Design and 3D Printing of Low-Cost Functional Sports Devices for the Upper Limb

Introduction: Upper limb deficiencies pose a series of challenges, and current traditional prosthetic solutions often come with limitations and high costs. This is particularly true for sports applications, leading to a high percentage of people with congenital or acquired limb amputations abandoning their preferred physical activities and, consequently, missing out on numerous health benefits. Design and 3D Printing: this paper outlines the design and 3D printing process for upper limb sports devices, emphasizing a user-centered approach and harnessing the customization potential of additive manufacturing technology to create affordable and fully personalized functional devices. Results: The five case studies presented in this paper—a swimming aid, binding bicycle aid, non-binding bicycle aid, handlebar extender bicycle aid, and tennis serve aid—demonstrate the iterative design process, the incorporation of user feedback, and the 3D printing and assembly process of the devices. User Feedback: The questionnaires sent to the end users and the continued communication resulted in a 100% satisfaction rate and the request for new devices.