{"id":1323,"date":"2016-04-28T09:00:50","date_gmt":"2016-04-28T09:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.autodesk.com\/inthefold\/?p=1323"},"modified":"2016-05-18T20:14:11","modified_gmt":"2016-05-18T20:14:11","slug":"autodesk-and-paralympian-denise-schindler-showcase-the-future-of-manufacturing-to-president-obama-and-chancellor-merkel-at-hannover-messe-see-more-at-httpinthefold-autodesk-comsthash-ph0upapk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.autodesk.com\/inthefold\/autodesk-and-paralympian-denise-schindler-showcase-the-future-of-manufacturing-to-president-obama-and-chancellor-merkel-at-hannover-messe-see-more-at-httpinthefold-autodesk-comsthash-ph0upapk\/","title":{"rendered":"Autodesk & Paralympian showcase future of manufacturing to POTUS & Chancellor Merkel"},"content":{"rendered":"

U.S. President Obama and German Chancellor Merkel met with Autodesk\u2019s Roland Zelles and German para-cycling champion Denise Schindler to discuss an innovative collaboration to design and manufacture a 3D printed performance prosthetic leg, which Denise will wear at the Rio Paralympics in September.<\/p>\n

\"Meeting\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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The meeting took place on Monday, April 25 at Hannover Messe, one the world\u2019s largest manufacturing trade shows.\u00a0The new prosthesis is a result of a partnership between Denise and Autodesk to explore how new technologies and manufacturing techniques could be harnessed to increase the accessibility of sports prostheses, which up until now have proven expensive to develop and used only by the very elite athletes.<\/p>\n

Prior to working with Autodesk, the manufacture of Denise\u2019s prosthetic was done almost wholly by hand by skilled technicians who used a plaster casting process and then spent weeks refining and crafting a new prosthesis. While this resulted in a great finished product, it also took typically around 10 weeks and cost a significant amount.<\/p>\n

Circumventing the lengthy and often inaccurate plaster casting process, Denise\u2019s residual limb was 3D scanned and digitally rendered. The prosthesis was then modelled using advanced cloud design tool Fusion 360, which allowed the project stakeholders\u2014who were located in Germany, London, San Francisco and Portland– to collaborate and iterate through 52 digital versions before arriving on the final design. To reduce the weight of the prosthesis, the team harnessed the lightweighting power of generative design using Autodesk Within. The prosthesis was then 3D printed at Autodesk\u2019s Pier 9 manufacturing facility in San Francisco. \u00a0The process can now take as little as five days and cost around a quarter of the price.<\/p>\n