After developing a 6-bar design in SolidWorks, a wooden prototype was created to test the comfort and feasibility of the design as seen in figure 1. Bolts were used as temporary shafts with lock nuts. PVC pipes were cut to form the cuffs connecting the exoskeleton to the arm. Velcro straps were used to tighten the cuffs. To create a temporary base, the ground linkage was extended and attached to the hip.
Figure 1. Testing of initial prototype