I developed this design for my own hospital stays. When you have an IV for an extended period, adding or removing warm layers requires unhooking your line.

This tunic completely unfastens down both sides so that you can take it off or put it on while one arm is tied to an IV pole. The panels wrap from the back around the sides to fasten in the front so that you can lie on your back or either side comfortably without the fasteners causing irritation.

I have used fancy buttons and trim. You could easily make a plain tunic and fasten the sides with snaps, velcro, ties, or separating zippers depending on what’s easiest for you.

This DIY product is designed for a three years old boy that was born with cerebral palsy. He has an inadequate trunk control so he can not sit independently, he would fall on his side.

At home he sits in a custom tailor made seatshell. But this is too big to take everywhere along. His parents like to go out by bike to friends or family, but there is always the problem that they can’t let hem sit on a normal chair to play with other children.

The question of the parents was to make a chair which is foldable, easy to carry, giving enough support so that the boy can sit straight and play with his friends, but still compact to put in the bicycle bag.

A shot movie, following on the intractable, will explain the advantages of the seat.

Step 1: Materials needed

Step 2: Saw the wooden pieces

Buy two different pieces of wood, a 3mm multiplex and a 15mm multiplex. Than saw two 395x300x4mm pieces and two 330x400x15mm pieces.
Drill holes in the 15 mm pieces; drill in a line 35mm of the border. The distance between two holes is 3 mm.Buy two different pieces of wood, a 3mm multiplex and a 15mm multiplex. Than saw two 395x300x4mm pieces and two 330x400x15mm pieces.

Drill holes in the 15 mm pieces; drill in a line 35mm of the border. The distance between two holes is 3 mm.

There have to be cut out rectangulars as well, this can also be done with a drill, by drilling holes close to each other.

Step 3: Attach a lath

First there has to be sawed a lath 330x20X15, we attached this to one of the wooden pieces of 15 thickness, with an air staple gun but this can also be done manually.

Step 4: Connecting the wooden pieces

Weave the rope between the thickest wooden pieces by using the saddle stitch. This technique will ensure the proper firmness.

Step 5: Attach Foam

Attach the foam using an air staple gun or an manual stapler.

Step 6: Skai

Attach the leather, by using an air staple gun or manually with a stapler.

Step 7: Handles

Stich handles and attach them onto the back of the wooden pieces.

Step 8: The back

Attach the thinner wooden pieces with some nails onto the backs of the seat, to hide the ugly staples.

Step 9: Add the straps

First make a finishing stitch around the openings for the buckles.

We used a support pants, because the child can not sit straight by himself. That little pants ensures support around the waist and helps him to sit up straight.

To attach the support pants, insert the buckles in the openings and secure them at the back with the clamping buckles.

Step 10: Make a fitting table

The table ensures extra stability for the child. The child can put his arms on the table and lean on it, this will make him sit up more straight by himself. He has to do some effort by himself with is better than a belt around his chest, because exercise is good for the child, otherwise he will get lazy which is bad for his muscles.

The table is made in the same style as the seat.

We used the multiplex. Dimensions:

– table leaf: 390x310x5mm
cutout for the belly: 260x150mm

– table legs: 310x210x5mm

To make the cutout for the belly, measure the waist of the child and see for yourself what the best measurement is for your child.

To put the table together, we used the same technique as the seat so we drill holes in the planks 20 mm of the borders. The holes are drilled 30mm from each other. For the plank, also drilling 20mm from the border and 30mm from each other.

For stability, we attached 4 laths again on the side planks, on each side plank, two laths. This laths are 18x15x310mm.

The planks are fixed to each other with rope again, we will do this in the same way as we did with the seat.

The loop that can be seen on the pictures has been stitched out of the skai and attached with staples onto the middle plank. This loop can be attached onto the support pants. This ensures that the table can’t be pushed away by the child while he is playing. This gives extra safety.

Step 11: Final result and team

You can find more information on our blog

Project made by:Carolle Geldof, Emily Quartier, Jaana Caes and Sahin Vanneste

Via Instructables

Be sure to click the ‘This Solution Helped Me’ button at the top of this page if you give this a try!

Fixperts Benchmark Residency – Nail Clippers grip Sugru hack from Fixperts on Vimeo.

With thanks to@MayaAlvarado1

Be sure to click the ‘This Solution Helped Me’ button if you give this a try!

This 3D printed aid could be the perfect solution for someone with limited grip or dexterity, limb difference or anyone that finds it difficult to paint their nails! For help with 3D printing, get in touch with our sponsors DEMAND Design & Manufacture for Disability.

Download the 3D printable file 

Remember to click the ‘This Solution Helped Me button at the top of this page if this solution helped you.

This hack is the perfect way to make sure young kids and anyone that finds unwrapping too fiddly can still enjoy opening their gift!

You will need:

• a gift!
• wrapping paper
• scissors
• tape
• ribbon
• something to hold on to if the ribbon will be too small to grip – a gift tag or a keyring will work

Did this hack work for you? Remember to click the ‘This solution helped me” button at the top of this page, and then share a video of the fun part – unwrapping!

