scholarly journals Design, Construction and Tests of a Low-Cost Myoelectric Thumb

Technologies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 63
Author(s):  
Murat Ayvali ◽  
Inge Wickenkamp ◽  
Andrea Ehrmann

Myoelectric signals can be used to control prostheses or exoskeletons as well as robots, i.e., devices assisting the user or replacing a missing part of the body. A typical application of myoelectric prostheses is the human hand. Here, the development of a low-cost myoelectric thumb is described, which can either be used as an additional finger or as prosthesis. Combining 3D printing with inexpensive sensors, electrodes, and electronics, the recent project offers the possibility to produce an individualized myoelectric thumb at significantly lower costs than commercial myoelectric prostheses. Alternatively, a second thumb may be supportive for people with special manual tasks. These possibilities are discussed together with disadvantages of a second thumb and drawbacks of the low-cost solution in terms of mechanical properties and wearing comfort. The study shows that a low-cost customized myoelectric thumb can be produced in this way, but further research on controlling the thumb as well as improving motorization are necessarily to make it fully usable for daily tasks.

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 331-338
Author(s):  
Jemssy Ronald Rohi ◽  
Priyo Tri Iswanto ◽  
Tjipto Sujitno ◽  
Erich Umbu Kondi

AISI 316L is widely used for implantation in orthopedic surgery due to its good corrosion resistance, mechanical properties and low cost. However, AISI 316L is not well suited for biocompatibility with the body, so implant material with AISI 316L can’t be used for a long time. One way to improve the corrosion resistance and mechanical properties of AISI 316L is to perform a surface treatment such as sputtering. This study discusses the effect of deposition sputtering TiN of 60, 90, 120 and 150 minutes on roughness and surface hardness at a ratio of argon gas and nitrogen to 80% Ar:20% N2. The results of the surface roughness value of the TiN sputtering layer deposited to AISI 316L for 60, 90, 120, and 150 minutes were 0.02 μm, 0.04 μm, 0.06 μm, and 0.04 μm respectively. This shows that the coating time of TiN in AISI 316L has no significant influence on value of surface roughness. Surface hardness results at 60, 90, 120, and 150 minutes were obtained with 268 HVN, 275 HVN, 278 HVN and 282 HVN. Increased hardness value, as the TiN thin layer has a higher hardness value compared to AISI 316L. The longer the deposition time, the more layers are formed and the layer becomes thicker. With the thickness of the layer, the density at the grain boundary increases. Because the higher density leads to grain growth, in which form micropores.


2020 ◽  
pp. 089270572097062
Author(s):  
Sudhir Kumar ◽  
Rupinder Singh ◽  
TP Singh ◽  
Ajay Batish

Fused filament fabrication (FFF) is one of the low cost additive manufacturing (AM) techniques capable of printing complex design (both with commercial and non-commercial feedstock filaments by using different processing parameters). In this paper a comprehensive review has been prepared on FFF operating capabilities from thermoplastics material’s view point. Various thermoplastic materials and composites available commercially and prepared at laboratory scale have been categorized based upon the reported studies performed (for thermal stability, mechanical properties etc.). It was observed that the nano composite based feed stock filament (prepared at lab scale) have edge over the micro-composites from thermo-mechanical properties view point. Further it has been noticed that the 3D printing is in changing phase and moving towards 4D printing of smart composites and designs. But hitherto little has been reported on printing of smart material with FFF platform. Further studies may be focused on printing of smart materials (both micro and nano composites) with FFF, as the low cost 3D printing solution in different engineering applications.


Materials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (16) ◽  
pp. 3463
Author(s):  
Xin Wang ◽  
Xiaoyong Tian ◽  
Lixian Yin ◽  
Dichen Li

A novel 3D printing route to fabricate continuous fiber reinforced metal matrix composite (CFRMMC) is proposed in this paper. It is distinguished from the 3D printing process of polymer matrix composite that utilizes the pressure inside the nozzle to combine the matrix with the fiber. This process combines the metallic matrix with the continuous fiber by utilizing the wetting and wicking performances of raw materials to form the compact internal structures and proper fiber-matrix interfaces. CF/Pb50Sn50 composites were printed with the Pb50Sn50 alloy wire and modified continuous carbon fiber. The mechanical properties of the composite specimens were studied, and the ultimate tensile strength reached 236.7 MPa, which was 7.1 times that of Pb50Sn50 alloy. The fracture and interfacial microstructure were investigated and analyzed. The relationships between mechanical properties and interfacial reactions were discussed. With the optimized process parameters, several composites parts were printed to demonstrate the advantages of low cost, short fabrication period and flexibility in fabrication of complex structures.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 4148
Author(s):  
Rodrigo Cézar da Silveira Romero ◽  
André Argueso Machado ◽  
Kliftom Amorim Costa ◽  
Paulo Henrique Rodriguês Guilherme Reis ◽  
Pedro Paiva Brito ◽  
...  

