FIDIM 2 AFO Leg Brace
Description
FIDIM - "Fine, I'll do it myself" Since I have had so many issues with manufactured braces breaking and/or being entirely too expensive. This is an evolution of a brace design that I have been working on for some time. The older versions used a steel hinge that had to be fabricated, making them less accesible for people that need them. This one has a somewhat better fit (for me) uses slightly less material (900 grams per brace) and uses a flexible TPU "hinge" instead of a fabricated steel one. I don't yet know how long the TPU flexihinge will last, but I am testing this as we speak. I'll update and/or remove this design if I find that they don't last long enough. The flexihinge will almost certainly need to be replaced on some interval, however. That all being said, I've been walking 10k-30k steps per day for about a month now, and they're not showing any wear whatsoever. They may wind up lasting a very long time. I used Duramic TPU with a shore hardness of 95A for the flexihinges and the rear bumper. These can be modified to fit with Blender's sculpting mode, and they can be shaped after printing using a heat gun. I am a 100kg man with Charcot Marie Tooth Disease, have high arches and significantly atrophied calves. I wear a US Size 10 shoe. I hope that I can help someone else that needs AFOs, but can't get them for whatever reason. I went without them for years (far too expensive) and they have vastly improved my quality of life now that I have them. Please do not commercialize this design beyond what it takes to cover the cost of materials. There are numerous braces already on the market, and I want this one to be free for all. I highly recommend using Overture's "Easy Nylon" filament. It is as tough as nails, and hasn't let me down yet. I printed these with that filament at 260C for good layer adhesion. I'm running a Creality CR-10 V2 that's upgraded with an E3D Hemera, though a stock CR-10 may work just fine. The Flexihinges and bumpers should be printed in TPU with a shore hardness of roughly 95A. I used Duramic brand TPU. Other brands may be more or less durable. For Fitting: These can be scaled for a child, and will in that case of course use far less material. Remember to scale the fexihinges and bumpers by the same proportion if you do. I recommend that you load these into Tinkercad, measure your leg in several places, and make similarly shaped objects in Tinkercad to see if they fit. There is also a measuring function if you prefer. (Tinkercad is free and pretty easy) Once you have something roughly the right size, print a hollow version with the cheapest PLA that you can find and then try it on. Blender (also free) is considerably more complicated, but has a sculpting mode. I used that to make these, and it can be used to modify them if you're feeling more adventurous. If not, then you can use a heat gun (they're cheap) to get these hot enough to shape the old-fashioned way.
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