Students
Matthew Kolodzik
Project Description
Graston tools are used by massage therapists and athletic trainers to release superficial muscle fascia which can cause painful muscle knots. As a student athlete, I frequently use them to aid in my own recovery process. However, due to their expensive nature the Princeton University athletic training staff is often forced to share tools or invest in their own personal set. Unfortunately, these tools are incredibly expensive, often costing hundreds of dollars. The tools themselves are relatively simple: solid blocks of machined metal or injection molded plastic with a gripping surface and chamfered edges for scraping muscle fascia. To reduce this cost to the Athletic Training Staff, I built my own Graston tools using 3D modeling software and a 3 Axis CNC milling machine. A member of the athletic training staff was kind enough to lend me his favorite Graston tool, so I could model its features using CREO Parametric software. It has an ergonomic grip, a bottle opener, and a series of chamfered edges of various shapes and contours on the perimeter of the tool. Trainers often use lubricants such as lotion or Vaseline to reduce friction between the skin and the edge of the tool.
The lubricant is then cleaned off with water at the end of each use. To mitigate corrosion from water and lubricant, the part is machined from a square block of aerospace grade Aluminum 6” on the sides and 3/8’’ thick. The edges make a seventy-six-degree angle to one another and are rounded with a generous chamfer to avoid an unintended cutting edge. After the model is made, its features are integrated into a virtual CNC milling toolpath, again using CREO. After the program is tested and debugged all that is left is to place the workpiece metal into the machine and press the start button. The process of creating and testing this toolpath is time intensive, difficult, and at times frustrating. Nevertheless, it is well worth the effort to provide our athletic training staff with Graston tools of lower cost and higher quality than tools available for retail purchase.