This handy 3D printable handle will help open those tricky pots of yoghurt, margarine, ice cream and more, why not give it a go!

Download the 3D CAD file

Remember to click the ‘This Helped Me’ button at the top of this page, or leave a comment letting us know how you got on!

Via Pinshape

3D printing is doing incredible things for prosthetics, with organisations like E-Nable publishing customisable, open source designs that are affordable, even for kids whose requirements change quickly as they grow.

Could this design be the answer to unaffordable mobility aids for thousands of people across the world? Download the CAD files and check out the full tutorial on Thingiverse.

Make sure to comment or click ‘This Helped Me’ at the top f the page if you make one of these incredible chairs!

A nifty 3D printing project with great potential to help people with dexterity issues. Head over to Pinshape to download the 3D printing files, which are available in 4 sizes to suit different hands!

Don’t forget to click the ‘This Helped Me’ button at the top of the page if you give this a try.

An aid to assist wheelchair users when taking out the bin

The Easy-bin wheelchair aid is an simple but effective solution to taking the trash out for people in wheelchairs. It allows the user to take the trash out while still having full control of the wheelchair and being able to navigate tight spaces with ease.

Research has shown us that wheelchair users who live fairly independently find it hard to take out the rubbish.  This is because you need two hands to push a wheel chair so it is hard to push it whilst carrying a bin or bag, plus few people want to rest their rubbish on their laps. We were able to speak to man living in America, who makes a variety of YouTube videos showing his daily struggles, about how he takes out his trash. He was able to give us insight on how to develop a product which solves this issue.

The final solution we have come up with is a combination of arms and hinges which are permanently attached to a dustbin and then lifted up and attached to a wheelchair. The arm has the ability to fold up against the bin and clip into place, this keeps the product compact and out of the way. When the user wants to take out the trash all they do is simply go to the dustbin, unclip the first arm, lift the bin up and slot the arm into the attachments on the wheelchair, they can then twist the bin around in front of their legs.

To test the product we made a model and once was made we acquired our wheelchair and began to test our final outcome. The process of utilising our product starts off with the user travelling towards the bin lifting it up and clipping the bar in the clips attached to the wheelchair. Connecting the bar to the clips wasn’t a smooth process when we tested it but it was a simple process. Baring in mind we intend to make the actual product out of a metal such as aluminium because metals tend to have a more polished surface finish, so there would be less friction between the bar and the clip. Therefore connecting the pieces together should be a smother process.

Finally we tested if you could utilize the wheelchair with our model attached. Because the bin can placed in front of the user it doesn’t cause much of an obstruction. We discovered the wheelchair was still usable with our attachment on and the performance of the wheelchair seemed the same as before which is dependent of the users physicality.

Manufacture:

This product uses material and components that are easy obtainable from any hardware or DIY store. This means that actually making the product is simple because it mostly involves attaching components in various ways.

For a dustbin with dimensions of: 600mm x 400mm x 400mm

The size of the product is very dependent on the size of the dustbin and wheelchair being used. These three components are the most varied and would need to be adjusted. The rest of the components would be bought in as standard parts.

More information about the manufacture and component parts can be found in the report below.

Report

Step-by-step instructions; how to make a handle for roll on deodorant. Useful if it’s difficult to grip the bottle or hold it at the angle needed to get the deodorant in the right place. This handle could also be useful for other household tasks because of it’s simple clip holder. If you discover another use take a picture and share your tips in the comments!

Materials:

• Tool clip
• Threaded rod, size M4 (about 20cm)
• 2x Nuts, size M4
• Epoxy resin
• Lightweight air dry clay
• Spray paint or acrylic paint (optional)
• Plasti-dip (optional)

Tools:

• Pliers
• Junior hacksaw

Method:

1. Insert the threaded rod into the hole in the tool clip. Use one nut on either side to secure it in place, tighten with the pliers if necessary.

2. Mix a small amount of epoxy glue and cover each nut to make sure they won’t loosen over time. Leave to harden.

3. Use the pliers to bend the threaded rod into a curve. Test the handle with a deodorant bottle to find the correct angle to easily reach the underarm.

4. Trim the threaded rod using the hacksaw if it is too long. People with smaller hands might find a shorter handle is easier to hold.

5. Use some of the lightweight air dry clay to mould the handle. Make a sausage shape and push the threaded rod inside. Use your hand to shape the clay and make the handle comfortable to hold. Use 2 small balls of clay to cover the sharp edges of the tool clip that could scratch. Leave everything to dry for at least 24 hours. (Don’t dry in the microwave because of the metal parts!)

6. Paint the handle with acrylic paint or spray paint to make it wipe-clean. The clay is porous before painting. Here are just a few ideas:

7. To make the handle more ‘grippy’ dip it in Plasti-Dip and leave to cure.

8. The handle is ready to use! Slip the tool clip over the thinnest part of the deodorant bottle, take off the lid and put some on!