Good afternoon all!
I’m not (yet) a member of DMS but am looking forward to becoming one this year sometime.
I wonder if I could befriend someone in the meantime who would be willing to 3D print a finger prosthesis for me.
I’ve been wanting to make one for myself for sometime and just found one on Thingiverse that is better than the one I had designed so far.
I have the files, just not the printer.
Hi @Jchon_Paradise!
You might consider stopping by on a Thursday evening during our weekly open house and see if anyone there at the time would be willing to print it for you. There will be some cost (for the filament at a minimum) and you will likely have to hang around for a few hours while it prints… If no-one volunteers before then and/or you can’t make it by on a Thursday, then post an update some time Friday and I can try to make arrangements to meet you there some time over the weekend and print it while you wait… Keep us posted! 
Lisa
@Jchon_Paradise ~ if you could give us a little more information about the file that you would like to have printed, that would help, too.
Is the finger for yourself? If so (and if it’s not for commercial gain), we may be able to print it for you for no charge (at least as far as the filament is concerned). It would definitely help to know which file you would like to have printed - so we know what else may be needed (hardware? etc…).
Please let us know!
Thanks for the reply Lisa!
Yes, the finger is for me - I’m missing all the index finger and half (2/3?) of the middle finger on my right hand. This is to give me use of the remaining middle finger.
I’d been designing a 3D printable finger for myself when I happened upon an awesome one along the same lines as I was thinking on Thingiverse:
The 3D finger finger consists of 5 separate files/prints - but all are small.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B57YoD7uhNdkaUZuYkhyQWthRVE/view?usp=sharing
I can’t be there tomorrow (Thursday) night as I have to work.
I certainly can pay for the filament. Beyond that, I’m sure we can work something out - especially if you’re a Dallas Stars fan.
I can, however, come by late tomorrow night (after the Stars game at AAC) if that matters. It would be on my way home, in fact…
That’s a pretty neat design!
Are the linked files modified to fit your hand already?
At the 'Space we only use ABS (so far…). If that will work, we can print the parts for no cost - as a part of a Community Outreach project (or something along those lines… I’m not sure that’s the best wording; but, yeah - we should be able to hook you up with the 3D printed parts, if the ABS will be suitable for you…).
I checked out the prosthetic on Thingiverse and noticed that the original was printed in NinjaFlex and PLA. If you need/prefer to go that route, we can put up a notice in the 3D Fab room to see if anyone who has their own 3D Printer configured for NinjaFlex and/or PLA can help you out.
What colors are you hoping to use?
Thanks!
I don’t know anything about the msterials. I’m fine with whatever the Space has!
And color doesn’t matter either… I’ll probably paint it to look all robot-like. I mean, really… if one must have a prosthetic, why not go cyborg?!
Awesome! I’ll let ya know when we get 'er done…
That’s fantastic! Thank you!
I’m so excited to see the outcome!
I am, too!
(I haven’t been able to make it out yet… 
)
I’ll be there tomorrow for the 3D Fab Meeting; and, hopefully for at least part of the class after the meeting… Then, I have some family stuff that came up, so I’ll have to leave for a few hours; but, I’ll come back tomorrow night - after doing the family thing - and work on it. 
I really appreciate you taking your time to work on this for me!!
Hiya @Jchon_Paradise!
My pleasure!
I was here last night (Saturday night through Sunday morning) and printed out a couple test runs.
I’m attaching an image with some examples of how it’s turned out so far. A few things to keep in mind:
With all that being said, here’s a pic of what has been printed so far. The final prints (after making sure we have the correct size and are able to clean the file up so it will print better) should look much better!
Oh my goodness… Thank you so much! I can’t thank you enough for taking the time for this!
Do you have any planned time to be at the Space anytime soon when I could meet up with you and take a look at what’s been printed?
Hi @Jchon_Paradise!
No problem at all! It’s nice to be able to help in ways beyond being “the person who orders the filament”
I will be at the 'Space tonight for a while. I will most likely be there every evening this week - except either tomorrow or Wednesday. Since I work until 9 PM, I pretty much never get there until after 10 PM.
The parts that I printed so far are in a baggy in the top shelf that has a door on it (opposite the orange wall).
Given I’m not a member (yet), would I have trouble getting in to see the prints?
Otherwise, I can come by during Open House on Thursday and I’ll definitely be there sometime Saturday during the Grand Opening!
I will be there tonight by 7:00 pm and would be happy to accompany you on the baggie hunt
Hi guys!
The other night - a couple nights ago, I printed the socket using the semiflex filament that I have access to. It printed nicely; but, does not have enough ‘flex’ to accommodate the base of the finger. Next on the list to try? NinjaFlex!
Here’s a pic I took the other night… The socket on the right is the newest one - printed in the semi-flexible filament. It looks nice - just doesn’t “give” quite enough…
It’s driving me crazy that I haven’t been able to make it up there yet!
I will definitely be there Saturday with my family for the Grand Opening though!
Awesome! I’ll be there most - if not all - the day! I’m looking forward to meeting you!