With 3D printing making its way into an array of different industries, German Paralympian cyclist, Denise Schindler, has teamed up with AutoDesk to develop a 3D printed leg that will be used for the 2016 Rio Olympics. This continues a trend we are seeing of 3D printing revolutionizing the traditional manufacturing market through a range of once-thought impossible creations.
Get The Latest Sports Tech News In Your Inbox!
Schindler, along with AutoDesk’s Roland Zelles recently presented the idea to President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a technology fair in Germany.
“My dream is to make better fitting performance prostheses accessible to all, so I am really excited about the results of this project,” said Schindler, who lost her leg in an accident at the age of two. “Ultimately, the number one most important thing about any prosthesis, and especially a sports prosthesis due to the amount of time spent training and competing in it, is comfort. Being able to develop a well-fitting prosthesis which doesn’t compromise on performance, in less time and for less money than traditional means, is a real break-through.”
Schindler had previously been using a prosthesis made out of plaster, which she said was slower to make, and relatively expensive. The 3D printing project hopes to cut both of those issues out of the process and the main focus lies on generating the best fit for an athlete.
The process involves AutoDesk taking a 3D scan of Schindler’s limb, which was then digitally rendered. AutoDesk’s Fusion 360 technology – a cloud design tool – allowed experts to digitally model a prosthesis, before collaborating with a vast range of project stakeholders before the print was made. AutoDesk predicted that once this process was mastered, the timeline from start to finish would be five days, costing around a quarter of the price of any other alternative.
Understandably, both Schindler and AutoDesk have more modifications to make before this process can be globally sold to the public, but the fact that such large strides have already been made means that it won’t be too far away.
Expect to see more 3D printing and scanning use cases popping up around the sports world.