3D Systems Provides Students With Disabilities Access To 3D Printing For Assistive Devices

3D Systems Help Students With Disabilities Through 3D Printing 

3D Systems has announced that it is supporting the 3D printing project “Engaging Young People with Assistive technologies”. The 3D printing project is a program for students with physical disabilities at Hereward College in Coventry, United Kingdom. The University of Warwick funds the project and since September 2013, it has been empowering physically challenged students through 3D technology to help them design objects that make everyday life easier.

Using the CubeX 3D printer from 3D Systems, students from Hereward College are learning to design and print useful implements that can help them over come their everyday challenges. For example a person, who suffers from conditions such as muscular dystrophy, can find tasks such as drinking from a glass or bottle difficult, even when using a straw.

“For example, twenty-one-year-old Hereward residential student Ollie Baskaran, from Leatherhead in Surrey, designed and 3D printed a bespoke straw holder with the help of his tutor Russell Smith. Shaped like a cork stopper with a hole in the middle, the simple design allows Ollie to enjoy a drink from a variety of different bottle shapes.”

“It is great to see 3D printing powering projects such as this that allow students with disabilities to improve their lives while learning STEM skills that are crucial for their future employment,” stated Leanne Gluck, Director of Social Impact, 3DS.

Warwick’s Project Officer, Diane Burton, said, “We are very grateful to 3D Systems for their 3D printer donations and on-going support. It has been vital in inspiring students at Hereward to create their own innovative products. This has really extended their skills and increased their interest in science and technology”

The project is delivered by the Access Research & Development Department at Hereward College and Warwick manufacturing Group (WMG). They have extensive expertise in additive layer manufacturing, and the department of Computer Sciences, which has strength in adaptive systems. The project is apart of a larger initiative by the University of Warwick to engage with groups of learners that are currently under-represented in science and technology at the university degree level.

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