On 5 May 2017, Conchi Aguilar Barberá, a nine-year-old Spanish girl, got an eye-catching pink prosthetic arm and managed to grab a toy with her left hand for the very first time. “She was astonished and happy.” Fulgencio Bermejo and José Ramón Cayuelas, who designed and produced the prosthetic arm, bore witness to this forgettable moment.

Since then, the little girl previously troubled by congenital limb deformity started her second life and started to enjoy skateboard, riding a bike, and even climbing.

As Conchi grows her prosthetic arm has been updated to version 2.0 and then version 3.0. But the first and the most important one – the pink prosthetic arm – was donated to the WorldSkills Museum to demonstrate to visitors that skills help us build a better world.

01 “I prefer pink, my favorite colour, for my new hand”

According to Fulgencio and Ramón, the prosthetic arm exhibited at the WorldSkills Museum is a left forearm that fits in the lower part of Conchi’s elbow. It is made up of 17 polylactic acid (PLA) pieces, plus the filaflex (flexible 3D printing material) joints. The fingers are made up of 14 phalanges.

Also known as additive manufacturing, 3D printing is one of the rapid prototyping technologies. It is a technology where an object is built up by printing layer by layer with binding agents like metal powder or plastic based on a digital model. It is frequently used in industrial design, architecture, automobile, aviation, aerospace, orthodontics, medical industry, and other areas.

3D printed prosthetic arms are often cheaper than ordinary ones. But after the prosthesis is printed, meticulous assembly is required. Producers have to insert elastic string installations into the parts and fine-tune the elastic strings and the tension many times to establish flexible transmission devices. The purpose is to enable transmission of force from wrist to the mechanic fingers so that the user can complete simple moves like grasp or hold.

“If the person has the arm extended, the fingers of the hand will be extended. And by bending the elbow joint, the fingers will be closing progressively.” Fulgencio and Ramón explained, “That means, it allows Conchi to manipulate objects, and most importantly, the handlebars of the scooter, as she wanted.”

As for the colour of the prosthetic arm, Conchi made the choice herself. “Ramón told me ‘Conchi, I bought you a flesh-coloured hand’, but I already had a flesh-coloured hand, so if I had the choice, I preferred my favourite colour for my new hand.” Conchi recalled.

02 “They wanted to have a hand as cool as mine”

When Conchi started using the prosthetic arm, she wasn’t quite used to it. “I remember that I used to hit everything a lot and I had to call Ramón more than once because I broke his fingers.”

But after getting used to it, Conchi started to enjoy her life with two hands. “I really liked having another hand to paint my nails. It was also much easier to ride scooters and bikes with an extra hand. I also remember being in the park and lots of kids would come and ask me about my hand. More than one would tell their mum that they wanted to have a hand as cool as mine.”

Conchi’s mother was the one who connected the dots.

“Conchi’s mother saw on television that a Galician child called Unai was having a prosthesis made for him by teachers at a school.

The mother contacted the teachers and asked them what she had to do to get a prosthesis for her daughter Conchi. She insisted enough to travel to the north of Spain, some 800 kilometres away from her home, and talk to the teachers involved.” Ramón said.

Luckily, Fulgencio, who was also living in Orihuela, was coordinating an innovation project at national level in Spain where one of the lines of research was the application of 3D printing to education and other uses, such as prostheses for people with missing limbs like Conchi.

“Araceli was my student. She knew my interest in 3D printing, told me about the project and that they were going to have a meeting with Fulgencio, and so I offered to help with the design and 3D printing. I remember that Fulgencio replied: ‘any help is welcome’. So I got involved.” Ramón explained how she became part of the project.

Only a small group of people participated in the project. Fulgencio Bermejo, electronics teacher at IES El Palmeral, oversaw the hand part. José Ramón Cayuelas, teacher of wood and furniture at Colegio San José Obrero, oversaw the arm and forearm. A student boy of Fulgencio, and a girl student of Ramón, Araceli, who is also Conchi’s sister, offered invaluable help.

The project lasted for approximately a school year. During that time, members of the project would meet in their free time and on weekends for discussion, learning, and testing. With a tremendous zeal, they overcame difficulties of all sorts and presented the special gift to Conchi.

There were challenges along the way. Fulgencio shared with us the difficulties they faced, “there were already prostheses designed for other people, but they did not adapt to Conchi’s arm, so for me, the main difficulty was to make this adaptation in 3D design software.” “We are not experts in design and 3D printing, and so this was also a learning challenge for us”, Ramón further explained.

Apart from technologies, the project was also special because of Conchi. “What was really special was the character of Conchi, who mesmerized us with her joy, her sense of humor and how mature she was for a nine-year-old girl, always ready to collaborate when we got together to do tests. For me, it meant a life lesson that Conchi gave me, and it still is. Often people make excuses for doing things, and this kind of project helps you to understand that limitations are in the mind and not in the body.” Ramón emphasized with excitement.

In Fulgencio’s opinion, the emotional bond that was created between Conchi, Ramón and him, which will last a lifetime. The personal satisfaction of helping a child and making her a little happier with a technological challenge was very satisfying for me as an engineer.

03 “My goal is the Paralympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028”

As participants of a project by people for people, Fulgencio, Ramón, and Conchi appreciate the significance of skills for individuals and society.

Ramón always liked to make his own toys with wood and use his manual skills since he was a child. He became a teacher for wood and furniture vocational training in 1997 and is currently head of department of the San José Obrero School, in Orihuela, and Profemadera (Spanish Wood and Furniture Teachers Association) Delegate in the Region of Valencia. Ramón has participated in the last two editions of SpainSkills, the Spanish national skills competition, as regional Expert, and mentor of Competitors of Joinery and Cabinetmaking.

As for Fulgencio, all his professional and personal life has been linked to vocational training. After compulsory school, he started studying vocational training, then industrial engineering at University, as well as a couple of master’s degrees. When he thought he was going to work for a company as an engineer, he discovered, by chance, his vocation for teaching, and specifically for teaching in vocational training. Since then, all his professional life has been developed, and still is, in the teaching of vocational training. Since 2010, Fulgencio has been participating as an Expert in the Electronics in SpainSkills, EuroSkills, and WorldSkills.

For Ramón and Fulgencio, skills give them the opportunity to take on a profession that they are passionate about. And through teaching, they are telling young people that skills help build a better world. That is also the message that they want to convey to visitors through Conchi’s prosthetic arm. To help people live a better life, we have to reunite skilled people and let each of them contribute their skill power in a multidisciplinary team.

With her prosthetic arm in the Museum, Conchi would like to send the message that with skills and a minimal resource such as a 3D printer, people can do fantastic things such as improving the quality of life of a child.

Conchi is now a freshman and dreaming about becoming an excellent interior designer. She loves climbing and competes at a national level representing the Spanish para-climbing team. “My goal is the Paralympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028.”

“Do not feel sorry for a person who is missing a limb,” said Conchi, “I will continue competing in what I like, and achieving the goals I have planned in the short and long term.”

For more information about the WorldSkills Museum, please follow the official website: https://worldskillsmuseum.com/