3D Printed Prosthetic Thumb

Our Client Justin lost his thumb in a water sports accident. In this video we discuss the prosthetic we made for him designed by ProstheticDesignLab.

After proving out the design with a home FDM printer, he came to us to have one professionally built with high strength Nylon and flexible TPU. We Used PA12S enabled by Arkema printed on our HP MJF 5200 with a dyed and vapour smoothed finish, the TPU was Formlabs TPU 90A printed on a Sinterit LISA X. Justin was able to repurpose his apple watch straps to also hold the prostetic.

Quoute from Justin

"I lost my thumb when my thumb was caught in the bite of a rope Foil Wake Surfing.

Over the next year of healing I was in the process of trying to qualify for a prosthetic.

I was denied a prosthetic from both of my insurance companies because I did not suffer enough loss of my thumb or any additional fingers.

I begrudgingly accepted the decisions after lengthy appeals and had a surgery on my thumb to help relieve some of the pain. 

I chose not to pay over $30,000 for a thumb prosthetic and got on with my life, adapted quickly and put it all behind me the best I could so I could move on.

Just this year I got my 77 year old Father into VR Golf and gaming and started gaming the best I could but it was difficult to shoot Zombies and reload so I went looking for a solution.

I found a 3D thumb prosthetic print file on Etsy for $30 very similar to the prosthetic that I had hoped for.

I knew that hobby printers would be ok to start but was wanting a more refined print.  I found Tempus 3D online locally so I reached out and they brought the 3D thumb prosthetic to life.

Jordan at Tempus 3D did a a fantastic job working with me to get the best materials to print the different parts for functionality and Comfort.

I am proud to say that many Zombies have died since the making of my thumb and it amazes me still that we were able to take something from a web page online and replicate it in real life in front of me.

What an amazing time to enjoy life!!

Thank you Tempus 3D for helping improve my quality of life!!

Justin"

Transcript

"Our Client Justin lost his thumb in a water sports accident. Unfortunately he was denied Insurance by both of his providers for not losing enough of his thumb. at the time, the cost of a prosthetic thumb was around $30 000, he decided not to pursue a prosthetic and adapted to life without his thumb.

When his father got into video gaming, Justin found that he couldn't properly use the joysticks and thumb buttons.

After some online searching, he found a 3d printable file on Etsy by ProstheticDesignLab

After proving out the design with a home FDM printer, he came to us to have one professionally built with high strength Nylon and flexible TPU

The mobility of the prosthetic was very noticeably improved. allowing Justin to comfortably play video games again and spend quality time with his father.

We love to see our parts improve people lives, that's why we work with multiple prosthetics and orthotic manufacturers across Canada, speeding up production and reducing waste compared to traditional manufacturing.

for more stories like these, like, subscribe, and check us out at tempus3d.com"

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Tempus 3D is an HP Certified 3D Printing service bureau located in British Columbia, Canada. Tempus offers 3D printing services using HP MJF technology, Sinterit SLS technology, and Formlabs 3D printing technology to offer Nylon PA 12S, TPU, and a wide variety of resins including clear resin in house. Tempus serves clients across Canada and the US, and has next day shipping to most locations in Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest including Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Kelowna, Victoria, Spokane, Seattle, and Portland.