<commit_before># Desktop Prosthetics - Frequently Asked Questions

This page provides answers to some of the more frequently asked questions about the Desktop Prosthetics project.  See the [Background](Background.md) page for more general information about the exhibition and people involved.

[Enabling the Future](http://enablingthefuture.org/), the global project whose designs we'll be using for the prosthetics have [an extensive FAQ](http://enablingthefuture.org/faqs/media-faq/) which is worth reading through in addition to this one.

### How long does the actual process of printing a hand take?

As each hand is custom to its recipient - varying a bit in size, but also customised based on the person's needs, with/without a thumb, etc. - there's no exact answer.  However,

Taking one of the hands we've printed as an example, there are 14 parts in total:

 * Gauntlet - 10 h 39 m, 69.7g of plastic
 * Palm - 16 h 45 m, 96.2g of plastic
 * Fingers - 13 h 53 m, 79.8g of plastic
 * Other parts - 5 h 13 m, 30.5g of plastic
 * Hinge caps - 0 h 26 m, 2.8g of plastic

So in total that's 47 hours of printing and 280g of plastic.  The weight includes the support material used during the printing, which is removed later, but when you add the metal hinge pins and cords, the resultant weight will probably be similar.

### What materials are used?

The particular plastics used will depend on the 3d printer and what materials it can print.  Generally it will be either ABS (the same plastic Lego is made from) or PLA (a plant-based thermoplastic which has similar properties to ABS).  Enabling the Future recommend printing in PLA, so we'll be using that for the hands we print in the exhibition.

In addition to the plastic parts there are a number of metal screws and nuts, some elastic and cord, foam padding, velcro, etc. used to hold the parts together and attach them to the user's arm.

### What operations are possible with these prosthetics?

See the "Q: What can these 3D printed hands be used for?" question in the [Enabling the Future Media FAQ](http://enablingthefuture.org/faqs/media-faq/)

### Who will be helped through this project?

By working with [Reach](http://reach.org.uk/), the association for children with upper limb deficiency, we'll be helping a number of children (primarily) from the North-West and East Anglia.  In addition, the exhibition will raise awareness within the Reach community and the general public about some of the more practical uses for 3d printing.

### Is this a project DoES Liverpool is looking to expand?

DoESLiverpool like many makerspaces and hackspaces, as an organisation do not do projects in a sense, we simply help our community to realise their projects with the facilities we have. Our community is essentially anyone who wants to do something with us. 

This collaboration with FACT was inspired from a local family printing a prosthetic hand in our workshop and the 3 members of the community leading the project have interests and skills in 3D printing.

Part of the deal of this project is that DoESLiverpool and Norwich Hackspace can keep the new larger 3D printers so that if people do need to print more hands in the future, we will have extended our facilities so that they can.  

If a group grows and develops around the activity in the exhibition then that group can continue to   use DoESLiverpool to support it like the many diverse groups that call DoESLiverpool home.

### What limits are there, if any, with 3D printing?

Like any manufacturing technique, 3d printing has its advantages and disadvantages.  3d printing also covers a range of different techniques, and possible materials, with the resulting printers ranging in price from a few hundred pound into tens of thousands of pounds.

As the Enabling the Future project is geared towards democratising access to prosthetics, we're using printers from the more affordable end of the range which print in plastic (rather than resin or metal).  This type of printing can only print in one or sometimes two colours of material at a time; and while the prints are surprisingly robust, the printing technique gives the models a sort of "grain" - like you get in wood - where it's weaker when subject to forces along that grain.

### What are Makerspaces?

What exactly is a makerspace? Using the term broadly, we’re talking about public spaces or small volunteer run membership organisations with different tools and equipment where people can go to independently make something or meet potentially like minded people. While we need to appreciate the diversity of these spaces, it’s also important to think beyond formalised networks (like Fab Labs) and focus on spaces defined by a specific ethos (like Hackspaces). So Fab Labs have similar facilities in common with maker spaces and hackspaces but alot more formalised and less community led to a varying degree. DoESLiverpool has things in common with say HacMan but also includes a co-working space to support their facilities and also is a home for not just making but tech culture in general supporting IoT Liverpool, Startup clups and coder dojo's all led and run by local(and not so local) interest groups/affiliates/organisers/hot deskers/permanent desk people or just members of the google group mailing list interested in running something.

<NAME> at the **Creative Exchange** has been doing some very detailed open research into the area [released here in alpha](http://www.nesta.org.uk/publications/open-dataset-uk-makerspaces-users-guide)
also worth checking http://www.hackspace.org.uk/wiki/Main_Page

DoESLiverpool like many makerspaces and hackspaces, as an organisation do not do projects in a sense, we simply help our community to realise their projects with the facilities we have. Our community is essentially anyone who wants to do something with us.

As said above this collaboration with FACT was inspired by a member of our communities interest: the 3 'leaders' of the project have interests and skills in 3D printing, which is why it's happening. If nobody in the community wanted to do it, it would not happen. If a group grows and develops around the activity in the exhibition then that group can continue to use DoESLiverpool and the new printer to support it like the many diverse groups that call DoESLiverpool home.

This is a common theme in many maker and hackerspaces: somebody donates or stores some kit permanently or temporarily and then often more and more people start to use it and interest groups can (but not always) build around things like this. Also there is a general openness across these spaces although at the same time a haven for people interested in certain things.
<commit_msg>Updated link to Nesta's dataset<commit_after># Desktop Prosthetics - Frequently Asked Questions

This page provides answers to some of the more frequently asked questions about the Desktop Prosthetics project.  See the [Background](Background.md) page for more general information about the exhibition and people involved.

