Design of an Automated Fiber Placement Machine to Build Prosthetic Sockets

This thesis presents research towards an automated manufacturing method for producing prosthetic sockets and orthotic interfaces. The prosthetic socket is a noninvasive mechanical interface between the residuum and the prosthesis. There is no standardized method for socket fabrication, but they are...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Jaeger, Aaron
Other Authors: Herr, Hugh
Format: Thesis
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2022
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/142806
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9163-8939
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author Jaeger, Aaron
author2 Herr, Hugh
author_facet Herr, Hugh
Jaeger, Aaron
author_sort Jaeger, Aaron
collection MIT
description This thesis presents research towards an automated manufacturing method for producing prosthetic sockets and orthotic interfaces. The prosthetic socket is a noninvasive mechanical interface between the residuum and the prosthesis. There is no standardized method for socket fabrication, but they are generally produced by hand laminating a carbon fiber or other composite around a hand sculpted form. This process is expensive, lacks quality control, and limits future socket improvements. Automated manufacturing is a potential way to reduce labor costs and improved quality through standardization. Automated fiber placement (AFP) is a process commonly used in the aerospace industry to make large, complex composite parts where a robotic gantry lays down individual pre-impregnated strips of fiber tow. This thesis prototyped a proof-of-concept desktop AFP machine with four degrees of freedom designed for building prosthetic sockets for $10,000 at a scale feasible for small clinics, university research labs, and residential settings. The AFP prototype demonstrated the basic ability to automatically place and laminate strips of fiber. During testing the prototype demonstrated a constant compaction force at 75N with standard deviation of 1.2N over varying surface and produced the 10N of fiber tension that is required for composite lamination.
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spelling mit-1721.1/1428062022-06-01T03:03:48Z Design of an Automated Fiber Placement Machine to Build Prosthetic Sockets Jaeger, Aaron Herr, Hugh Program in Media Arts and Sciences (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) This thesis presents research towards an automated manufacturing method for producing prosthetic sockets and orthotic interfaces. The prosthetic socket is a noninvasive mechanical interface between the residuum and the prosthesis. There is no standardized method for socket fabrication, but they are generally produced by hand laminating a carbon fiber or other composite around a hand sculpted form. This process is expensive, lacks quality control, and limits future socket improvements. Automated manufacturing is a potential way to reduce labor costs and improved quality through standardization. Automated fiber placement (AFP) is a process commonly used in the aerospace industry to make large, complex composite parts where a robotic gantry lays down individual pre-impregnated strips of fiber tow. This thesis prototyped a proof-of-concept desktop AFP machine with four degrees of freedom designed for building prosthetic sockets for $10,000 at a scale feasible for small clinics, university research labs, and residential settings. The AFP prototype demonstrated the basic ability to automatically place and laminate strips of fiber. During testing the prototype demonstrated a constant compaction force at 75N with standard deviation of 1.2N over varying surface and produced the 10N of fiber tension that is required for composite lamination. S.M. 2022-05-31T13:29:18Z 2022-05-31T13:29:18Z 2021-09 2022-05-25T15:55:05.012Z Thesis https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/142806 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9163-8939 In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted Copyright MIT http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/ application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Jaeger, Aaron
Design of an Automated Fiber Placement Machine to Build Prosthetic Sockets
title Design of an Automated Fiber Placement Machine to Build Prosthetic Sockets
title_full Design of an Automated Fiber Placement Machine to Build Prosthetic Sockets
title_fullStr Design of an Automated Fiber Placement Machine to Build Prosthetic Sockets
title_full_unstemmed Design of an Automated Fiber Placement Machine to Build Prosthetic Sockets
title_short Design of an Automated Fiber Placement Machine to Build Prosthetic Sockets
title_sort design of an automated fiber placement machine to build prosthetic sockets
url https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/142806
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9163-8939
work_keys_str_mv AT jaegeraaron designofanautomatedfiberplacementmachinetobuildprostheticsockets