Riley Smith

          The intent of the project is to design of a robotic prosthetic hand that provides an alternative for amputees. The particular aspect to focus on is the structure of the hand that will be 3D printed out of ABS and PLA. The design is intended to have articulation in the fingers, thumb, and wrist.

          Technical merits involved in this project include the designing in Solidworks of the structure, as well as the calculations to enforce that said structure can support a load on its components without failure. Some merit will also be involved in finding the capable grip strength of the each finger and the whole hand as it functions.

          One aspect of the project that needs to be proven through testing is the strength of the structure itself. Testing maximum stress on the structure before failure is an expectation for actual application.

          A potential optimization within the project is how refined the motion of the hand can become. It may begin as a very rough and jerky motion, but through different iterations of design the motion can be refined into something more natural and precise.

          An evident challenge associated with this project is how to maintain structural strength of the design while also minimizing the material volume used in each iteration as well as in the final design.

          Help would be greatly appreciated in sourcing filament for the 3D printers so that prototyping of the design can be done without having a large impact on the overall cost of the project.