Development Of 3D Printable Prosthetic Arm For Amputees Using Computer Aided Design And Fused Deposition Modelling

Full text

Vol. 10(36), Apr. 2020, PP. 4598-4607
4598
Article History:
Received Date: Mar. 11, 2019
Accepted Date: Aug. 16, 2019
Available Online: Apr. 01, 2020
Development Of 3D Printable Prosthetic Arm For Amputees Using
Computer Aided Design And Fused Deposition Modelling
Philip Ezigbo, Kelechi Felix Opara and Nkwachukwu Chukwuchekwa
Department of E.E.E, F.U.T.O, Imo State
*Corresponding Author's E-mail: ezigbophilip@yahoo.com
Abstract
n this paper, a 3D printable upper limb prosthetics was designed, printed and assembled. The arm
model was created using computer-aided design software (SOLIDWORKS). Stress simulation
programs were used to analyse the various arm parts before they were printed in 3D using Fused
Deposition Modelling (FDM) process. Structural analysis and cost comparison with other commercial
prosthetics were also carried out. From result of the structural analysis, it is shown that the 3D printed
arm can withstand external impact of about 250 N from its user in the event of a fall. Also, reliable and
effective embedded electronics like Microcontrollers, Sensors, DC servo motors and a solar battery
charger module were integrated into the design. The overall prototype arm weighs about 2.2kg,
including the motors, major electronics and control system. And its cost of production is approximately
300 dollars, which is low when compared to the weight and cost of most commercial prosthetics. It also
mimics the functions of the human upper arm as best as possible, controlled to some extent by muscular
contractions and runs continuously without battery run-out, as a result of the solar battery charging
technique. Finally, this paper sheds light on the specifics of 3D prosthetics design using FDM and may
serve as a guide for those intending to produce a similar prosthetic device.
Keywords: 3D Printing, Computer Aided Design, Fused Deposition Modelling, SOLIDWORKS
1. Introduction
According to a ten years’ retrospective review in Nigeria, about 25 per cent of limb amputation is
done on the upper limb (Dada, et al., 2010). This limb amputation is a veritable way of saving lives of
patients with severe injuries like diabetics, tumor or other diseases, and it can be a life-changing event
with physical, social, psychological, and economic consequences for an amputee. In order to mitigate
these consequences and assist an amputee return to a state of normalcy, prostheses are used. Prosthetics
like the upper arm prosthetics is a device that substitute a defective part of the upper limb and it assists
an amputee in carrying out daily life activities. Prosthetic Upper arm vary in type and method of control
and are designed or customized around a patient’s specific needs. Some of them are non-functional,
serving only cosmetic purposes. Another type of prosthetic upper arm is the body powered prostheses
that have mechanical hooks and is controlled by cables or harness powered by body motions (biomed,
2003). More conventional types are the myoelectric prosthesis, which are controlled by nerve signals
generated in muscles around a user’s residual limb either through; use of surface Electromyography
electrodes or by TMR (Targeted Muscle Reinnervation) and powered through electronics like batteries,
microcontrollers and DC motors (Scheme, et al., 2011). For decades, innovations and advancement in
technology have vastly improved the performance and use of these prostheses, they have also affected
both the cost of manufacturing and the cost of using these prosthetic devices. Therefore, state of the art
I

Philip Ezigbo et al. / Vol. 10(36), Apr. 2020, PP. 4598-4607
4599
International Journal of Mechatronics, Electrical and Computer Technology (IJMEC)
Universal Scientific Organization, www.aeuso.org
PISSN: 2411-6173, EISSN: 2305-0543
prosthetics especially those with multiple degrees of freedom, myoelectric control, biofeedback and
neuro-control are extremely expensive. Apart from cost, other critical factors like weight, power source,
and insufficient degrees of freedom also limits the use and development of these devices.
