3 minute read
Class act
A class act
Appreciating the value of getting stuff wrong
Sarah Thompson talks to Daniel Grant (pictured), a design and technology (D&T) teacher at Bradfield School in Sheffield, who created a 3D printed arm for a student.
WHEN Daniel found out that Lewis McCaslin, a year 7 student born without a left forearm, was struggling to use the prosthetic limb he’d been given by the NHS, he offered to make him a new one.
This potential to design and create products to improve lives is one of the reasons Daniel is so passionate about his subject. “To be able to have a real-world, tangible use for those skills is so rewarding,” he says.
Daniel, who specialises in engineering, says that Lewis found his NHS prosthetic limb difficult to use.
“He’s quite a small lad and this heavy arm was too much for him,” he explains. Sometimes, Lewis simply chose to go without it, even if that meant putting himself at risk. He loves riding his bike, Daniel says, “but without a prosthetic, it requires him to lean right over the handlebars so he can grip with his partial arm. This has led to a nasty crash.”
Free templates and just £30 to print
Daniel took measurements of Lewis’ arm and sent them to Team Unlimbited, a charity specialising in the design of 3D printed arm devices, which provided him with templates. Lewis’ new arm was then made using the 3D printer in the school’s D&T department at a cost of just £30.
“You print each part separately,” Daniel explains. “The palm, the finger span, the connector pins – and end up with this pile of pieces.”
It took about 30 hours to print, and Daniel assembled the arm over the Christmas holidays, presenting it to Lewis the first week back at school.
“Lewis had asked for the arm to be Iron Man-themed, so we printed it in red, added gold armour plate, and I designed a light that mounts onto the palm,” Daniel says.
“He could use it straightaway, which was brilliant. I was surprised by how easily he was able to pick up objects, such as bottles.”
The new arm is still being refined. The size of the school printer required it to be printed vertically and this resulted in some weaknesses, with layers breaking apart. Undaunted, Daniel contacted Team Unlimbited to find a solution.
Daniel believes it is important for students to recognise that if a design isn’t right first time, that is OK. Learning from mistakes, even failures, he believes is vital.
“To have an idea and a design and to have it fail and acknowledge that it’s absolutely fine is a good thing,” he says. “Problem-solving and resilience are so important for children, particularly at the moment with everything they have gone through.
“It’s something we’re trying to get better at in the D&T department – allowing kids to fail and them to see that’s not a bad thing. It’s closer to real life. Things rarely just work out.
“A couple of years ago we realised a lot of our projects were geared towards guaranteeing the children would get a great outcome. We still push for that. But we’re trying to get them to appreciate the value of getting stuff wrong and not seeing that as failure.”
For now, Daniel is determined to keep working on Lewis’ arm. “The goal we’re working towards is getting Lewis to a point where he can ride his bike again,” he says.
Daniel with pupil Lewis McCaslin
Team Unlimbited
Team Unlimbited is a registered charity, specialising in the design and build of innovative 3D printed arm devices.
Its breakthrough invention is free and available for use by 3D printing enthusiasts, schools and organisations, providing courage and confidence to limb-different children and adults worldwide.
“It’s really amazing that Team Unlimbited came up with a design that is life-changing, incredibly valuable, and gave it away for free,” Daniel says. n Visit teamunlimbited.org
