Bermuda may be a small island but it is full of unsung heroes — inspirational residents who are making a real difference in their communities and improving the lives of others, without expecting any recognition or praise. In our regular feature, we celebrate the incredible achievements of the ordinary people who are doing extraordinary things.

A mechanical engineer by trade but a philanthropist at heart, Mike Sinclair is eager to offer a helping hand to those in need.

The 29-year-old Belco employee will print 3-D prosthetics free for people who do not have the full use of their hands.

“I’m trying to push that this is the real power of 3-D printing — being able to produce really whatever your imagination can come up with, but then also you can produce real-life devices that can help people in real ways,” Mr Sinclair said. “If anyone needed a hand, I’d be more than willing to work with them and print them a hand.”

The Pembroke resident bought a 3-D printer after reading about them online.

“I got it initially just for myself because I’m into robotics and underwater remote-operated vehicles, and I thought this would be cool to make little fixtures, linkages or any of the support structures I needed,” he said.

Once the novelty had worn off, he wanted to use the printer to inspire others.

After seeing a video about 3-D printed prosthetic hands online, he decided to create one with the students who attended Ascendant Group’s Stem Camp.

Using the e-nable website, a global network of volunteers dedicated to giving the world a “helping hand”, they designed a hand for Shannon Kelly, who was born with amniotic band syndrome.

Mr Sinclair printed the individual parts, which took about 20 hours, using the same plastic that Lego is made of.

“Most of the hand is 3-D printed but there are some other items that are required as part of the assembly,” Mr Sinclair said.

These include medical-grade foam, elastics, nuts and bolts and gel fingertips for grip. The total material cost is about $50.

Ascendant Group donated four kits and, together with the students, Mr Sinclair assembled the hand for Mr Kelly, who does not have the full use of his left hand.

He said it was “really cool” to see Mr Kelly using the hand to pick up and grasp a bottle of water, despite his initial reservations about whether or not the project would work.

“It’s a simple concept but it works, and that’s the neat part,” Mr Sinclair said.

He is now refining the design, because the first hand was a little too big.

“If it doesn’t work the first time you didn’t spend thousands and thousands of dollars getting a specific mould created for injection plastic moulding.

“You just scale it down, click print and wait several hours until it’s done printing.”

Mr Sinclair is now offering to help out anyone else free of charge.

“Plastic and electricity — that’s quite minimal. Building it and assembling it and seeing someone else use it — you get more satisfaction out of that than you would from whatever you would charge for it.

“It’s not my design; it’s someone else’s ideas and hours of contribution to it. How they licensed it, it’s supposed to be free of charge.”

Mr Sinclair discovered his passion for engineering as a student in grade eight, when he won a competition for young engineers hosted by the Bermuda Association of Professional Engineers (Bape).

He built a rubber band-powered car out of household materials, with the exception of the wheels, gears and axles.

“It was actually that competition that sparked my interest in pursuing engineering,” he said. “Before that I had never really heard of engineering.”

Mr Sinclair wants to get other people interested in the field and, together with Connor Burns and Stephanie Simons, has created the Young Engineers Society to help others understand what opportunities exist. They are also working hard to resurrect Bape.

“That was a lot of Stephanie’s drive to get that going,” he said.

“We plan for this upcoming school year to have an engineering competition aimed at middle and high schools.

“We’re thinking if this is what got us interested, then it has to be well worthwhile to bring it back to let others experience it.”

• For more information contact Mike Sinclair on 325-1267.

• Do you know an Unsung Hero who deserves recognition? Call Lisa on 278-0137 or e-mail lsimpson@royalgazette.com