a big difference.