Biswarup, et al., (2011) and Humaid, et al., (2016) saw the need to address these limitations in a cost-
effective manner by proposing the use of myoelectric control. But their works were limited to the use of
woods, heavy materials and constructed plastics for the development of test prototypes. The use of heavy
materials, woods and constructed plastics in their work failed to satisfy some of the important factors
like human-like appearance in terms of size and weight which are considered when developing a
prosthesis. Also, sufficient autonomy of energy source to allow the prostheses work all day were not
considered. Fahad, et al., (2013) made use of limit switches for actuation which made their developed
prototypes less cosmetically appealing. Also, responses with switches were very slow when compared
with servo motors which are faster and offer more degrees of freedom.
With the innovation of 3D printing, an addictive manufacturing process, 3D printable prosthetics are
now developed, and used as inexpensive alternatives. They are light in terms of weight, customizable
and can provide considerable hand mobility at affordable prices. In this paper, the development of a 3D
printable upper arm prosthetics is explored, a model of the hand was created with computer-aided design
software and simulation express programs were used to analyse the different arm parts and then 3D
printed. Also, reliable and effective embedded electronics like; a Myoware muscle sensor with
electrodes, an Arduino microcontroller, a solar battery charge controller with a mini solar panel, servo
motors and ultrasonic sensors, are then integrated into the 3D printed arm. This paper, also highlights
the production process and design specifics of the various parts which can serve as a guide for further
development of stronger and more durable prostheses.
2. Literature Review
Biswarup, et al., (2011) in their paper presented a hardware design technique of a prosthetic arm
using gear motor control. The architectural design of the prosthetic arm featured a constructed hand
gripper from hard wood which is lighter in weight when compared with existing metallic arms. Its
prosthetic arm control movement was based on microcontroller processing of signals from tact sensor
switches placed on selected muscle area. These signals were used to control low power gear motor which
produced high torque enhancing the power of hand gripping and opening. Some of the limitations of
this work includes; limited dexterity since only one degree of freedom i.e. hand opening and closing
was considered, the use of wood makes the design less cosmetically appealing, and finally switch control
was slow in response.
Humaid, et al., (2016) presented a technique to design an electromyography-based prototype
prosthetic arm using artificial intelligence, in such a way that the prototype arm can imitate the actions
of a real human arm. The design featured five individually actuated fingers with a movable wrist design.
A microprocessor was used to interpret and analyse signals from muscles using surface
electromyography electrodes (SEMGs). The analysed and interpreted sensory signals are used by the
microprocessor to control the servo motor actuators in the fingers and wrist, thus control was regulated
by the extension and contractions of muscles connected to electrodes. A major limitation to this work is
that, heavy materials were used for developing its prototype and it lacks autonomy of power source for
continuous operation.
Omarkulov, et al., (2015) in their paper titled “Design and analysis of an underactuated
anthropomorphic finger for upper-limb prosthetics” presented the design of a linkage-based finger
mechanism with extended range of gripping motions. The finger design was done using a path-point
generation method based on geometrical dimensions and motion of a typical index human finger. Using
a 3D printed prototype, the design description, kinematics analysis and experimental evaluation of the
finger gripping performance was carried out in this paper. Under-actuation of the finger was achieved
with mechanical linkage system, consisting of two crossed four-bar linkage mechanisms. The presented
finger design can be used as a blueprint to design a five-fingered anthropomorphic hand in an upper-
limb prostheses development.

Philip Ezigbo et al. / Vol. 10(36), Apr. 2020, PP. 4598-4607
4600
International Journal of Mechatronics, Electrical and Computer Technology (IJMEC)
Universal Scientific Organization, www.aeuso.org
PISSN: 2411-6173, EISSN: 2305-0543
2.1. Amputation and Use of Prosthesis
The use of prosthetics especially those of the upper limb depends on the level of user’s amputation.
