Ever Since I was young it has always been my dream to help others with technology and to become a prosthetist. It was because of this passion that I decided to model a prosthetic hand that is based on Open Bionic's Brunel v2 model. While this project was not made to specifically solve a problem, this project has given me more experience with the 3D modeling software Fusion 360, while also allowing me to pursue my goal of becoming a prosthetist. This was a month-long project that was intended to recreate an actual prosthetic hand. The hand is broken into many different components that allow it to move how an actual prosthetic hand would move. The model is also able to be opened up to see the components on the inside as well. The model is intended to be made of different 3d printable plastics. This project was meaningful to me as I believe this major step towards achieving my goal as well as showing me what it is like to model a prosthetic. 

Steps 1: 

For the first step I needed to find the Prosthetic hand that I would base my model off of. I would go to Open Bionics open-source page and would go on the use the Brunel v2 Hand. 

Link to Brunel Model: Downloads — Open Bionics (openbionicslabs.com)

Step 2: 

I decided that the first step towards creating the actual model was to create the palm on the hand. I created the palm by using the form tool while using the original palm from the Brunel as a reference. Similar to the original the palm would be split into two parts.

Step 3:

Now that I had a starting model to work from, I decided to all fingers except the thumb. Each of the fingers are composed of two components being the proximal and the distal. Once I had created the pointer finger, I copied it to create the other three fingers by moving or adjusting its size. 

Step 4: 

Next, I decided to model the inside components of the hand. I started off my modeling the linear actuators which are used to make the fingers move. Second, I modeled the finger ligament cover that is used to connect the fingers to the internal components. Finally, I modeled the motor cover that is used to hold the actuators and other components in place. Once all three components were made, I used them as cutting tools to make the holes for them to fit inside of the palm. 

Step 5: 

With the internal components made, I decided to model the thumb next. The thumb is made of two components, one is the connector piece which connect the thumb to the palm and help it move, while the other is the actual thumb itself. Both pieces were created using extruding and lofts with the original model as a reference. Once the thumb was completely finished I used it as a cutting tool for the palm so that it would fit together. 

Step 6: 

The final piece to model for the hand was the base that is used to hold that hand in place. The base is made of two components being the connector and the actual base itself. I created both by projecting the faces of the original connector and base and using those faces to loft and extrude. Once the connector and base were made, I used the connector as a cutting tool inside of the base to create an indent so that the connector could fit inside of the base. 

Step 7: 

Now that the entire model was finished, I added the appearances to make it look more realistic. As mentioned earlier I used a white and black plastic for the appearances, to mimic the look of the actual Brunel hand. 

Step 8: The final step of the project was to add the joints to fingers and palm to mimic the movement of an actual prosthetic.