About Printhesis

When Lianne Scheepers lost her arm due to bone cancer, normal tasks became difficult for her. Her favorite activity was to create jewelry using metal wire and beads. She was prescribed an expensive prosthesis that cost about 8000 Euros and took 6 months to make because the production process is so labor intensive. This prosthesis, with a fiberglass socket and titanium parts, attached to her body with large bands around her shoulders. In the end she never used her prosthesis, because it seemed too heavy and uncomfortable. The springs in the hook made it difficult to estimate the amount of force being transferred to objects. Because she had had to wait so long for her prosthesis, she was already accustomed to her self-image without her arm. The arm shape and rubber hand provided by the prosthesis seemed unnecessary. She actually preferred to use a pair of small doctors’ pliers to assemble her jewelry pieces.

This sparked the idea of a minimal and functional prosthesis. Using 3D printing to create small models, we decided the socket was not necessary and it made more sense to create a tool instead of a limb. This made the design much lighter. We tested sizes and functionality with full-scale 3D-printed prototypes. The result was a 300 Euro 3D-printable prosthesis that is comfortable enough to work with for long periods of time. Because the design is one-size-fits-all, it is easy and fast to create a custom Printhesis for any desired function. The modular nature of the tool makes it easy to adjust the length and angles of the pliers or replace a worn out part.