Penny is a wheelchair user who enjoys baking in her free time. The Makers team worked with the Tech Kitchen program to assess her needs for cooking and baking in her kitchen. As a result of the assessment, she was provided with assistive technology items that made cooking tasks safer and easier. The controls for Penny’s stove are on the back panel, typical of many stoves. Penny’s sitting position in the wheelchair, meant that her arm would be directly over and close to the burners on the stove when reaching for the stove knobs to turn on or off the burners or the oven. The Makers team designed and fabricated a 27” Stove Knob Reacher that was printed using our large format FDM 3D printer. The Extended Reacher was printed in a strong durable filament that can withstand heat up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit, making this device acceptable for reaching the back of the stove. This extended reacher allows Penny to safely turn on/off burners, the oven or timer from a seated position.
