A helping hand: innovation, friendship and a 3D printer

Students from The Nature School in Port Macquarie NSW have achieved something extraordinary - creating a functional 3D-printed prosthetic hand for their classmate.

Using an open-source design from Australian charity Free 3D Hands, the students spent months learning how to use a 3D printer and experimenting with materials before successfully producing a working hand.

Free 3D Hands was founded by Monash Engineering alumnus, Mat Bowtell. Part of his philosophy? "We don't copyright designs, and release them under an open source licence. We believe this encourages innovation and empowers others to adapt our designs."

The idea began when a Year 7 student - who was born with only part of her left hand - approached her science and technology teacher with an ambitious question: could she build a prosthetic of her own - with help from her classmates?

Read the full article from Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) News here.

Learn more about Free 3D Hands here.