Repli-C: Two-piece Forearm Crutch
Replicable low-cost Assistive Product (Mobility Aid)
Overview
This open-source two-piece forearm crutch is designed for distributed manufacturing and local fabrication in low-resource contexts. It can be fabricated using locally available materials and tools, such as low-cost desktop-size 3D printers, wooden dowels, and standard fasteners. The provided design files and documentation support the easy replication of accessible, affordable, and customizable mobility aid products across different builders' skill levels and local replication contexts.1
Romani, A., Nansubuga, R.K., Mottaghi, M., Munang, D., Bow Pearce, E., Reeves, J., Pearce, J.M. 2026. Repli-C: 3D printable open source two-piece crutches. Project repository. Available at OSF.io. DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/N8M5Y
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Licenses:
- Hardware: GPL-3.0-Only (More info)
- Software: GPL-3.0-Only (More info)
- Documentation: GPL-3.0-Only (More info)
Materials and Tools
- ⚙️ CAD / Parametric modeling: Onshape 2 and Fusion 360 (CAD modeling tools) 3
- 🔩 Slicing and fabrication (custom components): PrusaSlicer 4 , Small-format Fused Filament Fabrication 3D Printer and Large-format Fused Filament fabrication 3D Printer. Recommended infill patterns, overlap, and types available in the OSF repository.
- 📎 Materials: PETG filaments tested for rigid parts and recommended. TPU 90 Shore A tested for flexible parts and recommended.
- 🔩 Additional off-the-shelf: wooden dowels (adjusted to the desired length), wood screws (either metric or imperial standard, please refer to the documentation in the repository).
Onshape. Available at: https://www.onshape.com/en/
Fusion 360. Available at: https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/overview
PrusaSlicer. Available at: https://www.prusa3d.com/page/prusaslicer_424/
Repli-C is an Open Source Hardware Assistive Product certified by OSHWA (Open Source Hardware Association), released under the GNU General Public License (hardware and documentation) and GNU General Public License (GPL) 3.0. (software).
- ✅ Certified Open Hardware - OSHWA UID CA000072 (Certification, license, and links) 5
Western University - FAST Lab. 2026. Repli-C: Open-Source Two-Piece Forearm Crutch. Certification. Available at OSHWA.org. Link: https://certification.oshwa.org/ca000072.html
Publications
Alessia Romani*, Rebecca Kaaya Nansubuga, Maryam Mottaghi, Danielle Munang, Emily Bow Pearce, Pooja Viswanathan, Thomas Jenkyn, Tarek Loubani, Jacob M. Reeves, Joshua M. Pearce
MedRxiv, 2026 Feb