As a result of these levels of amputations, upper limb prosthetics can further be classified into various
kinds and they work according to the amputee’s specific needs. Therefore, the more distal an amputation
is from the shoulder, the more precise the motion can be. For instance, patients with amputated wrist or
whose amputation is below the elbow make use of wrist powered prosthetic device or a transradial
prosthesis, powered by the movement of the elbow joint. An amputation above the elbow that leaves
only the shoulder joint require a transhumeral prosthesis with multiple degrees of freedom or movement
(Cordella, et al., 2016). Figure. 1 depicts the various levels of amputation at the upper extremity or areas
of prosthetic application.
Figure 1: Various levels of amputation at the upper extremity (nova scotia health, 2018)
2.2. 3D Printing, and Printing Materials
Three dimensional (3D) printing or addictive manufacturing is simply a process of making three
dimensional solid objects from a digital file. it is a method of producing a 3D object by creating
successive layers of material, with each layer being a cross-section of the object at a certain point
(PrintSpace 3D, 2016). A review of 3D printed hand prostheses shows that the 3 most common
technologies used are Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) and Selective
Stereolithography Apparatus (SLA).
FDM or Fused filament fabrication is chosen as the preferred printing technology in this work,
because of its low price and ease of use. It consists of a fused plastic filament deposition, or the extrusion
of a molten thermoplastic material from a nozzle or extruder as shown in Figure 2. The plastic solidifies
after leaving the nozzle, forming a single layer. Objects are gradually printed layer by layer. Varying
the layer heights and fill percentages can affect the strength and integrity of the print material.
In FDM printing, models are built from bottom up and it only allows to print simple shape objects.
In case of a complex geometry, support materials are needed (Moreo, 2016). Also, FDM printers are the
cheapest printers and they are meant to be used by single costumers. An example is the MakerBot printer.
It has an adjustable base which provides support to horizontal planes during printing. It has its own
development environment and an LCD screen. With the LCD screen, several features such as print
speed, layer resolution, and extrusion temperature can be set, and fine tuning of other printer options
can be done in order to produce high quality printed components.

Philip Ezigbo et al. / Vol. 10(36), Apr. 2020, PP. 4598-4607
4601
International Journal of Mechatronics, Electrical and Computer Technology (IJMEC)
Universal Scientific Organization, www.aeuso.org
PISSN: 2411-6173, EISSN: 2305-0543
Figure 2: Fused Deposition Modeling Process (Ning, et al., 2015).
Several different materials can be used in 3D printing, including plastics, metals, and organic cells.
Two of the most common materials are acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and polylactic acid (PLA).
Both are thermoplastics, but ABS is stronger and more resistant to wear and heat deformation [10]. PLA
was chosen in this work because it is lustrous, sweet-smelling, and biodegradable. PLA does not produce
toxic fumes during the printing process or release toxic chemicals as it wears down over time. Also,
PLAs come in two thicknesses of 1.75mm and 2.85mm (or 3.00mm) respectively, they have optimal
printing temperature range from 185oC to 205oC.
2.3 Computer Aided Design
Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of software to construct designs. Several types of CAD
software exist, each with different features. Examples are SOLIDWORKS, Blender, AutoCAD Inventor
and Fusion 360. SOLIDWORKS is a 3D modeling CAD software where a user typically begins the
modeling process by creating a two-dimensional sketch before extruding it into three dimensions. Then,
the piece can be molded or cut into virtually any design. Parts can then be assembled into a larger
structure (Wijk, et al., 2015). SOLIDWORKS is a convenient platform on which to design a customized
3Dprintable prosthesis, because of its intuitive interface, ease of use, and Simulation Xpress program,
which can simulate force against each part of the prosthesis to evaluate its performance.
