We were approached by the Zlatá rybka (Golden Fish) foundationto help them fulfil the wish of seriously ill Jakub. His big dream was his own 3D printer and we were to teach him how to use it. Under normal circumstances nothing complicated, but Jakub's illness has left him almost completely immobilised, including his hands.
What to do?
We recommended using a tablet attached to the bed with a positioning arm, on which he can create, download and prepare 3D models for printing just by moving his fingers. However, with the actual operation of the printer, Kuba has to be helped by his carers from the Jedlička Institute, whom we trained directly on site.
“Some wishes can be a bit tricky,” says Karin Pospíšilová, director of Zlatá rybka. “But the guys from PrusaLab approached the whole thing absolutely brilliantly. They patiently listened to what the wish was and what options Jakub has given the specifics of his illness. They didn't hesitate to come to his home repeatedly and introduce him and his loved ones to the secrets of 3D printing. The crowning moment was when the company donated the printer along with accessories and Kuba was promised technical support whenever he needs it.”
This challenging task was also valuable for us, as we learned a lot from solving it. It allowed us to test what difficulties disabled users of our printers may face, and we shared these findings with the development department.
First prints
Jakub shared his first printing attempts with us. Some he downloaded from the internet, but there are already some among them that he modelled himself. Given the extent of his disability, this is a truly remarkable achievement and we are very happy with his results.
