A wrist brace is designed and 3D printed for wrist fracture patients with the aim of immobilizing the hand and wrist during the healing process. The wrist brace is designed using Solidworks, and ANSYS. The wrist brace is designed to provide support and immobilization to the wrist while being comfortable to wear. The design consists of a wrist cuff that wraps around the wrist, and a hand support that extends from the wrist cuff to provide additional support to the palm of the hand. The wrist cuffs are separate components that wrap around the thumb, hand, and two on the forearm, providing support and stabilization to the client. The empty spaces at the bottom of the brace allow air to circulate, reducing overheating and irritation during sweating, which can cause discomfort. The flat side opposite to the thumb facilitates the 3D printing process using a belt drive printer, as it provides an area for the printer to adhere to while printing. A finite element analysis study is done with the aim of determining the maximum amount of force that can be applied during flexion, tension, and grip on the design. The main tests done to determine the strength of the design were Von-Mises stress, stress in the different directions of x,y, and z, strain and displacement. Using an average force of 100 N, the factor of safety is above 1 for all the tests which shows its ability to work. The simulations for flexion and tension are assumed to provide the same results so one test was done with the fixed support at the end of the forearm and the force on the palm of the hand. The simulations for the grip strength were determined by applying the fixed support at the bottom of the forearm and the load was applied to the top surface of the thumb. For all the tests, the Von-Mises stress is shown to be lower than the yield strength.
For 3D printing, the design was printed using the Idea Former printer that prints at a 45 degree angle. A g-code was created using idealmaker as the slicing software with the estimated time for completion to be 28 hours. Two prototypes were created that fit both medium and large people. This shows that the design can be customized for different sizes and can fit various people. This is an extremely cost-efficient way of making an effective wrist brace that caters to a large group of patients who cannot afford to pay for an industrial brace after hospital bills.
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