Rapid Prototyping in Engineering Education: Developing a Hand Exoskeleton for Personalized Rehabilitation

Nowadays, universities address topics like CAD modeling and additive manufacturing to teach students important aspects of engineering and design. However, the development of a prototype is an iterative process composed of different phases that range from the definition of the problem to the evaluation of the concept The paper describes how to integrate all these phases for active learning in the course Computer-Aided Design and Mechanical Prototyping, which is part of the Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering program at Politecnico di Milano. The final project assigned as a case study to students consists in the development of a rehabilitative hand exoskeleton. The paper presents how students faced the different phases of the development process till the final prototype and its evaluation with healthy subjects and some post-stroke patients. The methodology applied to the course was really appreciated by students, in particular, the experience of designing different devices from scratch. They were challenged in different areas, like mechanics, electronics, informatics, and manual work, which allowed them to range widely during the design and manufacturing process and to extend considerably their knowledge.