The Helping Hand Project UNC
Lend a Hand to Give a Hand
We use innovative technologies to provide useful prosthetic devices to children that are financially and medically in need at no cost while providing support from our members.
Many families discover The Helping Hand Project through news stories, connections, and their local chapters. Once families get in contact with the organization, we are given more information about the child’s case in terms of measurements and how they use the limb they were born with. In addition, the child’s personal interests are also included in their case so that the process is special for them and their family.
Once measurements are taken we begin designing the hand in a 3D CAD program called Onshape. When designing the hands we take into consideration the aspects of the Measurement process and the child’s interest. The designs we customize are taken from e-NABLE the Future, a global network of volunteers that post open source, up to date hand designs for anybody to use.
The Design Committee for the UNC Chapter designs the hand in various CAD programs like OnShape, OpenSCAD, and Fusion360. Each hand is completely designed and 3D printed on UNC’s campus, the use of 3D printing allowing us to create unique designs with variable materials ranging from PLA to flexible filament. This allows our designs to be affordable and able to be altered when the child grows out of their current hand. Our club members collaborate to learn and share skills in using the full capabilities of the software and work hand in hand on each project.
Fill out this device request form to request a device from us and under the chapter affiliation section select "UNC Chapel Hill." If you have questions about the device inquiry process, you can visit the official HHP Website for a detailed breakdown of the process and purpose of our devices or check out our About page.
