Since the beginning of my hobby of producing 3D printed parts to help people with physical disabilities play video games, the thumbstick has been an issue. Unfortunately, it was an issue I didn’t really have an elegant solution for. After some brainstorming, I believe I’ve come up with a useful modular system that will hopefully help a wide variety of people with special physical needs.
As I began this project I had a couple main goals in mind; modularity and removability.
It had to be modular. I feel like this is the best method of customization. Not everyone will measure everything correctly and create a custom file, but you can eyeball a few spacers and drop some glue on it pretty easily.
I wanted it to remain removable. This way it could be placed on whatever controller is handy at the moment and easily replaced as your needs changed.
So far, I’m happy with the results. I’ve created the base piece to work on Xbox 360 and Xbox One controllers as well as a set of spacers and a few end pieces. Ideally I’ll be able to make the base piece for multiple systems (the thumbsticks are all shaped differently), as well as a variety of end pieces.
You can download these files here, and if you do print them, be sure to post pictures! Alternatively, if you need this, contact me directly and, thanks to donations from Lulzbot, I’ll send them to you for free (you may need to pay shipping).
Lulzbot has been very supportive of these projects since I started doing them. These prints were all made on the Lulzbot Taz4 which we happen to carry in our store!
0 thoughts on “Level Up: These 3D Printed Thumbsticks Help The Disabled Play Xbox”
Why 3D-print this, though?
this is a good question. The answer is pretty simple. I 3d print these for quantity. If I make a single custom unit for someone out of clay or wood, it only helps that one person and it takes hours of my time. If I design something to 3d print, it takes the same amount of time but I can ship multiples at any point. Others can also download and print them. This specific set has already been mailed to 3 people(each would have required a seperate and custom build without 3d printing)