How PSYONIC Uses Agile Manufacturing to Build the World’s Most Accessible Bionic Hands

When PSYONIC first introduced the Ability Hand, its goal wasn’t simply to build a faster or more capable bionic limb — it was to make one that more people could actually afford and access. That ambition came with a hard set of constraints: durability, low weight, fine tolerances, and strict cost targets driven by insurance and Medicare coverage. In just a few short years, and with the help of cutting-edge tools like Formlabs 3D printers, PSYONIC has made real progress toward that goal. 

Since we last spoke with PSYONIC in 2022, they’ve grown from a seven-person team in Illinois to over 50 in San Diego, scaling in-house manufacturing by more than 5x, building partnerships, and adding features to the Ability Hand, the fastest bionic hand on the market. 

That growth has been enabled by an agile production model built around rapid iteration, vertical integration, and flexible tooling. In-house 3D printing has allowed PSYONIC to move quickly between prototyping, tooling, and end-use production while keeping costs low and quality high.

PSYONIC’s Ability Hand is a light, durable bionic hand and the first to offer touch feedback. Currently used by over 250 people in addition to robots at more than 50 of the top industrial robotics companies including NASA, Meta, Google, Amazon, and Hexagon, the Ability Hand is accessible to patients and covered under Medicare. In-house 3D printing is part of PSYONIC’s vertical integration, and lowers costs, helping to make the Ability Hand more affordable while allowing for faster iterations.

Since its inception, PSYONIC has been using Formlabs 3D printers for low-cost prototyping. Due to company size and resources, PSYONIC couldn’t compete with the manufacturing operations of larger companies, but the ability to quickly develop their technology in-house gave them a competitive advantage that, ultimately, enabled them to grow. As James Austin, Lead Mechanical Engineer, says, “3D printing for our prototyping, research and development, and iteration really puts us ahead of the game in terms of what we can do with a smaller amount of resources.”

As the company has grown, 3D printing has enabled agility. Austin can print testing jigs, molds, and parts for the hand, shifting from 3D printing to machining or molding and back depending on the quantity and timeline required at any given time. Having Formlabs stereolithography (SLA) 3D printers in-house means a jig, fixture, mold, or prototype can be printed in under a few hours, ensuring both R&D and end-use manufacturing run smoothly. 

Durability, cost, and weight are key when choosing materials for the hand. Akhtar says, “We are always rapidly prototyping and trying all sorts of different materials from 3D printed materials to composites to different silicones, checking things like tear resistance and how brittle it is and how impact resistant these materials are. But also, how accessible is it? Can we build many of them at a cost low enough that we can still get Medicare to cover it?” 

Weight is important; the Ability Hand needs to be lighter than a human hand, which is about 520 grams. Aadeel says, “Once you place it on a socket that you put your arm inside, it can feel almost twice as heavy. So we want to make sure that we can give our users the performance they need.” Partially due to the lightweight 3D printed materials, the Ability Hand weighs in at just 490 grams.

Cost is key when it comes to accessibility. PSYONIC has expanded access from only 10% of insured individuals to 75% of insured individuals by keeping costs low. Cost-efficiency comes from agile, in-house manufacturing, and from careful selection of materials. 

Durability ensures that the Ability Hand has longevity, which is important for medicare coverage and protecting the technology required to deliver the touch sensitivity and feedback.

Resins including Tough 1500 Resin, Tough 2000 Resin, BioMed Durable Resin, and Rigid 10K Resin enable PSYONIC to develop molds and internal components that are impact-resistant or heat-resistant. “The hands that we had done flaming board breaking with and arm wrestling with all had Formlabs-printed components inside of them, and it was really a testament to the strength of the materials and what we could do with them,” says Akhtar.

PSYONIC has always manufactured the Ability Hand in-house, and this hasn’t changed as they’ve grown — though what manufacturing looks like has. 

At the beginning of 2025, PSYONIC was manufacturing about 20 hands a month. Eight months later, they’d quintupled production — and production is continuing to grow as PSYONIC strives to deliver Ability Hands to the 10 million people who are missing hands all across the world, as well as meet the growing demand for hands for robotics.

To keep costs low, there is a constant reevaluation of what parts are going to be outsourced and what parts will be produced in-house. Some molds, which were originally 3D printed, were later outsourced and machined from acrylic. However, the benefit of agile production in-house means that design changes to the parts or vendor issues don’t impact production. 

Jigs for assembly, such as those pictured below in Tough 1500 Resin, are 3D printed, with Austin reprinting jigs as new ones are needed. The ability to 3D print manufacturing aids streamlines production and shortens timelines compared to outsourcing parts. Plus, changes due to new versions or workflows can easily be implemented by printing, rather than waiting for outsourced parts.