3. Methodology
The design method of the entire 3D printable upper arm can be grouped into three; that is structural
design, electronic and control system design and software design but the focus of this paper is on the
structural design and its analysis. In the electronic and control system design, modular design approach
was adopted were by flexible and robust components like myoware sensor, ultrasonic sensor module,
BQ24650 module, DC servo motors, arduino microcontroller and other components which were already
fabricated were selected and integrated into the system. The aim of designing in this manner is to build
a system with easily replaceable parts that have standardized interfaces. Likewise, structured
programming was adopted for the software design. The choice of using structured programming is
because three control structures of this method; sequence, selection and iteration, help create programs
that are easy to read, understand, modify and debug. C language is the chosen programming language
for the software design. It is relatively easier to work with and moreover, the arduino microcontroller
integrated development environment (IDE) uses C language as its default programing language.
The structural design and its analysis were done using CAD tool; SolidWorks. SolidWorks is a
convenient platform to carry out this design process, because of its intuitive interface, ease of use and
simulation Xpress program which can simulate force against each designed parts of the prosthetics in
other to evaluate its performance. SolidWorks was used in the modelling process to create a two-
dimensional sketch before extruding it into three dimensions, then the parts were molded or cut into

Philip Ezigbo et al. / Vol. 10(36), Apr. 2020, PP. 4598-4607
4602
International Journal of Mechatronics, Electrical and Computer Technology (IJMEC)
Universal Scientific Organization, www.aeuso.org
PISSN: 2411-6173, EISSN: 2305-0543
virtually any design and later assembled into a larger structure. It was also used for visualization and
scaling of the CAD files. It provided parametric tools that aided in editing components of the design as
specifications changes without starting all over from scratch.
Below is a detailed description of the fingers and thumb design, palm design, elbow and fore
arm design.
A. Finger and Thumb Design
Each finger consists of three individual printable components (which represent the distal phalanx,
proximal phalanx and metacarpals of the human finger) that is linked together with a NinjaFlex 85A
TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) flexible filaments. Loops or holes are created at the inside tip of the
finger, as well as locking points. Artificial tendons run through this holes inside the fingers, to form
enclosed loops that terminate at the locking points. So that when the tendons are pulled, rotational forces
are applied to all the joints and the fingers curls up. The flexible filaments form joint linkages to hold
the finger components into their locking positions. Figure. 4 shows the CAD design of printable finger
plates.
The thumb is also designed in a similar fashion like the fingers shown in Figure 3. it is designed to
provide at least two degrees of freedom, which allows for open/close as well as adduction/abduction
which is similar to the movements in a normal human thumb. The metacarpal section of the thumb is
designed to house a small dc servo in order to aid this movement.
Figure 3: Fingers and Thumb Plates
B. Palm Design
Each finger is designed to connect to the palm by NinjaFlex flexible filament. The palm is also designed
to house small servos i.e. actuators that allows for finger movements. The open positions in the palm
area shown in Figure 4 is the servo housing. The bottom of the palm incorporates part of the wrist
rotation mechanism.
Figure 4: Palm Design

Philip Ezigbo et al. / Vol. 10(36), Apr. 2020, PP. 4598-4607
4603
International Journal of Mechatronics, Electrical and Computer Technology (IJMEC)
Universal Scientific Organization, www.aeuso.org
PISSN: 2411-6173, EISSN: 2305-0543
C. Wrist Design
The wrist is designed to house a small but high torque servo, this servo is a continuous rotation servo
which rotates indefinitely. However, continuous rotation servos have no angular position feedback and
the hand needs to be rotated to specific position like in a normal hand. To solve this problem, mechanical
blocks as shown in Figure 5 were designed. Servo horn attachments were also designed with a hole to
allow the palm to fit directly into the forearm.
Figure 5: Part of the wrist and forearm design with mechanical blocks in the servo housing
D. Forearm Design
The design of the forearm is somewhat challenging as it is required to house servo motors and some
electronics, and also allow the attachment of the elbow joint. It is part of the largest section of the entire
arm. Its design consists of a base, an upper section and a lower section with servo housings and horn
attachments. To minimize the chance of a crack occurring during assembling the forearm parts, guided
holes for screws have been incorporated into the design plus enough materials to firmly support the
screw.
