3D printed arm brace to ride bikes

Tom was always thinking about solutions to help his overcome his problems. He co founded NotBroken, a platform with advice and stories for people who live with disabilities.

“I remember being in the hospital thinking of ways to make a mechanical system to assist my riding”, he explained.

Tom has degree in Wearable Technology and a job at Mojo, a company that develops technology for sports practice. “Chris Porter (Mojo Director) and I were chatting one day back at the Mojo HQ and I mentioned my ideas. This was the first stage of creating the Mojo arm brace, a carbon fibre sleeve assisted with a custom Fox damper,” he described.

With her help, Tom designed a carbon shoulder and wrist support that featured a multitude of titanium parts and a custom Fox damper that would secure his arm to the handlebars and keep on riding. But it was very expensive and unpractical, as it was locked in place.

That’s when Poppy Farrugia, a student and product designer, stepped in. They teamed up through PDR. Poppy helped him design a more practical alternative – Using 3D printing technology. As she explained, the design they came up with together was fully intended to encourage recovery speed, while also enabling bilateral arm use.

“I have a 3-D printer and Tom has a 3-D printer so I can send him designs and he can test them the really quickly,” Poppy observed.
“The brace is always progressing and is nearly at a stage where we can think about a time where we can produce them for others,” Tom stated.

More info: http://www.notbroken.co.uk/

Adapted from: http://bit.ly/2nZrUNA

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwWgp4dkbxo