StarMaker | A Jump Rope Prosthetic for My Dear Niece
Work designed, constructed, and printed by: Jordon Ockey (Instagram @jordonock)
3D Printer: Snapmaker 2.0 A350 in the Enclosure
STL Files: Designed on Shapr3D on the iPad
Materials for 3D Prints:
- Blue PLA (I have since switched to PLA+)
Assembly Materials:
- ¼ inch bolt 2 washers and a ¼ inch wingnut
- 2 drywall screws
Model Link:
Jump Rope Prosthetic by JordonOck
My name is Jordon Ockey, I am a Biology student at BYU preparing to apply to medical school next fall.
One of the things that I’ve noticed throughout my life is that I am the happiest when I can use my specific talents to make someone happy! I found 3D printing fascinating and quickly began to create my own models and designs in the last few months since I got my Snapmaker.
My niece was born with a portion of her arm from right above the elbow down missing. She is incredible and most things don’t even seem to faze her, she just learns to do them differently! Because of the ray of sunshine that she is and her inspiring determination I’ve become a big advocate of the Lucky Fin Project which promotes normalization of limb differences and seeks to show that those that have limb differences are beautiful. No conditions and being born different is just something that makes us more diverse, unique, and isn’t something that affects beauty or worth!
While most of the time my niece’s ingenuity allows her to function just as well as a child born without a limb difference there are occasional things that prove a bit more challenging. An example of this was jump roping. Without holding both handles of the jump rope it would prove extremely difficult to successfully jump rope. Other products on the market don’t seem to be designed with kids in mind and didn’t seem like they would work for her. She consistently talked about jump roping and my sister asked if there was something I could make for her.
I looked and didn’t see any models already out there so I decided I would need to design one. I decided to design it so it would fit the cuff of the “Unlimbited” arm already available on Thingiverse. This would make it an easier transition if she decided to switch to a full arm prosthetic at some point and the bottom pieces could even be attached to the cuff she already has. (My sister and brother-in-law are adamant about letting her pick her own pace with prosthetics, this is important because a lot of things she can do just as well without and if she’s not excited about something it is a lot more difficult to make the adjustments necessary for full functionality with that particular prosthetic.) Additionally, I designed the bottom to be able to hold different types of jump ropes if she were to change it up. This also gives some space that a knot could be tied to shorten the jump rope if needed.
After designing the file, it was time for printing. Printing went well and assembly was quick, I used the bolt and washer to make it so the angle could be adjusted if needed depending on what worked best for her. I ended up using the drywall screws to secure the cuff to the middle piece, this was because of the low infill I felt it would hold tighter as opposed to the pegs that would hold it in my original design. I tried to put some padding on there, but I didn’t have the right materials for it so my sister ended up swapping it out.
You can see the joy in her face as she jumps ropes and it cuts off at the end but she says “Mom I’m jump roping!” Having the right tools and the motivation to help can bring joy and change lives. I love my Snapmaker A350 and its easy-to-use software! It’s my first printer and this truly wouldn’t have been possible for me without it!
About StarMaker Program
StarMaker Program is a series of long-term plans aiming at stimulating the communication within our community as well as the connection between users and the Snapmaker team. Leading users who contribute to skills teaching, inspiration sharing, product feedback and community maintenance will be awarded star honor and other rewards.