E. Elbow Design
The elbow joint is designed in such a way that it houses a servo and must be able to move the weight of
the entire forearm on top of any additional load. Based on weight measurement and few mathematically
analysis, the minimum required torque to lift the forearm with no load was found to be roughly 13.5kg-
cm. Therefore, for operation similar to that of a normal human arm, a light weight motor with a torque
of approximately 20kg-cm can be incorporated into the elbow joint.
F. Upper Arm Design
This is the largest section of the entire arm. Since this design is just a prototype and not for real life
application, the upperarm is designed to house a servo which serves as the shoulder joint as shown in
Figure 6.
Figure 6: Assembled View of Entire Arm System showing elbow joint and upperarm

Philip Ezigbo et al. / Vol. 10(36), Apr. 2020, PP. 4598-4607
4604
International Journal of Mechatronics, Electrical and Computer Technology (IJMEC)
Universal Scientific Organization, www.aeuso.org
PISSN: 2411-6173, EISSN: 2305-0543
3.1 Printing and Assembling
After completion of virtual mechanical simulations, the prototype upper arm was ready for
manufacture. The method of manufacture used was rapid prototyping on a Fused Deposition Modelling
(FDM) 3D printer. Here a thread of molten plastic is used to trace out a layer of a part in the X-Y-Z
plane, and once an entire layer is traced, the print platform is lowered and the next layer is printed.
Firstly, the prototype hand model was converted into stereolithography (STL) files. These STL files
were loaded into the printer’s software, arranged for printing, and converted to G code. G code is the
control code that provides the printer with instructions regarding the velocity of the print head, extruder
temperature and the filament extrusion velocity.
At each printing, a spool of the PLA is loaded into the printer, once the nozzle reaches the set
temperature in the G-code, the filament is fed to the extrusion head and in the nozzle where it melts. The
extrusion head was attached to a 3-axis support system that allows it to move in X, Y, and Z directions.
The melted material was extruded in thin strands and deposited layer by layer in predetermined
locations, where it cools and solidifies. To fill an area, multiple passes were performed. When a layer is
finished, the build platform moves down and a new layer is deposited. This process is done repeatedly
until the part is complete.
The entire hand parts were printed in 23 hours in a MakerBot Replicator 2X 3D printer. The set fill
percentage was 30%, and the plastic used was 1.75mm and 2.85mm (or 3 mm) light blue PLA filament.
The prototype arm consisted of 30 individually printed 3D parts, the forearm took the longest amount
of time to print. Figure. 7 shows the various parts before assembling.
Figure 7: 3D Printed Arm Parts
During assembly, each finger has 3 printed components which represents the distal, proximal and
metacarpal phalanx of the human finger, and they are joined together using 3mm NinjaFlex 85A TPU
filaments which forms the finger joints. A long length of braided line (about 60cm) is looped through
the fingertip holes at least twice and then a drop of super glue is applied to the locking point to firmly
anchor the braided lines which serves as artificial tendons. This is to make sure the tendons firmly lock
at the tip of each finger and do not slip when tensioned. Servos are carefully placed into their housing
in the palm with their wires passing through created holes in the lower palm section. The artificial
tendons which runs from each finger are carefully attached and glued on each of the custom servo horns.
Each of these tendons passes through the holes in the servo horn and tied in order to give tension in the
tendon lines. The custom servo horns are then press fitted onto the servo shafts. Through the guided
holes created during design, the palm sections are screwed together and the palm is connected to the
wrist socket. A servo is placed in its housing in the forearm, then the two large forearm sections are
carefully aligned and glued together. The base of the forearm is designed to be attached directly to the
elbow, which is designed to house another servo for elbow movement. Figure 8 is the assembled
prototype 3D upper arm prosthetics.