[Enabling the Future](http://enablingthefuture.org/), the global project whose designs we'll be using for the prosthetics have [an extensive FAQ](http://enablingthefuture.org/faqs/media-faq/) which is worth reading through in addition to this one.

### How long does the actual process of printing a hand take?

As each hand is custom to its recipient - varying a bit in size, but also customised based on the person's needs, with/without a thumb, etc. - there's no exact answer.  However,

Taking one of the hands we've printed as an example, there are 14 parts in total:

 * Gauntlet - 10 h 39 m, 69.7g of plastic
 * Palm - 16 h 45 m, 96.2g of plastic
 * Fingers - 13 h 53 m, 79.8g of plastic
 * Other parts - 5 h 13 m, 30.5g of plastic
 * Hinge caps - 0 h 26 m, 2.8g of plastic

So in total that's 47 hours of printing and 280g of plastic.  The weight includes the support material used during the printing, which is removed later, but when you add the metal hinge pins and cords, the resultant weight will probably be similar.

### What materials are used?

The particular plastics used will depend on the 3d printer and what materials it can print.  Generally it will be either ABS (the same plastic Lego is made from) or PLA (a plant-based thermoplastic which has similar properties to ABS).  Enabling the Future recommend printing in PLA, so we'll be using that for the hands we print in the exhibition.

In addition to the plastic parts there are a number of metal screws and nuts, some elastic and cord, foam padding, velcro, etc. used to hold the parts together and attach them to the user's arm.

### What operations are possible with these prosthetics?

See the "Q: What can these 3D printed hands be used for?" question in the [Enabling the Future Media FAQ](http://enablingthefuture.org/faqs/media-faq/)

### Who will be helped through this project?

By working with [Reach](http://reach.org.uk/), the association for children with upper limb deficiency, we'll be helping a number of children (primarily) from the North-West and East Anglia.  In addition, the exhibition will raise awareness within the Reach community and the general public about some of the more practical uses for 3d printing.

### Is this a project DoES Liverpool is looking to expand?

DoESLiverpool like many makerspaces and hackspaces, as an organisation do not do projects in a sense, we simply help our community to realise their projects with the facilities we have. Our community is essentially anyone who wants to do something with us. 

This collaboration with FACT was inspired from a local family printing a prosthetic hand in our workshop and the 3 members of the community leading the project have interests and skills in 3D printing.

Part of the deal of this project is that DoESLiverpool and Norwich Hackspace can keep the new larger 3D printers so that if people do need to print more hands in the future, we will have extended our facilities so that they can.  

If a group grows and develops around the activity in the exhibition then that group can continue to   use DoESLiverpool to support it like the many diverse groups that call DoESLiverpool home.

### What limits are there, if any, with 3D printing?

Like any manufacturing technique, 3d printing has its advantages and disadvantages.  3d printing also covers a range of different techniques, and possible materials, with the resulting printers ranging in price from a few hundred pound into tens of thousands of pounds.

As the Enabling the Future project is geared towards democratising access to prosthetics, we're using printers from the more affordable end of the range which print in plastic (rather than resin or metal).  This type of printing can only print in one or sometimes two colours of material at a time; and while the prints are surprisingly robust, the printing technique gives the models a sort of "grain" - like you get in wood - where it's weaker when subject to forces along that grain.

### What are Makerspaces?

What exactly is a makerspace? Using the term broadly, we’re talking about public spaces or small volunteer run membership organisations with different tools and equipment where people can go to independently make something or meet potentially like minded people. While we need to appreciate the diversity of these spaces, it’s also important to think beyond formalised networks (like Fab Labs) and focus on spaces defined by a specific ethos (like Hackspaces). So Fab Labs have similar facilities in common with maker spaces and hackspaces but alot more formalised and less community led to a varying degree. DoESLiverpool has things in common with say HacMan but also includes a co-working space to support their facilities and also is a home for not just making but tech culture in general supporting IoT Liverpool, Startup clups and coder dojo's all led and run by local(and not so local) interest groups/affiliates/organisers/hot deskers/permanent desk people or just members of the google group mailing list interested in running something.

<NAME> at the **Creative Exchange** has been doing some very detailed open research into the area which is linked from [this introductory blog post](http://www.nesta.org.uk/blog/top-findings-open-dataset-uk-makerspaces)
also worth checking http://www.hackspace.org.uk/wiki/Main_Page and http://hackerspaces.org/ (for a global list of hackspaces)

DoESLiverpool like many makerspaces and hackspaces, as an organisation do not do projects in a sense, we simply help our community to realise their projects with the facilities we have. Our community is essentially anyone who wants to do something with us.

As said above this collaboration with FACT was inspired by a member of our communities interest: the 3 'leaders' of the project have interests and skills in 3D printing, which is why it's happening. If nobody in the community wanted to do it, it would not happen. If a group grows and develops around the activity in the exhibition then that group can continue to use DoESLiverpool and the new printer to support it like the many diverse groups that call DoESLiverpool home.

This is a common theme in many maker and hackerspaces: somebody donates or stores some kit permanently or temporarily and then often more and more people start to use it and interest groups can (but not always) build around things like this. Also there is a general openness across these spaces although at the same time a haven for people interested in certain things.

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