This work aims to develop a low-cost human hand prosthesis manufactured through additive manufacturing. The methodology used for the development of the prosthesis used affordable and low-cost materials in the market. Tensile testing was performed to estimate the mechanical properties in order to verify the resistance of the printing material used. Afterwards, the mechanical feasibility study executed on the device was performed using finite element method. In conclusion, we can observe fundamental factors that influence the 3D printing process, especially in relation to its printing parameters and mechanical properties. Maximum stress, yield stress, modulus of elasticity, elongation, and hardness are the prominent properties that should be considered when choosing the polymeric material. The numerical simulation showed that the structure of the prosthesis did not present plastic deformations to the applied loads, proving its mechanical viability.


Fourth Industrial Revolution gave birth to few different technologies, not known until now. One of them is 3D printing. If subtracting manufacturing is part of Industrial Revolution 3, Additive manufacturing is for sure part of Industrial Revolution 4.0. 3D printing has the potential to transform science and technology by creating bespoke, low-cost appliances that previously required dedicated facilities to make. 3D printers are used to initiate chemical reactions by printing the reagents directly into a 3D reactionware matrix, and so put reactionware design, construction and operation under digital control. Some models of 3D Printers can print uniquely shaped sugar confections in flavors such as chocolate, vanilla, mint, cherry, sour apple and watermelon. They can also print custom cake toppers–presumably in the likeness of the guest of honor.


Author(s):  
Mario Covarrubias ◽  
Monica Bordegoni ◽  
Umberto Cugini ◽  
Elia Gatti ◽  
Alessandro Mansutti

The paper presents the design, construction, validation and testing of a Haptic Guidance Device whose aim is to provide dynamic assistance while performing manual activities such as drawing, hatching and cutting. A commercial phantom haptic device was modified by adding a pantograph mechanism in order to increase the haptic working area. The force feedback workspace provided by the phantom device is quite limited, 160 W × 120 H mm. This workspace sometimes is not enough to reproduce manual tasks in a large-scale area as is often required in several educational activities (e.g. sketching, hatching and cutting tasks). In this paper is evaluated a low cost solution for increasing the haptic working area provided by the phantom device. The pantograph mechanism has been linked with the haptic device in order to increase the working area in a 2:1 scale. The users hand moves a pen linked to the device through 2D predefined shapes in which the pens position have been tracked in 2D coordinates at 25 kHz in order to record all the data for the posterior analysis. The haptic guidance device is also equipped with a cutting system using hot wire for physically producing the drawn shape as a piece of polystyrene foam. The haptic guidance device has been tested by people with specific disorders affecting coordination such as Down syndrome and mental retardation under the supervision of their teachers and care assistants. The results of the study prove that higher performance levels can be achieved while performing manual tasks as sketching, hatching and cutting operation using the haptic guidance device.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noha Hamada Mohamed ◽  
Hossam Kandil ◽  
Iman Ismail Dakhli

Abstract In dentistry, 3D printing already has diverse applicability, and holds a great deal of promise to make possible many new and exciting treatments and approaches to manufacturing dental restorations. Better availability, shorter processing time, and descending costs have resulted in the increased use of RP. Concomitantly the development of medical applications is expanding. (Zaharia et al., 2017)Many different printing technologies exist, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. Unfortunately, a common feature of the more functional and productive equipment is the high cost of the equipment, the materials, maintenance, and repair, often accompanied by a need for messy cleaning, difficult post-processing, and sometimes onerous health and safety concerns (Dawood et al., 2015)Low-cost 3D printers represent a great opportunity in the dental and medical field, as they could allow surgeons to use 3D models at a very low cost and, therefore, democratize the use of these 3D models in various indications. However, efforts should be made to establish a unified validation protocol for low-cost RP 3D printed models, including accuracy, reproducibility, and repeatability tests. Asaumi et al., suggested that dimensional changes may not affect the success of surgical applications if such changes are within a 2% variation .However, the proposed cut-off of 2% should be furthermore discussed, as the same accuracy may be not required for all types of indications. (Silva et al., 2008; Maschio et al., 2016)This aim of the present study is to evaluate the dimensional accuracy of the 3D printed mandibular models fabricated by two different additive manufacturing techniques, using highly precise one as selective laser sintering (SLS) and a low-cost one as fused filament fabrication and whether they are both comparable in terms of precision. In addition to evaluation of dimensional accuracy of linear measurements of the mandible in CBCT scans.7 mandibular models will be recruited. Radio-opaque markers of gutta-percha balls will be applied on the model to act as guide pointsTen linear measurements (5 long distances: Inter-condylar, inter-coronoidal, inter-mandibular notch, length of left ramus, length of right ramus; as well as 5 short distances: Length of the body of the mandible at midline, length of the body of the mandible in the area of last left molar, as well as that of the last right molar, the distance between the tip of right condyle to the tip of the right coronoid, as well as that of their left counterparts) will be obtained using digital calliper, to act as the reference standard later. Scanning of the model by CBCT will be next , 3D printing of the scanned image using SLS and FFF printers will be done. Recording of same linear measurment will be done on printed models. Comparison of the recorded values vs reference standard is the last step


