PREMIERTOGO tackles this problem head-on. Prof. Ing. Philip Farrugia leads the project, treating the lower-limb prosthesis as a system that can be designed, monitored, and adapted for each person. ‘Most existing prosthetics are still largely passive. They don’t capture what’s happening during use, nor do they adapt to it. We wanted to change that baseline,’ says Mr Adrian Mercieca, who works as an RSO on the project.

This ambition shapes every part of the project, from the cover to the knee, ankle, foot, and the sensors inside. The result is more than just one improvement. It is a new way to think about prosthetic design. The most obvious change is the fully 3D-printed cover, which is not just for looks. It shows how 3D printing can make prosthetics better and easier to produce.

Form Follows Force

The team started by looking at the old design. The previous cover was bulky, complicated, and hard to put together. It used standard fasteners, offered little room for personalisation, and had too many parts. The redesign aimed to use fewer parts, make assembly easier, cut weight, and improve its appearance without weakening it.

The cover was designed for 3D printing from the start, rather than being adapted later. That decision matters. Additive manufacturing rewards different shapes, connections, and internal features. ‘If you design for 3D printing from the start, you stop thinking in terms of traditional constraints,’ Mercieca explains. ‘You can simplify structure, reduce components, and integrate features directly into the geometry.’

Two main ideas shaped the cover: modularity and generative design. The modular system breaks the cover into separate parts, including interchangeable front panels. Users can change how it looks without touching the main structure. In a field focused on function, that offers something rare: choice.

Generative design provides the engineering logic. Instead of solid surfaces, the structure uses algorithm-driven patterns. Material goes where it is needed and is removed where it is not. The goal is not decoration. It is efficiency. ‘We’re not removing material for the sake of it,’ Mercieca says. ‘We’re placing it precisely where it needs to be.’

The design then moved into parametric CAD. Parts were shaped for efficient printing. Snap-fit connections replaced bolts and glue, making assembly faster and maintenance simpler. The cover was also aligned with the existing prosthetic system, avoiding a full redesign.

From there, the design was refined step by step. Wall thickness, pattern density, and connection points were adjusted to balance strength, flexibility, and manufacturability. Generative features were used only where they made structural sense. The final cover is lighter, easier to assemble, and visually distinct, without added complexity.

Material choice followed the same logic. The design was optimised for widely available printers such as PRUSA and Ultimaker. ‘There’s no value in a design that can’t be produced reliably. We had to make sure it works with real-world equipment,’ Mercieca notes.

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The PREMIERTOGO project was funded by Xjenza Malta’s MCST FUSION R&I – Research Excellence Programme (R&I-2024-013L).

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