Grade 11 students Marco Sam, Hou Un Loi and Daniel Yan have been working on a futuristic project in the Robotics Lab under the guidance of Mr. Todd Voykin. 

During a Maker Faire in Hong Kong, Mr Voykin discovered a project by an organization called “e-Nnable” which is a community made up of individuals from all over the world who create free 3D printed hands, arms and fingers for those who were either born without or lost upper limbs due to war, disease or natural disasters.

A casual conversation between the students and Mr Voykin about a little boy in Cambodia who was born without a hand has led to an after-school project where the three grade 11 students are working together to create a 3D prosthetic hand.  It all began when Mr Voykin talked about the project and expressed how great it would be if the students would take it on.  Marco, Hou Un and Daniel took up the challenge this year and found all of the information and blue prints on the “e-Nable” website.  They have already produced their first prototype, printing each section of the hand piece by piece and then connecting it into a working mechanical hand with wires and elastics.  Although their first attempt produced a working hand, the finishes were quite rough. 

Since then, the Robotics Lab has acquired a new 3D printer and the students are printing their second prototype, which is already 75% complete.  The students have been very excited with the results of the new printer, which is faster, more efficient and produces a much smoother finish and more realistic detailing.

Their next step in the project is to reach out to local or regional organizations, to find an actual recipient of their 3D printed hand.

Marco, Hou Un and Daniel hope to pursue Architecture/3D Design, IT Engineering and Biomedical Engineering respectively.  They believe and hope their 3D printed hand project will continue and be taken on by other TIS students, even after they have graduated.