there's a really funny 3d printing controversy going on btw.
if you don't know, there's a very popular 3d printing model out there called "benchy". this is used for benchmarking your 3d printer because it's a difficult print and will help test it out.
this is so widely used that people make their own little versions of it, remixing the 3d model to make benchy look cooler and stuff. however, a new company owns the benchy license. they are sending copyright takedowns to all those who wrongfully uploaded the benchy model.
of course, this is pissing off the 3d printing community greatly. everyone loved benchy and have used it for years. so someone on reddit decided to make a new model that is designed as a 3d printing stress test. one that works a lot like benchy, and people are freely able to edit it as they please. you know what they called it?
I have lots of opinions about the "Maker" culture of the 2010's but I think the one that comes up the most in my day to day life is how they failed the concept of 3d printing.
3d printing had the potential to change so much about how everyday people interact with stuff. I mean stuff like a technical term, items, things, whatever. The ability to make whatever, rapid prototyping, fabricate spare parts, etc. It could have changed so much. People are used to buying a thing, using it, and replacing it when it breaks. Nobody knows how to do preventative maintenance, and no one knows how to fix anything. If you can make spare parts in your own house in a matter of hours, it puts so much power back in your hands
But a majority of the people who got into 3d printing are also the kind of people to collect Funko Pops and the culture around it became much more focused on gadgetry. Most people's interactions with 3d printing now are fidget toys and those stupid 3d printable dragons you see at every convention. It's mass produced boring plastic slop.
Honestly I think the people closest to using 3d printing to its full potential are the 3d printable firearms enthusiasts. That's the tip of the spear when it comes to putting the power of fabrication back in the hands of people. And of course there's legislators trying to get eyes in every 3d printer to somehow detect if the thing you're making is a gun. Which won't ever work, there will likely always be some way around it, even if it's just building your own printer. It would hamper the more casual hobbyist from getting into it and force anyone participating to be very paranoid about who they talk to about it. But the point of that isn't even guns. I don't think it's any wonder that this stuff is cropping up today, given that 3d printable whistles have been mass produced and distributed to be used against ICE. The point of that kind of legislation is to let the NSA look at what you're making. They don't care about guns, the guns are a cover story to get liberals to vote for it. The ability to near-autonomously print off hundreds of something has the potential for a revolution of thought and action on par with the printing press of the 1400s. They want to know what you're making in case it's something you can use against them. Whistles, guns, whatever.
So yeah the maker culture of the 2010s tarnished the reputation of 3d printing and might have squandered the one chance a culturally redefining technology had before the government locked it down on fidget toys and dragons.
The “Toddler Mobility Trainer” is fully modular and requires no tools to assemble, making it easy to replace and grow with its user.
"The average pediatric wheelchair can cost thousands of dollars. And when children grow and their needs evolve — or a wheelchair gets damaged — those costs multiply.
So, the team at MakeGood NOLA, a New Orleans-based adaptive design lab, has made something that can transform the world for disabled children.
“Introducing the world’s first fully 3D-printed wheelchair,” MakeGood founder and president Noam Platt started a recent social media video.
He wheels a small, almost toy-like lime-green wheelchair into the frame, complete with a matching harness, suitable for children ages 2 to 8.
“Everything from the body, to the wheels, to the tires, the seat, and even the straps, all were 3D printed on a regular Bambu Labs A1 machine,” Platt continued.
This means the design is fully compatible with a regular 3D printer anyone can have in their home.
“We designed this to be modular and easy to make,” Platt continued. “Really, anyone with a 3D printer and some filament can download the files and print it.” [Note: You can also use 3D printers for free or a small cost at some public libraries and maker spaces, opening up accessibility even further.]
Once the prototype is completely finished, it will be available as a fair-use download that anyone can use for free.
Pictured: The new 3D-printed chair by MakeGood. Photo courtesy of MakeGood NOLA
Platt said that because it has a modular design, the wheelchair can be put together without any tools or glue. And if any part of it breaks or is damaged, users can simply re-print the single piece they need.
“As a wheelchair user I love everything about this,” TikTok user @thisisharlie commented on Platt’s video debuting the wheelchair.
“Mine costs more than my car, I can’t imagine having to buy a new one every year or two as they outgrow it,” @thisisharlie continued. “You’re going to change the world.”
For Platt, that’s always been the plan.
When he created MakeGood in 2021, the nonprofit design lab was thinking of the more than 1 billion people around the globe who live with disabilities.
“Since traditional design often overlooks diverse bodies and minds, it is crucial to reshape the built environment,” MakeGood shares on its website. “The challenges our communities face — both physical and social — are solvable.”
MakeGood works with individuals to co-create their adaptive design solutions, centering the “Need Knower,” the disabled person or their primary caregivers, throughout the entire process.
Since the founding of MakeGood, 1,600 individualized adaptive devices have been delivered to families for free. Platt’s team found a niche with this wheelchair, which they call the Toddler Mobility Trainer, or TMT.
On its website, the organization says the wheelchairs were “designed with therapists from all over the world” and offer “unmatched mobility and independence to young kids.”
Children and parents agree.
“It’s an A+,” one parent said of an earlier prototype of the TMT in a report by CBS News. “It’s helped [my son] become more mobile and be able to adapt into the other things that he’s going to be offered. It’s helped his development.”
At the start of the design process, Platt reached out to area hospitals to see if he could fill a need.
“Part of it is empowering clinicians that we can go beyond what is commercially available,” Platt told CBS News. “We can really create almost anything.”
Now in the final stages of tweaking the TMT design to be ready for release, Platt is eager to get the wheelchair rolled out and into the homes of the children who need them most.
Pictured: A rendering of the 3D printed design, which will soon be available for download. Photo courtesy of MakeGood NOLA
“We think this sort of 3D printing and design is going to be huge for accessibility, and for wheelchairs specifically,” Platt said in his social media video.
In the meantime, people can request a free chair from MakeGood.
“We have a growing list of people who’ve requested these, and once we finish the design, we’ll start filling those requests with custom-printed chairs, including things that you might need for your particular chair,” Platt said in a follow-up video.
Because the chairs are easily 3D printed, they can come in any color and can be modified to include other accommodations, like a section to hold a breathing device or other aid. With years of customization and design experience under his belt, this new innovation is simply an extension of Platt’s dedication to inclusive design.
In 2023, Platt told New Mobility: “I feel like every time I deliver one of these [assistive] devices, I get a hopeful feeling that the world has been changed a little bit for the better for the next generation.”"
