The Ezra Project: Stockbridge students build a 3D printed adaptive fishing pole to help a young boy fish

SHS student Chelsey Asquith fits Ezra with his fishing reel as his mother, Jill Mack looks on.

by Julia Marhofer and Bob Richards

When most people think about the Stockbridge InvenTeam, robots, technology and underwater exploration come to mind. But, that is just the hook that draws students in.

In the fall of 2017, one of our InvenTeam members, freshman Chelsey Asquith, was inspired by 3D printed prosthetic hands that the InvenTeam had previously designed and built. She decided that she wanted to help make a 3D printed fishing pole adaptor to give a 7-year-old boy with little use of one of his hands, the ability to fish on his own while on fishing trips with his dad. At a young age, Ezra suffered a stroke, resulting in the limited use of his right arm.

Chelsey, as a family friend of Ezra and his parents, knew of Ezra’s desire to be able to go fishing with his father and she wanted to make his dream come true.

One of the very first questions the team asked themselves was “What do we need to change about the current designs out there to make them easier for Ezra to use?” The goal was to come up with a design that would allow Ezra to hold the fishing pole, cast it, and retrieve the cast all on his own.

Designing a working prototype can take numerous tries, but the right mindset can ensure success in coming up with ways to improve a product. For the very first prototype, the team used a 3D printer to create a design that would fit on Ezra’s left arm and help with supporting the fishing pole, so that he could reel with his right arm. The design was still difficult for Ezra to use so the team started brainstorming more ideas.

The first, was to incorporate another 3D printed piece that would hook onto Ezra’s arm and allow him to reel by himself. The second was to 3D print a piece that hooked onto the reel and attach velcro to both the piece and a glove that Ezra would wear to help him reel. Both designs had the right idea but were still too hard for Ezra to use.

The fourth and final product incorporated an adult version of the One-Der-Reel. The team 3D printed a brace and arm-mounting device that could be reprinted to fit Ezra’s needs. The attachment was printed and then thermoformed to fit his wrist/forearm. The newest device allows for Ezra to hold the rod and reel in one hand.

On Friday, May 25th after school, Chelsey along team members Molly Nichols, Kaitlyn Miller and Hailey Howard presented Ezra and his parents with their newly designed adaptive fishing pole. After a few practice casts Ezra was smiling and ready to head to the lake.

Throughout this experience, our team got to be a part of a project that did not involve marine technology. Robots, technology, and underwater exploration are just a few aspects of Inventeam program. Projects like Ezra’s allow students to incorporate different aspects of 3D printing while also allowing them to help people in the community. The team prepared a short video to explain the project which may be viewed online at https://youtu.be/6p9dPxUqKNA.