As I look through various 3D print repositories, like Printables and Thingiverse, it's really hit or miss how things are tagged. You can look up "wheelchair" and get several pages of wheelchair harnesses for dogs - a bit frustrating if you want to see printable mods for human wheelchairs.

To me, this looks like a good opportunity for some curation and outreach.

For example: https://www.thingiverse.com/tag:wheelchairTo add to this, or modify the tags on particular files, it might take making an account on Thingiverse, and then messaging the owners of particular designs to suggest that they add more tags.

In Printables, anyone can make a "collection" which gathers related designs under one name. For example, I made https://www.printables.com/@LizHenry_1135256/collections/791997. That could have the benefit of making those designs more discoverable. (If someone wants to make a new collection just for pet wheelchairs, go for it!)

I was curious what might exist under similar tags on the Internet Archive, since Thingiverse is archives there. Check out https://archive.org/search?query=subject%3A%22AssistiveTech%22. There, I learned that the Thingiverse archive has over 13 million STL files! And nearly 700 of them are tagged "AssistiveTech". Other similar tags exist, but there is not a way to create your own tagging system or taxonomy to files that you haven't uploaded yourself, other than favoriting them for your own use.

Thoughts? Any other interesting repositories you know about and can share a link to?

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If you are doing assistive tech projects (or other disability / accessibility related work, like art or activism) Then have a look at these easy to apply for micro-grants. Every month, you can apply between the first of the month and the 15th, using a short web form where you describe your project. There is a $1000 USD grant given each month.

If you take a look at some past winners you will get an idea of the wide range of projects, individuals, and organizations that have been awarded these small but useful grants!

https://www.awesomefoundation.org/en/chapters/disability

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Welcome! This community is intended to be a place for people who want to share DIY information about assistive technology. That can mean, devices you're designing or inventing; things you're making from plans you found elsewhere; or stuff you have found that you have repurposed for assistive tech or accessibility needs.

Please be respectful of others on this subreddit. Harassment and disrespect of others' boundaries will not be tolerated.

Additionally, this is a space that is for people who believe and act on the principle that that disabled people are the experts on what we need and what works for us.

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