This is a continuation of a capstone project from students at Northeastern. I was asked to advise and assist with the design and manufacturing process. Our "client" was a woman who wanted an ankle-foot prosthesis she could don, lock rotation to walk to her boat, and then unlock rotation to use during rowing.
The original design used a hook that would latch into place to lock/unlock the ankle, but we decided to pivot to a tapered pin design that could be inserted and tightened to lock the joint with zero backlash, and then unscrewed and screwed into a holding slot on front of the ankle. Material selection for this project was extremely important for maritime conditions, so we chose titanium 6-Al-4V for the tapered pin, and anodized aluminum for the major components. The rotation point is a fiber-backed PTFE bushing that will easily survive the conditions and loads. Here are some photos of the finished device after machining and assembly:
And some videos of the device in action!
