The Hands On Prosthetic Engineering (HOPE) club at 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒, which 3D-prints free prosthetics for members of the community in need, is working on two projects virtually this semester.
According to , families traditionally have to pay $5,000 to $50,000 for a prosthetic, not to mention the additional time it takes for hospitals to mold and adjust the technology. HOPE offers help by utilizing the cheaper, yet still effective, method of 3D-printing.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just a great way to give back while doing something important,鈥� Jenna Pehowski, HOPE's vice president and a fourth-year computer science student, said. 鈥淲e actually 3D-print all the parts that we make ... Each individual finger and joint is individually printed, and then we put it together.鈥�
HOPE is a non-profit organization co-founded by Abby Herschman and Andrew Super in 2016. As of now, the organization is both a non-profit umbrella organization and a student-run club at 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒. Herschman said they use what they can to make people's lives better.
鈥淚t鈥檚 how I like to approach engineering and how HOPE started,鈥� Herschman, CEO of HOPE, said.
The club at 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒 has full team meetings, project-specific meetings and 3D-printing clinics to educate members on the science behind the service the club provides.
鈥淚t also helps that it's something outside of school,鈥� Akash Bojappa, HOPE's project lead, said. 鈥淲e are helping people instead of just working on something for a grade, if that makes sense. It gives you a different motivation than just your GPA.鈥�
In an average semester, the organization makes two to three fully functional prosthetics.
Making these prosthetics involves reaching out to people and getting measurements to ensure a good fit. After this, Pehowski said, the design team builds and adjusts prototypes.
This semester, though, that experience is looking a lot different. Like many clubs across campus, HOPE鈥檚 meetings are solely virtual.
鈥淭he big negative that comes with [being virtual] is that we can鈥檛 collaborate in person, and that鈥檚 a big part of the iterative design process, is just working together and bouncing ideas off each other in-person but holding a prototype in your hand,鈥� Bojappa, a fourth-year mechanical engineering student, said.
Though not being able to physically hold and test prototypes poses a challenge for HOPE, the club quickly adjusted to the conditions. The club is focusing more on teaching members the 3D-printing process, including design, printing and file conversion, Bojappa said.
By using this semester to hone in on the design aspect of the project, Bojappa said HOPE will be able to hit the ground running with printing and testing next semester.
HOPE is working on the designs for two projects this semester, one for a local man named Mark and another for a local teenager named Aidan.
鈥淲hat we're going to do [for Mark] is just take a hand from online, and we're going to have to physically modify it by cutting out a piece 'cause he still has his thumb,鈥� Bojappa said. 鈥淸Aidan's] project is so unique that we're completely starting from scratch, and we鈥檙e printing things that you can鈥檛 find online. It's a lot more of a creative process."
As of right now, HOPE at 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒 is the only branch of the non-profit organization. Herschman, however, has big goals for the future.
鈥淗aving HOPE student organizations across the country, at different universities, and having, you know, people help out from all over. So, that鈥檚 one of the main goals that we see," Herschman said. "Little pockets of 'HOPE' being able to help out all around."