Post Cure: 3D printed plastic, composite mouthstick designs assist limited-mobility users

Source | Additive Manufacturing Media

Additive manufacturing (AM) has quickly become a powerful tool for medical applications, where the need to create custom or complex-geometry products with high precision and accuracy is necessary.

AM has also enabled the rethinking of many traditional medical devices, as it did for Three M Tool and Machine (Commerce Township, Mich., U.S.) during a project to recreate mouthsticks — an assistive device used by individuals with restricted mobility in their hands or arms.

Through experimentation and material considerations, recent design iterations have used carbon fiber tubes for the mouthstick adaptor which attaches to the stylus tip for interacting with touchscreens. Markforged’s (Waltham, Mass., U.S.) carbon fiber-filled nylon Onyx material, and a polycarbonate (PC) blend filament, have both been explored for the mouthpiece. Light weight and high stiffness are critical to enable the mouthsticks are both comfortable and precise enough to use with electronic devices, so Three M is still in the early development phases, trying different designs to see what works for different people.

Learn more about the company’s in-house developments in this article from sister publication Additive Manufacturing Media: ”Michigan Machine Shop Applies 3D Printing for In-House Processes, External Products.”