One of the many great things about e-NABLE is that it continues to inspire collaboration. All designs are free and open source, leading to devices that evolve as hundreds of people make improvements, alterations and suggestions. Jen Owen, Ivan’s wife and a central member of e-NABLE, thinks that the community can be challenged further, and so has introduced an official series of design challenges. Create T.I.M.E. (Think. Imagine. Make. E-NABLE.) will introduce a new challenge every month, aimed at expanding the range of devices and encouraging new ideas.
“Sometimes I get interesting requests in my email inbox requesting help designing assistive devices for animals of all types or individuals who have other needs that could benefit from a community of creatively minded makers willing to donate their time to collaborate and come up with solutions for those in need,” Owen says.
The first challenge asks participants to design new attachments for the Python Utility Hand, a basic hand designed specifically so that utilitarian attachments could be easily connected.
“Many of our younger recipients have asked for task specific devices that they can simply switch out as needed and have given some suggestions for attachments they would be most excited about to connect to the Python hand,” says Owen. “Some of the requests range from simple devices that can hold a fingernail polish paint brush to something that can assist a child who wants to get a better grip on a video game controller or who simply wants to open a jar of pickles with ease!”
Submissions for the first challenge are being accepted starting today until March 31; winners will be announced on April 16. The winning designs will be chosen by a panel of children and adults who are currently using e-NABLE devices; if a design is selected, it will be printed and shipped to one of the users, who will test it out and post a video to the e-NABLE blog. Winners will receive official medals, and top winners will be given a choice between a roll of filament from sponsor AxisLab or a $25 gift certificate to have a design of their choice printed and mailed to them.
Full contest rules and submission guidelines can be found here. Want to participate, but don’t have a 3D printer? E-NABLE has several suggestions for places you can go to access a printer. Businesses, if you’re interested in sponsoring a design challenge, email jen.owen@enablingthefuture.org. Tell us your thoughts on this new direction e-NABLE is taking in the e-NABLE 3D Create T.I.M.E. Design Challenge forum over at 3DPB.com.