Design of the Week: Exoskeleton Hands

By on July 30th, 2018 in Design

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 A fun 3D printed exoskeleton hand
A fun 3D printed exoskeleton hand

This week’s selection is the fun Exoskeleton Hands by Melbourne-based 3D designer Alex Czech. 

This item is a bit of a project, but you’ll end up with a kind of exoskeleton for your hand. The device straps to your fingers and flexes as your fingers move. 

It’s not a powered exoskeleton; you won’t gain super strength by wearing the Exoskeleton Hands. But it does look very cool. 

There’s quite a few parts required to complete this project. No less than twenty-five parts are in the project, some requiring more than one copy. You’ll also require a number of bolts and nuts to connect them all together correctly. 

 Reverse view showing how the exoskeleton hand attaches to your fingers
Reverse view showing how the exoskeleton hand attaches to your fingers

To make the project more fun, Czech has included a few accessories that can be mounted on the fingers of the Exoskeleton Hands. You can, for example, add some sharp claws, or perhaps some shield-like attachments. 

I recommend printing these pieces with a strong material like ABS or ASA, as PLA may break due to brittleness: this item is most likely going to take some abuse, not only from assembly, but from use as you demonstrate your pseudo-strength by pounding on a table or crushing objects with the Exoskeleton Hands. 

 3D printed exoskeletons on each hand!
3D printed exoskeletons on each hand!

You can download this project at no charge from CGTrader, which by the way has hit a significant milestone: they now boast having 1.5M members signed up for their comprehensive 3D model repository. They offer paid downloadable 3D models, as well as a large number of free items, one of which is this one. CGTrader also provides a very convenient search filter to ensure you see only 3D printable models in your search results. 

Via CGTrader

By Kerry Stevenson

Kerry Stevenson, aka "General Fabb" has written over 8,000 stories on 3D printing at Fabbaloo since he launched the venture in 2007, with an intention to promote and grow the incredible technology of 3D printing across the world. So far, it seems to be working!