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Modification to the "Table" Laminating/Vacuum Forming Station

I was recently visiting Marlo Ortiz' facility in Guadalajara, Mexico to learn more about how he applies the same principles he uses for transfemoral socket fittings to hip disarticulation prostheses. One of the unexpected pleasures from this trip was a chance to see how he has slightly modified his laminating/vacuum forming platen to accommodate the vertical alignment fixture collar.

Marlo uses "The Table", a rotating circular work station designed by Pedro Llanes CPO that takes up minimum space in the laboratory, for both laminations and socket thermoforming. Because he routinely uses the Hosmer vertical fabrication jig to maintain alignment from the trial configuration to the final definitive prosthesis, Marlo found that he was constantly marking and removing the alignment collar from the positive model mandrel and then reapplying the collar to complete the fabrication process.

Frustrated by the time required to remove and re-apply the collar as well as the chance of inadvertently introducing an alignment change, Marlo decided to modify "The Table" to eliminate the need to remove the collar from the mandrel. Although he considered many alternatives, the solution turned out to be incredibly simple: drill out the platen to match the inside diameter of the central vacuum portal. As the series of photos below illustrate, it is now a simple matter to insert the mandrel-collar assembly intact and then to complete the socket or frame fabrication as desired.