Do you have questions? We have answers!

If you don’t see the answer to your question below, please contact us and we’ll do everything we can to help.

Ordering and Prices

How do I place an order?

If you’d like to use (download) a design from our library 3D printable ability aids, then you can simply follow the links on that page to find the download file.

If you’d like us to modify a design, create a new design from scratch or produce (3D print) a design for you, then the first step is to contact us to talk through your requirements in more detail.

How much does each service cost?

The price varies depending on your requirements. For example, the time taken to design an aid that fits onto something of a standard size and is simple in nature will be far less than designing something to perfectly fit an individual hand (that may take several iterations to perfect). Likewise, different sized aids shipped to different destinations (for our print-only service), will also vary in price.

Please contact us in the first instance to discuss your requirements. There are no upfront charges, so unless you’re completely happy with our proposal, it won’t cost you a single penny.

Copyright

Can I use designs from the library?

There are 2 types of design listed in the library, those that we have designed ourselves and those we’ve curated (i.e. they were designed by someone else and the work is clearly credited back to them).

Every design in the library has a link to download the original ‘design file’, and all copyright information will be displayed on that page. You’ll find that most files are free to download and print for non-commercial use. If you want to use a file in a way that isn’t explicitly permitted, then you should contact the designer (whether that is us or someone else).

To check the different types of Creative Commons licenses, see here.

What is the copyright on a design I commission?

Our mission is to make these 3D printable ability aids as readily available to as many people that need them as possible. To that end, all original designs that we produce will be made free to download and use for non-commercial use (and we will work with organisations that have a genuine need for them). Most commonly this will be under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA) licence. To check other license types, see the full list of Creative Commons licenses.

If you do commission an original design with us, then you can take pride and comfort in the fact that it may well end up benefiting many other people in addition to yourself.

3D Printing Explained

What is 3D printing?

3D printing is the process of creating a three-dimensional physical object (from a 3D computer model), with material being added together layer by layer.

The easiest way to understand it is to watch a video (see below).

Most commonly objects are produced in a plastic materials (with more and more materials becoming available). 3D printing is also unique in that you can (pretty much) print any design that can be imagined, and it is also possible to produce ‘joined’ parts (such as a hinge that requires no assembly).

This first video is a time lapse, condensing a 5 hour process into 50 seconds. Although it is too fast to see the thread of plastic being melted and extruded out of a fine nozzle (to build each layer), you can see the effect of the layers being built.

This second video provides a much more detailed overview of 3D printing, discussing printers, materials, software and much more.