2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 301-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harish Kumar Banga ◽  
Rajendra M. Belokar ◽  
Parveen Kalra ◽  
Rajesh Kumar

Purpose Ankle–foot orthoses (AFOs) are assistive devices prescribed for a number of physical and neurological disorders affecting the mobility of the lower limbs. Additive manufacturing has been explored as an alternative process; however, it has proved to be inefficient cost-wise. This work aims to explore the possibilities of generating modular AFO elements, namely, calf, shank and footplate, with the localized composite reinforcement that aids in the optimization of the device in terms of functionality, aesthetics, rigidity and cost. Design/methodology/approach The conventional lower leg–foot orthosis configuration depends on thermoforming a polymer sheet around a mortar cast with a trademark firmness relying upon the trim-line with the inalienable plan restrictions. In manufacturing of AFO the expert, i.e. orthotist's, guidance is used. Polypropylene and polyethylene material is used in fabrication of AFO to complete all-round reported points of interest over the ordinary outlines, yet their mechanical conduct under administration conditions cannot be effectively anticipated. Findings AFOs made of polypropylene and polyethylene material are available in the market, which are used by children of age 3-5 years. With the existing AFO design, patients are facing excessive heating and sweating problems during long-term usage. After feedback from patients and orthotists (who prescribed AFO to patients), an attempt has been made to solve the problem with a new and improved AFO design of AFO by using finite element modelling and stress analysis. Also, the results indicate that the new design is similar to the actual product design. Originality/value This work introduces the low-cost 3D printing with reinforcement approach as an alternative route for the designing and manufacturing of orthotic devices with complex shapes. It is expected that new applications add-up to increase the body of knowledge about the behaviour of such products which will mix both areas, composite theory and additive manufacturing. This study investigated the fields related to 3D scanning, 3D printing and computer-aided designing for the manufacturing of a customized AFO.


Author(s):  
M. A. Ayoub ◽  
M. M. Ayoub ◽  
J. D. Ramsey

Although several photogrammetric systems are commercially available, their cost limits the application of photogrammetric human factors studies. This paper describes a relatively low cost system developed at Texas Tech University to be used in connection with biomechanics and human performance studies. A detailed description of the basic theoretical and laboratory investigations of the various parameters which influence the design, construction, and use of the system is presented. The adequacy and accuracy of the system were measured by conducting two verification tests under static and dynamic orientations. Typical acceleration and velocity curves for human hand motion, obtained by the system, are presented.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (22) ◽  
pp. 7008
Author(s):  
Marta Sieradzka ◽  
Janusz Fabia ◽  
Dorota Biniaś ◽  
Tadeusz Graczyk ◽  
Ryszard Fryczkowski

Graphene and its derivatives, such as graphene oxide (GO) or reduced graphene oxide (rGO), due to their properties, have been enjoying great interest for over two decades, particularly in the context of additive manufacturing (AM) applications in recent years. High-impact polystyrene (HIPS) is a polymer used in 3D printing technology due to its high dimensional stability, low cost, and ease of processing. However, the ongoing development of AM creates the need to produce modern feedstock materials with better properties and functionality. This can be achieved by introducing reduced graphene oxide into the polymer matrix. In this study, printable composite filaments were prepared and characterized in terms of morphology and thermal and mechanical properties. Among the obtained HIPS/rGO composites, the filament containing 0.5 wt% of reduced graphene oxide had the best mechanical properties. Its tensile strength increased from 19.84 to 22.45 MPa, for pure HIPS and HIPS-0.5, respectively. Furthermore, when using the HIPS-0.5 filament in the printing process, no clogging of the nozzle was observed, which may indicate good dispersion of the rGO in the polymer matrix.


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