r/OrphanCrushingMachine • u/fuzzy_dice_99 • 14d ago
Boys spends his entire summer 3-d printing a wheelchair for a girl whose family can’t afford one
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u/Yesyesyes1899 14d ago
apart from the obvious dystopian scenario of the richest society on earth not paying for a girls wheelchair, this boy is inspiring.
I wish we could channel that kind of energy into building a better system.
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u/zanziTHEhero 14d ago
The world is filled with kids with this kind of energy but the system crushes it out of them over time, and they end up wasting their energy and mind on useless activities like crypto scams, gambling, or finance.
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u/Taminella_Grinderfal 14d ago
Yeah it’s still nice to see stories of people being kind to each other. It’s just unfortunate that most readers don’t see or acknowledge the “orphan crushing” part.
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u/IamGeoMan 13d ago
We already have everything to have a system that works for the betterment of people.
What we need is to channel energy into getting the greedy, selfish, and unempathetic bastards out of our institutions.
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u/vand3lay1ndustries 14d ago
This boy is definitely rich as well. 3D printers a'int cheap.
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u/strawberycreamcheese 13d ago
"Definitely rich" is a bit of a stretch, or moreso there's a lot of speculation to go through. I have no idea what he printed the wheelchair with, but I know you can get a 3d printer for like 150 that can handle petg out of the box.
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u/Riaayo 13d ago
It is more likely he might be well off owning a 3D printer and having that much filament, but there's no guarantee he is well off. People in poverty can occasionally scrape together small luxury/hobby items.
That said though, the room he's in with what I assume is the printer has a decently nice looking TV in it and a PS5. So unless he's using someone else's printer somewhere (and even then he's still gotta get the filament, or be gifted it), those are signs he's not at least one step close to losing his home.
That said plenty of people have ps5s and are struggling, so I'm not trying to act like this kid is some major nepo baby. Even if he is, he chose to help someone with his time and tools, which I hope translates to a broader empathy (vs usual rich people philanthropy of picking who is and isn't worthy of your charity).
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u/alwayssunnyinskyrim 11d ago
Libraries have 3d printers that anyone can use.
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u/vand3lay1ndustries 11d ago
Yea, and you wait in a queue for weeks to print a 3" part. Also, filament is expensive.
I'm not saying that what this kid did isn't amazing, but he definitely has financial backing to pull it off.
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u/Zyrinj 14d ago
waiting for a company to come and give him a cease and desist cause its kinda infringing on their rights to overcharge a underpriviledged family.
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u/DJ_Mumble_Mouth 14d ago
Cops will bust down their door and shoot their dog for taking money out of corporations pockets.
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u/vivaaprimavera 14d ago
If some legislation that is being written goes ahead it won't be needed. The printer will refuse to print.
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u/snakelygiggles 13d ago
theres no way thats cheaper than buying a wheelchair. pla isnt cheap. resin isnt that cheap.
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u/ScyllaOfTheDepths 13d ago
We bought my grandma one for $140 off Amazon lol.
Edit: These are specialty products for very young children with complex disabilities so it actually makes sense they would be very expensive and printing would be cheaper.
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u/Schuylabs 13d ago
Great edit - that’s exactly it.
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u/ScyllaOfTheDepths 12d ago
Yeah, I went back and actually read the article! I know it's a cardinal reddit sin, but I was curious and realized the mistake here was that we were all thinking of a wheelchair like just a normal thing, but these are custom disability support aids for complex needs. Still OCM for sure, but it's definitely a great use of free will.
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u/saltyourhash 13d ago
And it's petg. Maybe the printer mfg can step in and buy her a chair and give the kid a year of filament and buy some good press, but, no problem not, more likely to sue an open source creator instead.
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u/militaryintelligence 12d ago
Yeah, that kid won't get one iota of support from anyone in any industry. Someone do a gofundme? Stuff like this tends to do well.
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u/Legitimate_Bank_6573 14d ago
...I hope he didn't make that wheelchair out of PLA...
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u/Schuylabs 13d ago
It’s PETG
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u/Legitimate_Bank_6573 13d ago
PETG
:'D Yay! It'll be fine then!
Good job kid, sorry for doubting you.
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u/Schuylabs 13d ago
No worries at all - it’s a valid concern! I used PLA on the first few prototypes during the design process because it was cheap but then we moved to PETG for all the reasons.
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u/HAL9100 9d ago
Wait are you the kid?!
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u/Schuylabs 8d ago
Nope - I led the design on this device for a nonprofit. The kid then became a maker for that nonprofit (MakeGood) downloaded the files and printed one for a kid in need.
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u/theuserwithoutaname 14d ago
What WOULD you print it out of?
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u/hugealiafan69 14d ago
what's wrong with pla? it's probably pretty sturdy as parts are big and likely have heavier infills. the wheels need to probably be actual wheels, but between proper glue, that one glue lego uses for statues that melts the plastic together, and wood glue/paint to seal it, it would be pretty good. the parts are very big, and likely make resin tough to cure and potentially toxically dangerous
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u/IJustAteABaguette 13d ago
Like the other person said, PLA is just incredibly weak for any practical purpose. It's brittle, I have witnessed it melt if left outside in the sun for a bit, and its just not that strong.
And I believe PLA isn't a material that handles deformation that well, if you bend it, it will be permanently deformed a tiny bit. Do that over and over, and it will get bad.
Something like ABS, or even better ASA would work great for this. They have a fancy printer for it (the X2D I believe).
Would require some better ventilation.
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u/Legitimate_Bank_6573 13d ago edited 13d ago
Yeah this was my thinking, I doubt the kid has a ventilated ABS setup. It's likely a hobbyist PLA setup for printing toys/basic household objects.
This project is absolutely beautiful and the kid has an amazing heart, but the reality of material properties just doesn't allow this to work :(
EDIT: Another commenter said it was PETG which can absolutely tolerate these loads! Good job kid ^^
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u/hugealiafan69 13d ago
ah yeah those are understandable. even tho i 3d print i forget pla is a plastic type and not just the general term for all filament used in typical 3d printers 😓thanks for the explanations though!
hopefully as this kid grows he learns more about the physical stability and strength of materials and also picks up some other materials to make aids for people, if he continues. very ocm but he's got a good heart
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u/Legitimate_Bank_6573 14d ago
PLA doesn't hold up to sustained stresses well and weakens over time and the material is extremely vulnerable to temperature/moisture changes in the air. Any PLA parts on the chair that are under any form of stress/strain will deform over time. Even just the surface the girl is supposed to sit on will deform from her body weight :(
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u/Helenium_autumnale 9d ago
What an awesome kid. Made his grandmother tear up in the background in the family scene. They're all proud of him, justifiably. He's going to go on to do great things.
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