Philip Ezigbo et al. / Vol. 10(36), Apr. 2020, PP. 4598-4607
4605
International Journal of Mechatronics, Electrical and Computer Technology (IJMEC)
Universal Scientific Organization, www.aeuso.org
PISSN: 2411-6173, EISSN: 2305-0543
Figure 8: SOLIDWORKS Assembled 3D Upperarm Prosthesis
3.2 Structural Analysis and Testing
Structural analysis of the fully assembled arm design was done in SOLIDWORKS using its stress
Simulation Xpress program. This was done in order to determine the strength of the PLA material, its
ability to avoid fractures, and, to ensure that each individual part was constructed firmly enough to
withstand impact from a fall by a user of the prosthetics. In the test, each load-bearing part of the arm,
received a simulated force of 250 newtons, and it resulted in a factor of safety. A factor of safety is a
number that indicates if the design will fail. A factor of safety that is less than one indicates that the
design cannot withstand simulated force. A factor of safety that equals one indicates that the design is
close to failure. A factor of safety that is greater than one indicates that the design can successfully
withstand the force. Most of the tests run on various parts of the prosthesis resulted in factors of safety
that were greater than one as shown in Table 1.
Table 1: Result of Solidworks Stress Analysis
Parts
Factor of Safety
Finger Plates
1.25-1.6
Palm Design
20.3
Wrist Design
15.3
Upper forearm
9.3
Lower forearm
10.5
Elbow joint housing
16.2
Upperarm Design
36.9
3.3 Cost Analysis
The total sum for producing this prototype is ninety thousand naira, which is approximately $300.
From the cost comparison presented in Table 2, it can be observed that the developed prototype cost less
than most conventional prosthesis. Making 3D printed prosthesis a promising solution to the problem
of existing expensive prosthesis.
Table 2: Cost Comparison with Existing Commercial Prosthesis
Type of Prosthesis
Cost ($)
3D Printed Arm
300
Cosmetic Prosthesis
5,000
Split Hook Prosthesis
10,000
Myoelectric
100,000
4. Result and Discussion
It was necessary to ensure that the designed arm has the capability to withstand forces applied on it
from any angle, especially in the event of a fall with a user. The fill percentage of the printer was set to
30% which is the optimum option and the PLA print material has a thickness of 2.85mm. The result
from the analysis and testing as shown in Table 1 made it clear that several parts of the printed arm can

Philip Ezigbo et al. / Vol. 10(36), Apr. 2020, PP. 4598-4607
4606
International Journal of Mechatronics, Electrical and Computer Technology (IJMEC)
Universal Scientific Organization, www.aeuso.org
PISSN: 2411-6173, EISSN: 2305-0543
withstand large amount of forces. Only the finger plates failed the simulation when a force was exerted
on them. All other parts of the hand passed the stress test. However, it can be inferred that once the hand
is assembled, the weight of any impact on the hand would be distributed across the entire arm, decreasing
the magnitude of force that each individual part would receive. This means that the complete hand would
be able to successfully withstand heavy impacts from its users.
Also, minimizing weight is crucial and was part of the objectives of this design, since the entire
weight of a prosthetic arm acts on a relatively small area of the skin at the socket connection. This makes
amputees feel the weight of a prosthetic arm more than their biological arm. The full importance of this
weight reduction by making use of PLA can be addressed if a socket connection is implemented in future
designs. The final arm system weighs about 2.2 kg including the motors, major electronics and control
system. Which is relatively low compared to the average human arm (2.5kg according to body size) and
the weights of most commercial prosthetics. Hence, this work is an improvement to the ones carried out
in [3], [4] and [5].
CONCLUSION
The overall objective of this design which is developing a 3D printed Upperarm prosthetics using
CAD software was achieved. SOLIDWORKS was used to design the various arm parts before
assembling it in SOLIDWORKS. With its simulation Xpress program, force against each designed parts
of the prosthetics arm were simulated in order to evaluate its performance. It was also used in the scaling
and conversion of the CAD files into stereolithography (STL) files before printed. The entire arm parts
were printed with a Fused Deposition Modeling printer and later assembled.
