FAU student gets new plastic hand made by 3D printer

When Florida Atlantic University graduate student Charles Weinthal saw a disabled classmate, he wanted to give him a hand. Literally.

Chad Coarsey, 25, was born with knuckles but no fingers on his left hand, which has hindered his ability to do everything from tying his shoes to playing guitar to holding test tubes in science classes.

FAU student Chad Coarsey,25, of Boca Raton, with a robotic hand that was designed by an FAU graduate student using a 3D printer. (Carline Jean / Sun Sentinel)Weinthal had been reading articles about how 3-D printers could inexpensively melt polylactic acid, a plastic material similar to fishing line, into colorful prosthetic hands. He thought it might work for…