Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

Date of Degree Completion

Spring 2020

Department

Mechanical Engineering Technology

Committee Chair

Dr. Craig Johnson

Second Committee Member

Professor Charles Pringle

Third Committee Member

Dr. John Choi

Abstract

The objective of this project was to design the structure of a prosthetic hand that has articulating fingers and thumb in order to grip various objects. A design was developed that can add to the available options of prosthetics on the market.

In order to create a base hand for the project, the hand was modeled off of rough human hand dimensions. Analyses determined the feasible size of components. Once a base size was found the movement system in both grip and return form were developed and refined. With the parts being modeled in Solidworks and 3D printed, iterations of parts were made in order to refine the fit and the sizing to make them printer friendly. The motion of the hand is facilitated by gear boxes designed for the project.

Testing was conducted by verifying the function of the hand via a grip test in. The results of the analyses of the hand are that the individual fingers require 1.5 pounds of pull in order to reach full grip orientation. Full grip orientation is considered the point where the fingers reach the limit of their travel. Once the full grip orientation is reached, the hand is in position to grab the test object. The chosen test object was a soda can, which the hand is able to grip with 13 ounces of gripping force in order to properly hold the can.

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