Carpenter who cut off his fingers makes ‘Robohand’ with 3-D printer

Meera Senthilingam, for CNN
Updated 6:20 AM EST, Mon January 5, 2015
Robohand produces 3-D printed mechanical fingers, hands and arms.<br />The first Robohand ever created was made for five-year-old Liam, who was born with a condition that left him with no fingers on his right hand.
Robohand —
Robohand produces 3-D printed mechanical fingers, hands and arms.
The first Robohand ever created was made for five-year-old Liam, who was born with a condition that left him with no fingers on his right hand.
Courtesy Makerbot
The company was started by Richard van As, who lost four fingers in a carpentry accident. His quest to replace his fingers led him to develop 3-D printed prosthetics.
Robohand —
The company was started by Richard van As, who lost four fingers in a carpentry accident. His quest to replace his fingers led him to develop 3-D printed prosthetics.
courtesy robohand
Its designs are open source, meaning anyone with access to 3-D printers can print out the parts and assemble them.
Robohand —
Its designs are open source, meaning anyone with access to 3-D printers can print out the parts and assemble them.
courtesy robohand
Dylan Laas shaking hands with his father Mark for the first time. Like Liam, Dylan was born with amniotic band syndrome, leaving him with no fingers on his right hand.
Robohand —
Dylan Laas shaking hands with his father Mark for the first time. Like Liam, Dylan was born with amniotic band syndrome, leaving him with no fingers on his right hand.
courtesy robohand
The prosthetics are anatomically driven -- meaning their movements are controlled by the user -- and are much cheaper than conventional devices.
Robohand —
The prosthetics are anatomically driven -- meaning their movements are controlled by the user -- and are much cheaper than conventional devices.
courtesy robohand
Body parts such as knuckles and joints are printed from the the thermoplastic material Polylactide (PLA), and are combined with stainless steel and aluminum to produce a personalized prosthetic.
Robohand —
Body parts such as knuckles and joints are printed from the the thermoplastic material Polylactide (PLA), and are combined with stainless steel and aluminum to produce a personalized prosthetic.
courtesy robohand
Van As gave American Mick Ebeling a crash course in 3-D printing, so that Ebeling could set up a project in South Sudan to provide amputees with printed prosthetic limbs.
Project Daniel —
Van As gave American Mick Ebeling a crash course in 3-D printing, so that Ebeling could set up a project in South Sudan to provide amputees with printed prosthetic limbs.
courtesy Not Impossible Labs
The mechanical finger created by van As and American Ivan Owen for van As to use after his carpentry accident.
Robofinger —
The mechanical finger created by van As and American Ivan Owen for van As to use after his carpentry accident.
courtesy robohand
Carpenter who cut off his fingers makes 'Robohand' on 3-D printer

Vital Signs is a monthly program bringing viewers health stories from around the world.

Story highlights

Robohand makes cheap artificial hands and arms using 3-D printers

Founder Richard van As lost four fingers in a carpentry accident

Robohand's designs are open source so others can download and print them

Gauteng, South Africa CNN  — 

“I was in a position to see exactly what happens in the human hand. I got the basics of what it’s all about and thought yeah, I’ll make my own.”

Richard van As is recalling the moment in May 2011 when he sat in a Johannesburg hospital waiting to hear if his fingers could be stitched back on. Just an hour earlier, he had been in his carpentry workshop sawing wood when the saw slipped and ripped diagonally through the four fingers on his right hand. “It all happened too quickly to know what actually happened,” he remembers.

Rather than fear the outcome, or dwell on the repercussions of losing his fingers, he was already thinking of ways to fix the problem, like a true carpenter.

After days of scouring the Internet he couldn’t find anywhere to buy a functional prosthetic finger and he was astonished at the cost of prosthetic hands and limbs which began in the tens of thousands of dollars. But his online surfing paid off as it brought him to an amateur video posted by a mechanical effects artist in Washington State, by the name of Ivan Owen.

Together, the pair developed a mechanical finger for van As, but their partnership has also gone on to benefit countless hand and arm amputees around the globe, through the birth of the company “Robohand.”

Officially launched in January 2012, Robohand creates affordable mechanical prosthetics through the use of 3D printers. Not only that, but it has made its designs open source, so that anyone with access to such printers can print out fingers, hands and now arms as well.

Printing prosthetics

Using the process of additive manufacture, the specialized printers use the thermoplastic material Polylactide (PLA) to print body parts such as knuckles and joints, which when combined with stainless steel and aluminum produce a personalized prosthetic which customers can assemble and fit themselves courtesy of a free open-source manual available to them.