Nonprofit puts solid models on the Web for collaboration.

The Open Prosthetics Project (Richardson, TX), a privately funded nonprofit enterprise that offers free exchange of hardware designs for prosthetics, has adopted the Alibre Design parametric modeler from Alibre, Inc. (Richardson, TX) as its CAD standard.

By creating an online collaboration between prosthetic users and designers, the project aims to make new technology available for anyone to use and customize. On the project's website, medical product designers can post new ideas for prosthetic devices as CAD files, which are then available to the public free of charge. Prosthetic users or other designers can download the CAD data, customize or improve upon the prosthesis, and repost the modifications to the web site.

Founded by members of the industrial design firm Tackle Design (Durham, NC), the Open Prosthetics Project moved to the Alibre Design standard because it offers a fully functional CAD modeler for free download. Alibre Design Xpress users have full capability to design parts and create associative 2D drawings, enabling them to make alterations or additions to a device. For a price, users can also opt to add features for more advanced modeling or larger assemblies.

For more details on the project, visit openprosthetics.org. For additional information on Alibre Design Xpress or other Alibre products, go to alibre.com.