Warwick helps disabled students with 3D manufacturing
1 min read
The University of Warwick is helping students with physical disabilities from a local college become their own product designers so they can 3D-print personalised objects that help them in their everyday lives.
Students at Hereward College in Coventry, located close to the University of Warwick campus, are tapping into university expertise in additive layer manufacturing (commonly known as 3D printing) and adaptive systems so they can create assistive equipment that is adapted to their own personal needs.
By learning to use computer-assisted design technology through sessions with staff and students from the University of Warwick, a group of Hereward students with restricted physical movement have come up with solutions to every-day challenges such as eating and drinking which they can print out with the click of a button.
These include a bespoke straw-holder designed by a student with muscular dystrophy to help keep a straw in place when he drinks from a bottle.
University of Warwick Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning) Professor Christina Hughes said:
"At Warwick we have deep technical knowledge in computer sciences and product manufacturing but it's the students themselves who have knowledge of disability and the challenges they and their friends face every day.
"By bringing together these two different types of expertise, we are seeing fantastic results as the students are able to solve some of these problems through this technology.
"This group of learners are currently under-represented in science and technology subjects at degree level, so we also hope that by inspiring them to create their own products, they might consider studying one of the STEM subjects at university."