The test result from structural analysis carried out in SOLIDWORKS showed that the arm is capable
of withstanding external impact of about 250 Newtons in the event of a fall, if used by a patient. The
overall prototype arm weighs about 2.2kg and its cost of production is approximately 300 dollars, which
is low when compared to the weight and cost of most commercial prosthetics.
Finally, the application of 3D printing in the manufacturing of prosthetic devices can lower the cost
of these devices by high orders of magnitude, making them available to patients with low socioeconomic
status. Also, the work in this paper sheds light on the specifics of 3D prosthetics design using FDM and
may serve as a guide for those intending to produce a similar prosthetic device.
References
[1] A. A. Dada and B. O. Awoyomi, “What is the trend of amputation in Nigeria? A review of 51 consecutive cases seen at
Federal Medical Centre Ebute Metta, Lagos Nigeria,” Nigerian Medical Journal, vol. 51, no. 4, 2010, pp. 167-169,
[Online] Available: https://www.nigerianmedj.com/2010
[2] A. Humaid, J. Sayyed, L. Maozhen, “Development of a Local Prosthetic Limb Using Artificial Intelligence”, International
Journal of Innovative Research in Computer and Communication Engineering, 4(9), 15708-15716, 2016.
doi:10.15680/IJIRCCE.2016. 0409002
[3] A. Wijk and I. Wijk, "3D Printing," in 3D Printing with Biomaterials: Towards a Sustainable and Circular Economy.
Amsterdam, Netherlands: IOS Press, 2015, ch. 1, pp. 11-32.
[4] “Amputee Rehabilitation, Musculoskeletal Program” nova scotia health authority, 2018. [Online]. Available:
https://www.cdha.nshealth.ca/amputee-rehabilitation-musculoskeletal-program/.
[5] E. Scheme, K. Englehart, “Electromyogram pattern recognition for control of power upper-limb prosthesis,” Journal
of Rehabilitation Research & Development (JRRD), vol. 48, no. 6, pp 643-660, 2011. Accessed on: Mar. 21, 2018.
[Online]. Available doi:10.1682/JRRD.2010.09.0177
[6] F. Cordella, AL Ciancio, R. Sacchetti, A. Davalli, AG Cutti, E. Guglielmelli, L. Zollo, “Literature review on needs of upper
limb prosthesis users,” Front. Neurosci, 2016. Accessed on Mar.21, 2018. [Online]. Available doi: 10.3389/fnins.
2016.00209
[7] F. Ning, W. Cong, J. Wei, S Wang, M. Zhang, “ Addictive manufacturing of CFRP composites using fused deposition
modeling: Effects of carbon fiber content and length” Proceedings of the ASME 2015 International Manufacturing

Philip Ezigbo et al. / Vol. 10(36), Apr. 2020, PP. 4598-4607
4607
International Journal of Mechatronics, Electrical and Computer Technology (IJMEC)
Universal Scientific Organization, www.aeuso.org
PISSN: 2411-6173, EISSN: 2305-0543
Science and Engineering Conference MSEC2015., North Carolina, USA., 2015, Accessed on May 12, 2018 [Online]
Available doi: 10.1115/MSEC2015-9436
[8] M. D. Fahad, M. Daniyal, S. Hassan, A. Umer, A. Emmad, , A. Anees,” Automation of Prosthetic Upper Limbs for
Transhumeral Amputees Using Switch-controlled Motors”, The International Journal of Soft Computing and Software
Engineering, 3(3), 2251-7545. doi:10.7321/jscse.v3.n3.90
[9] M. Moreo, “Parametric design of a 3D printable hand prosthesis for children in developing countries,” M.S. Thesis,
Biomedical Engineering., Delft University of Technology., Netherlands, Nov. 2016. Accessed on: June, 2018. [Online].
