christofloffer
if it says 'dont', then it must be fun!
- Messages
- 64
- Location
- shropshire, UK
no really, i am making a leg for a friend.
he had a really bad motorbike accident in his youth (fell 20ft off a quarry wall and his bike landed on his leg) and after the initial surgery it seemed fine. it turned out to be a bad repair to the bone and over the years it frayed the end of the bones into a ragged painful mess. after a while it got to the point of either a seriously invasive operation or amputation. he took the operation so they basically cut the ankle out and cut off the frayed end from the leg and fused them together. basically he no longer has an ankle and the foot is static on his leg. which is a shame as his greatest pleasure in life was walking around the woods. being as the motion of walking is now bending the bones its painful to walk and impossible to walk any distance.
so, i am now making an all terrain exoskeleton for his lower leg. fairly simple right now, just two curved rails linked by bars under the foot and a frame that extends either side of the leg. it will be attached by an arrangement of straps under and over the muscle below the knee. which in theory will allow him to walk without the foot ever touching the ground and causing him pain.
if the prototype works out then i will make a mk2 version in a more refined design for him to start using and work out the kinks. if that works out we can make a final version from aluminium to make it lighter and incorporate any extra shaping.
its certainly an interesting project and is going to be putting my welding and fabrication to the test. this first one will be tested to destruction to make sure of the design.
he had a really bad motorbike accident in his youth (fell 20ft off a quarry wall and his bike landed on his leg) and after the initial surgery it seemed fine. it turned out to be a bad repair to the bone and over the years it frayed the end of the bones into a ragged painful mess. after a while it got to the point of either a seriously invasive operation or amputation. he took the operation so they basically cut the ankle out and cut off the frayed end from the leg and fused them together. basically he no longer has an ankle and the foot is static on his leg. which is a shame as his greatest pleasure in life was walking around the woods. being as the motion of walking is now bending the bones its painful to walk and impossible to walk any distance.
so, i am now making an all terrain exoskeleton for his lower leg. fairly simple right now, just two curved rails linked by bars under the foot and a frame that extends either side of the leg. it will be attached by an arrangement of straps under and over the muscle below the knee. which in theory will allow him to walk without the foot ever touching the ground and causing him pain.
if the prototype works out then i will make a mk2 version in a more refined design for him to start using and work out the kinks. if that works out we can make a final version from aluminium to make it lighter and incorporate any extra shaping.
its certainly an interesting project and is going to be putting my welding and fabrication to the test. this first one will be tested to destruction to make sure of the design.
