Meet Zac Waters, the 13-year-old Utah boy who spent 300 hours 3D-printing a custom mobility chair for 21-month-old girl after watching YouTube videos

A 13-year-old boy from Utah spent about 300 hours of his summer building a custom mobility chair for a 21-month-old girl, turning his interest in 3D printing into a project designed to give another child greater independence.

Zac Waters of Lehi, Utah, took on the project through MakeGood, a nonprofit that provides free 3D-printed mobility devices to children with disabilities.

Waters first became interested in 3D printing after watching videos on YouTube. Rather than limiting the hobby to making simple objects, he wanted to use the technology to help someone. That search led him to MakeGood and its network of volunteers.


The organization connected Waters with the toddler, allowing him to design and build a mobility chair around her specific needs.

The project took up much of his summer as he worked through the design, printing, testing and assembly of the chair. He also made several adjustments to improve its comfort and usefulness.

The finished chair includes pink accents because pink is the toddler's favorite color. It also has a removable cupholder and a tray table.

Waters designed the chair to accommodate the child's growth. The footrest and headrest can be adjusted, while the back panel has room for heavier medical equipment. The straps were made from a soft, flexible material for added comfort.

“It combines my two favorite things in life: 3D printing and helping people in need. It just makes sense!” Waters said.

He particularly enjoys assembling individual components created through 3D printing. The project gave him an opportunity to repeatedly design and test different parts while developing his skills.

His family supported him throughout the process while giving him room to develop his own ideas. His grandmother, Charlotte Waters, said the family helped keep him focused without taking control of the project.

Zac compared that support to bowling ball training rails, explaining that his family helped guide his ideas while allowing him to work toward his own solutions.

For Charlotte, the project was about more than learning a technical skill. She hopes her grandson remembers the experience as he grows older.

“We hope he always remembers that the greatest legacy anyone can leave is to make someone else’s life better,” she said.

The experience has also shaped Waters' ambitions. He wants to continue improving his 3D-printing skills and eventually reach the level of MakeGood's engineering team. While he has not chosen a specific career, he said he would like to do “something techie” when he grows up.

How MakeGood is helping children

Waters' project is part of a wider volunteer effort by MakeGood, which was founded in 2021 by certified healthcare architect Noam Platt.

The nonprofit says its volunteer network has delivered more than 1,000 Toddler Mobility Trainers. However, more than 550 requests for the devices remain outstanding.

The average wait for a mobility chair is around 70 days. MakeGood also says more than 2 million children in the US need mobility devices but do not have them.

Its open-source Toddler Mobility Trainer can be produced for about $150 in materials, allowing people with 3D printers to build the devices from home.

For children facing physical challenges, these devices can provide an important measure of mobility and independence. Waters' summer project shows how a technology hobby, combined with volunteer support, can be turned into something with a direct impact on another child's life.