Available: http://repository.tudelft.nl/
[10] N. Biswarup, M. Soumyajit , D. Achintya , D. N. Tibarewala, “Design and implementation of prosthetic arm using Gear
Motor Control technique with appropriate testing”, International Journal of Computer Application in Engineering,
Technology and Science, 3(1), 281-285, 2011, Retrieved from https://arxiv.org/abs/1111.2258.
[11] N. Omarkulov, K. Telegenov, M. Zeinullin, A. Begalinova, A. Shintemiroy, “Design and analysis of an underactuated
anthropomorphic finger for upper limb prosthetics,” Conf. Proc. IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc., Milan, Italy., 2015, Accessed
on May 17, 2018. [Online] doi:10.1109/EMBC.2015.7318895
[12] "Packages", solidworks.com, (2016). [Online]. Available: http://www.solidworks.com/.
[13] "Upper Extremity Prosthetics", biomed.brown.edu, 2003. [Online]. Available: http://biomed.brown.edu/.
[14] "3D Printing Processes", PrintSpace 3D, 2016. [Online]. Available: https://www.printspace3d.com/.
Autor(s)
PHILIP. J EZIGBO was born on 07.03.1990. In 2012 he graduated (B.Eng.) with a Second Class
Honours (upper division) at the department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, School of
Engineering and Engineering Technology, Federal University of Technology Owerri. He
completed his master’s degree program in Control System Engineering with a distinction in
2018. His research interest includes, Control system designs, Nonlinear system modeling,
analysis and design in the frequency domain, embedded systems, System health monitoring and
fault detection of engineering systems, Biomechatronics, Control and optimization for power
and energy systems
Email: ezigbophilip@yahoo.com
Phone Number: +2348036682693
Engr. Prof. F. K. Opara, hails from Awo Mbieri, Mbaitoli LGA of Imo State, Nigeria. He was
born to Mr & Mrs F. O. Opara, a renowned Baptist Church Elder. Educationally, F. K. Opara,
obtained his B. Eng.(Tech.), in Electronic and Computer Engineering, from Federal University of
Technology, Owerri (FUTO), Nigeria in 1990. After, the National Youth Service Corp
programme, in 1991, he returned for the M. Sc., Degree programme in Computer Engineering and
obtained it, in 1995, and finally, got his Ph.D in 2008, in Data Communications, Computer
Engineering, all from Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria. He was the Head of
Department(HOD), Electrical & Electronic Engineering from July, 2011 to July,2013. Engr. Prof.
F. K. Opara, is a registered member of Council for the Regulations of Engineering in Nigeria
(COREN), a corporate member of the Nigerian Society of Engineers and a member of Institute of Electrical and Electronic
Engineering, USA. Furthermore, Engr. Dr. F. K. Opara, is married to Barr. Mrs Faith N. Opara, the Chief Inspector, Imo State
Customary Court of Appeal, and the marriage is blessed with children; Peace, Happiness, Noble and Wisdom.
Email: felix.opara@futo.edu.ng
Phone Number: +2348108178186
Engr. Dr. Nkwachukwu Chukwuchekwa is a senior lecturer in the department of Electrical and
Electronic Engineering (EEE), Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), Nigeria. He
obtained his Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng) degree in Electronic and Computer Engineering
from FUTO in 2000. His Master of Engineering degree was obtained in Communication
Engineering from the same University in 2006. Dr. Chukwuchekwa proceeded to the United
Kingdom precisely at Cardiff University where he obtained his PhD in Electrical Engineering in
2012 using the United Kingdom’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
scholarship. He spent the Spring Semester of 2014 as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) USA sponsored by Total E&P, Nigeria National
Petrolem Corporation (NNPC) and Google. He has published many research articles and presented
papers at reputable International conferences in United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Italy, Greece,
Poland etc. He was EEE departmental examination officer for several years and is at present the Departmental Postgraduate
Cordinator. Nkwachukwu enjoys playing football, reading, Internet browsing, prayer and evangelism.
Email: Nkwachukwu.chukwuchekwa@futo.edu.ng
Phone Number: +2348033377276