Wrist brace

thingiverse

PLA wrist brace, printed flat in open shape, next bended on the wrist of the patient after heating in hot water. EDIT: thanks to all for comments, we're really happy of the success of this thing and we hope it could be useful to someone. We are not doctors (just designers) so we recommend to test any design with your physiotherapist, and to adapt the design to your needs and your size. The idea of forming PLA in hot water came from Andreas Bastian (http://www.thingiverse.com/AndreasBastian/overview), we just saw his wonderful blog and tought it could be applied to any medical prosthesis, so we made some tests on wrist braces.http://www.andreasbastian.com/blog/e-nable-3d-printed-prostheticsassistive-devices/ You sould also read is more recent instructables, contains a lot of useful information about the forming in hot water.http://www.instructables.com/id/Thermoforming-3D-Printed-PLA-for-Use-in-Prostethic/ We hope this thing can start a small movement of interested peoples sharing their design, to make this thing work for the best. There is no better designer that the one who really need something :) Instructions Take a paper pattern modelled on the wrist of the patient. After measuring, draw the shape on the software you like and design a solid form. Print it flat, in PLA (for it's low glas temperature), and with solid infill (100% fill in Cura). Dip the 3D-printed component in hot water, just under boiling temperature. Take the piece out the water with tweezers (the print is still hot), shake it and wait a couple of seconds to drain all residuate of hot water and put directly on the wrist of the person to shape the part (you can also use a piece of fabric to protect the wrist from hot droplets). Use your hand to form the support, and let it cool down to freeze the shape. Repeat the procedure (dipping just the part to modify) until the form is correctly modelled. Disclaimer +Lab remember that all the objects are to be considered prototypes. They must be used with attention and in safety condition, avoiding any improper use.+Lab declines any responsibility for any damage caused during the assembly or use of the objects.