Can someone make me a bionic arm?

Sorry to hear of your struggle but is good you are getting it sorted soon.

However, I think you very seriously underestimate the significance of the task you are asking. This is not something that could be reasonably done by someone as a nixer over a few weekends. And the cost of custom making something like this would be quite significant. This stuff costs major money because of all the R&D and certification that goes along with it. There is also the issue of liability for whoever makes it for you. If, for whatever reason, you ended up getting hurt somehow through the use of whatever they make you, whatever engineer did it would be liable unless they had the item certified and had all the insurances etc.

Basically, you would be asking someone to put their professional reputation at stake for the sake of a nixer. Medical devices and prosthetics are not a nixer type activity.

Plus, anyone who works in that industry is probably very well paid. They don't need to do side nixers on showstring budgets.

You are in the care of your medical team. Follow their advice.

I don't think you need an arm for a start point.

As said above, surely, a sensor similar to the official one in terms of sensitivity would be needed and then just something simple to confirm activation.

The suggestion of a light above might not be ideal in terms of automatic brain training re looking at something that you want to control but I'd imagine sensor connected to a simple scissor type device would be ideal. The device wouldn't need to be strong enough to lift or grip anything, just some basic plastic hinged object to help muscle control while also brain training the open and close.

Fair enough.

But on the practical side, I don't understand why it needs to be 3D printed. Why is that? If it is just a training device and not intented to be of any practical use to hold or manipulate things then what is the point of complicating it by printing compotents.

Wouldn't a very simple actuator device, with some sort of binary indicator flag attached, or even 2 leds mounted on a hold be sufficient to indicate the notional "open" and "closed" positions in response to the signal from the muscle. Any a sensor(s) could be attached to the skin with a velcro strap around the limb. The indicator actuator or even the leds and any supporting circuitry and battery could be mounted in a compact desktop case, linked to the sensor velco srtap with a cable. Or even, then whole arrangement could be made compact enough to be attached to velcro strap with the sensors and entirely worn on the arm .

For an simple indicator training device rather than a functional device, 3D printing seems to be over complicating things adding unecessary cost and time input. Are we talking 3D printing simply because it is a buzzword and seems to fit with the whole direction prosthetics manufacturing is going, (which it is)?

Number one rule of engineering is identify the desired fuction and purpose, and then find the simplest and most straightforward method of achiving the desired purpose. KISS. Keep it simple stupid.

Its a great idea.

Do consider the above again - the muscle sensor will show the level of the muscle - you can do without the led shield - but you will need an arduino (10 euros from adverts.ie and a laptop) and spare skin stickie pads.

eg. see this on youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wlx8JndAgs

the 3d printing would take longer to manufacture(takes days to print large items) and maybe multiple versions required to get a fit; its not just printing but there are motors, moving parts and fastners etc to deal with -

so if you can get just the training lights/graph above working you can add the mechanics as a second part of the project after you have proven you can get the sensors to work. The graph may even be enough.

you will need to be sure you are training the correct muscles, and what levels they need to be - but Im sure you know that part.

Best of luck.

It's a completely reasonable scenario to expect, I don't see what's ridiculous in the slightest.

There's a very good reason why prosthetic limbs cost what they do, and it's not all just profiteering by their manufacturers. I think it's borderline disingenuous, and giving false hope to the OP by boiling an incredibly complicated project down to "a small bit of soldering".

Even the most basic of sensors and indicator light contraptions need to be guided by medical advice, so as not to risk prolonging the OP's recovery. I might sound negative, but I have enough experience of people thinking they can hack together solutions to problems which have real consequences to both businesses and people.

As I said "you don't know what you don't know", and I squarely include myself in that. There is potential to make the OP's situation worse rather than better.

@Finnrocco

1st off sorry to read about your injury, but very inspired to see how you are approaching it.

I have a Wanhao D9 MK2 with a 400mm³ build volume. I'd be happy to place it at your disposal to print off any G-code or .STL you come up with?

Have a range of filament available too. There is no charge whatsoever, for time or materials. If I can help you out just drop me a PM.

I cant help with design, for 2 reasons. I'm crap at it 😉 and time is a pressure for me.

If you are in the Limerick area? I'd be happy to meet up and even have you over to manage your prints yourself.

If I can help? Drop me a PM and let's get to it.

If you are a professional engineer then you are on very thin ice if anything goes wrong. Check yourself before you wreck your career mate.

Your offer, while well intentioned, is I'll advised to say the least. To be blunt, you are wholly unqualified to be offering a medical device to a stranger on the internet.

Are you prepared to assume full liability if the 3D printed arm , which you haven't designed, breaks while the OP is holding a cup of coffee next to a toddler?

Are you prepared to compensate the OP if the 3D printed arm, which you haven't designed, causes excessive pressure on a nerve and slows their recovery?

In my experience, the least experienced engineers tend to let their own ego get the better of them and believe that they can solve all of the worlds problems. The issue is that they don't even know what they don't know about a particular subject. The mode experienced engineers know when to stop and are brave enough to hand over to a professional in that specific area.

You can't just hack together a half solution to a serious medical problem.

You're offering a tool to build a medical device. Like it or not, it's your responsibility to ensure that it has the capability to build to a the required specification (which we don't have).

I'm genuinely not trying to be a smart arse here. If you were to offer your printer to build a medical device, you are leaving yourself open to the consequences if it goes wrong.

Well to be fair, if a medical device professional did a nixer in producing a professional medical device that was defective, it is reasonable to hold them liable and they would be.

This is a different scenario.

I suggest getting in contact with your nearest university and ask them if a final year/masters engineering student would be interested in creating a bionic arm for the purposes of training as part of their final year project. This would be a great project for any engineering student.