Havenlabs: 3D Printed Prosthetics

Hi! My name is River Castelonia and I am the Founder and Executive Director of Havenlabs, a non-profit being assembled by engineers, programmers, and thinkers. Our purpose is to design custom 3D printed prosthetics for our American Veterans. We hope to be role models for others in the community and to push the bounds on 3D printing applications.I started Havenlabs with Co-founders Brian Sopok  and Ronald Mogg. Our mission is to create a better future for those who sacrificed so much for both our freedom and our country.



Over the past summer I was able to save up enough money to purchase a 3D printer for this endeavor and focused day and night on our design. It took a total of four months and countless hours to finish our most updated model while we continue to improve upon our work daily.  What you see above is our Utility Gauntlet, this is a prosthetic designed for upper limb amputee's which will have various attachments that can be inserted and removed at the convience of the amputee. It can be easily slipped on or off due to the 3D printed elastic bands, which secure the device to the amputee. By using 3D printing technology, this prosthetic only costs $10 make! In comparison to the thousands of dollars that medical companies charge, we will make this a lot more accessible to each person in need. Some of the Utility Gauntlet's feautures will allow the amputee to write, eat, and even drive. 


This will be open-sourced which means that anyone can access this via our website and have the ability to print the prosthetic from their living room. This will allow designers and engineers around the globe to add to the ever growing library of utilities for the prosthetic and improve upon its design. 



 With the use of 3D scanning technology, we will be able to create an exact fit that is countoured to the shape of the amputee's limb, therefore offering a true extension of the individual. Using this innovative process takes mere minutes, where traditional prosthetic molds take hours. The scanning equiptment costs approximately $1500, which can be seen here. We are looking to get new equipment that will produce better quality prosthetics for each individual in need. To purchase one of these machines will cost approximately $3500, which can be viewed here . This is currently one of the most advanced 3D printers on the market and would be a dramatic help for our cause by producing the results our veterans deserve. We also need to purchase the necessary material to get us started with our current prototypes.


In addition, we would like to attend events to promote our work and get a chance to show the world what we are working on. This includes the 3D Printing Conference & Expo  in April, as well as, our TEDx Talk in March. This funding would also allow us to have a permanent space for our lab. We will bring amputee's in to give these amazing individuals the best experience possible. Once we have a finalized prototype, we hope to partner with a veterans hospital.



We are looking to move into developing limbs for lower limb amputee's, because this makes up a majority of veteran amputee's in our U.S. military. We have done everything so far to keep this deam of ours alive, now we are asking those to help support our vision and help to give back to those who have sacrificed so much. Your support is essential and we appreciate your kind words in our journey thus far. It is an honor to start this organization and work alongside those who we owe our freedom to.

Please take a look at our website! Like and share our page on  Facebook! We encourage you to join us as a member on our LinkedIn group as well.

Be a part of something great! 

Sincerely,
River & The Havenlabs Team