Support Community for Amputees

when you think about it, the human body is designed to withstand the same beating and self-repair all the time for an entire lifetime without any visible drama. It's nothing short of amazing!

Yep! Most people underestimate the amount of friction and force a body in motion can create!

As for how long the 3D-printed finger will last, it depends on what material you print it out of, Some plastics are properly tough. But yeah, I expect the distal at least will need changing regularly.

Yeah, I'm not super familiar with the new widely available filaments. We typically use a lot of polypropylene in our field, but a lot of that is because it does well with skin contact.

You can get a decent printer for less than $200 these days, and a $20 roll of filament would last you for a mightly long time if all you did was print small fingers with it. So even if the finger isn't that durable, you're not breaking the bank.

Huh, didn't know they were getting that low now a days. Any real requirements as far as processing power for your computer?

I'm not sure increasing the grip strength has much effect without some kind of grippy material on the distal. Without it, however hard you grip, the finger will be slippery.

Grip always helps, however mechanical leverage is doing the bulk of the work depending on what finger(s) we're talking about. The other sound fingers will usually provide adequate grip, but still need help with distributing weight or force. I think most digital prosthetics utilize a rubberized silicon that kinda feels like a soft tire tread.

And for the price, you can't go wrong 🙂

Especially for fingers. Unless workers comp is involved most people are paying out of pocket for the custom stuff. Apparently insurance companies don't think your fingers are very vital to your overall health.