It seems that the most expensive part of this boot is the snowboard bindings. If they release the file, maybe people can start printing BYOB (Bring Your Own Bindings) versions at home to donate to the troops.
Yep. Maiming-size mines are smaller and cheaper, and a wounded soldier that requires evacuation and treatment is actually more of a burden to a force than a dead one.
The boot “legs” are destroyed instead of your foot.
Here’s a video about it.
https://youtu.be/g9xj5GLzT8A
It seems that the most expensive part of this boot is the snowboard bindings. If they release the file, maybe people can start printing BYOB (Bring Your Own Bindings) versions at home to donate to the troops.
I head a small local 3D printing group for stuff like this! We were busy early COVID. Would love to help.
Some articles about the 3d printing:
Https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-engineers-3d-printing-anti-mine-boots/32541203.html
https://www.thedefensepost.com/2023/08/18/ukraine-3d-anti-mine-boots/
Igor Yefimenko is the engineer leading the effort in Ukraine.
This might be him?
https://www.linkedin.com/in/igor-yefimenko-69732730
These are the boots they are duplicating:
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Spider-Boot-tested-with-a-mechanical-surrogate-leg-at-DRDC-Suffield-Actual-and-simulated_fig3_265925569
I need to be honest - that video explained nothing lol
But what about the rest of the body?
The mines they are preventing are small, they will destroy your foot if you step on it, but not much else. These boots protect your foot.
That’s honestly kind of horrific. Like I was expecting mines to be like something they step on and BOOM lights out.
This sounds more like “boom” now you bleed out in agony as your foot is torn into small chunks
Yep. Maiming-size mines are smaller and cheaper, and a wounded soldier that requires evacuation and treatment is actually more of a burden to a force than a dead one.