TRS golf device for above elbow amputees

Abstract

This project document serves as the final report for the TRS Golf Device for Above Elbow Amputees project by Group 6 as part of their fulfillment of ME 4860 Senior Design. Golf is among the largest recreational sports in the world with current estimates of approximately 60 million regular golfers in the world. The significance of this project is to allow amputees to regain their ability to play golf. Bob Radocy, the founder of TRS Inc., and Dr. Edmund Biden of the University of New Brunswick have been in communication for some time now about the design and fabrication of a golf prosthesis specifically for transhumeral amputees. After multiple design iterations, the project has entered its final stage. The previously built prosthesis showed good fatigue resistance and had the required strength characteristics. However, the client felt a slimmer, more organic design should be implemented; this is the goal of the current design phase. The prosthesis has been constructed by pouring urethane into a 3D printed mould. The mould was sealed on all four sides and was then placed under vacuum pressure conditions to remove the entrapped air within the mould. At this moment in time, the team has moulded two prostheses. The major modifications made to the prosthesis design were: - A more heavily rounded proximal and distal end - The addition of frontal view curves - Tapered overall design concluding at the distal end - One-time adjustable distal end These changes give the product an appearance that more strongly resembles the forearm bones of a human arm. Finite Element Analysis has been done on the new design to evaluate its strength characteristics. Overall, the team succeeded in not only moulding functional products, but also proved that 3D printed moulds are a viable manufacturing method.