In recent years Potomac has added 3D Printing to our Digital Fabrication toolkit, integrating the additive manufacturing process with laser micromachining, micro CNC machining and other technologies to solve complex manufacturing problems. We’re pushing the envelope of 3D printing limitations especially in the medical device and biotech fields. But sometimes it’s the simplest of applications that really hit home and tell the story of how Digital Fabrication impacts lives.
Our hometown Baltimore Orioles recently showcased digital fabrication with a unique ceremonial first pitch thrown by a child using a 3D Printed prosthetic hand. 5 year-old Hailey Dawson was born without a fully formed right hand due to Poland syndrome. Watching her brother play little league, the little girl told her Mom that she wished she could pitch for her favorite team, the Baltimore Orioles.
Prosthetics for kids are expensive, in the $10,000 range, and of course children grow so replacement is frequent. Also, insurance companies don’t deem arms as essential as legs and often don’t cover the cost. In recent years, many volunteer groups such as Enable and university engineering students have designed and 3D printed rudimentary prosthetics to solve the problem. Most of these hands are great for gross motor skills such as picking up a soda bottle, riding a bike, and yes, throwing out the first pitch at an Oriole’s game.
Hailey’s Mom was able to get help from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas engineering department creating the hand and then convinced the Orioles to assign Hailey first-pitch duty at the August 17 game against the Oakland A’s. The little girl was especially excited to have the throw caught by her favorite player, Manny Machado.
We are thrilled to see the advancement that new manufacturing processes such as 3D Printing are getting from this kind of exposure in the sports world. Our own work in medical devices and biotech tends to be much higher precision, and in many cases may be implantable. But the end result is the same. We work in digital fabrication to potentially save lives or improve quality of life, and along the way making wishes like Hailey’s come true.
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