This article is part of Concentrate's Voices of Youth series, which features stories written by Washtenaw County youth with guidance from Concentrate staff mentors. 

The problem was simple, but frustrating: a Saline High School student with limited motor control couldn’t use an iPad without their fingers constantly sliding off the screen. So a group of Saline manufacturing students, Ryan Friedholm, Caleb Dahl, and Jonah Bentley, got to work constructing a keyguard: a small frame designed to help guide and stabilize the user's finger movements on a touchscreen. They started by taking precise measurements and reference photos of the iPad. Then came the modeling — from scratch. Their first sketches were basic, just rough outlines of what a keyguard might look like. It took rounds of trial and error, from re-measuring the iPad to tweaking a Computer Aided Design (CAD) model, to finally watching the plastic frame click into place.

That's just one example of how students in Trent Trout's Computer Integrated Manufacturing class at Saline are learning to develop innovative real-world solutions for people with disabilities. This two-year course draws students not just from Saline, but from Milan, Dexter, Manchester, Chelsea, and Lincoln schools. It offers hands-on experience in CAD modeling, 3D printing, Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machining, and problem-solving through real-world engineering challenges. 
Doug CoombeCaleb Dahl working in Computer Integrated Manufacturing class at Saline High School.
During the first year of class, students familiarize themselves with the machinery and learn to operate and design objects using the technology in the lab. In the second year, students take on more advanced, independent projects and have the opportunity to apply their skills in real-world scenarios.

In addition to the keyguards, Trout’s students have taken on several other adaptive tech projects. Those include customized iPad stands for users who need added stability, and tactile communication beads that use colors or patterns to symbolize words or concepts to help nonverbal students express themselves. These projects are in addition to students' normal coursework, not a separate track or special assignment. 
Doug CoombeJonah Bentley working in Computer Integrated Manufacturing class at Saline High School.
Jamie Mayo, assistive technology coordinator at the Washtenaw Intermediate School District (WISD), originally reached out to Trout asking if his students would be able to make the keyguards for her students. That was the start of a series of projects that transformed classroom learning into community impact. Students don’t just learn about technology, but they use it to design real-world solutions for people with disabilities. Through 3D printing, these students prove that age doesn’t limit impact when empathy and creativity are at the center of the process.

3D printing allows people to design and create three-dimensional objects using digital blueprints, making it faster and more affordable to produce customized tools, devices, or prosthetics. It’s especially useful because it doesn’t require mass production in order to be cost-effective — unique designs can be printed on demand. For people with disabilities, no two bodies or needs are exactly alike, which means the one-size-fits-all solutions that are so prevalent often fall short. This is where 3D printing shines: it allows for personalized assistive tech, from wheelchair attachments to adaptive utensils, that perfectly matches a person’s specific abilities and lifestyle. 

"It’s very versatile," says Friedholm. "You can make something as small as an inch in diameter — or even smaller— or something as big as 13 inches." 
Doug CoombeRyan Friedholm.
That flexibility makes it possible to adapt designs to real people, not just generic prototypes. In today’s world, accessibility is often an afterthought, but 3D printing offers an adaptable way to center marginalized voices in the design process.

Working on adaptive technology shifted the students’ perspective on what their work could mean. Rather than designing to fulfill classwork requirements, they found themselves motivated by the knowledge that their creations were going to directly support someone’s daily life. 

Throughout the class, students have a number of opportunities to earn industry-recognized certifications, available from Titans of CNC, Starrett, and Haas.

"The stuff we make in class, we make for a certification," Friedholm explains, "but this helps a real person and it's like we know exactly where our technology is going." 

That sense of purpose made the process more impactful. Bentley says "it’s a lot more rewarding." The experience showed students that the value of their work has the potential to go beyond the classroom.

Even though the students don’t often get to see their designs in use firsthand, they still feel the impact of their work through the pictures they receive. 

"We don’t get to see it completely in action," Trout says. "But we get to see pictures, we get feedback from [teachers and families], and it says everybody is really enjoying and grateful for the technology."
Doug CoombeTrent Trout.
The keyguards Trout's class designed have had profound and tangible impacts on the students who rely on them. For students with physical disabilities, something as simple as pressing a key can be a major barrier, but with these tools, that challenge becomes far more manageable. 

"Students with disabilities have gotten unique, custom solutions to help them access their education," Mayo says. "I have been impressed with the creativity and quality of Mr. Trout's students' designs and their willingness to improve on the designs as we better learn what our students need." 

Designing customized technology for someone you can’t see regularly isn’t easy. One of the biggest challenges students faced was the lack of consistent access to the iPads they were designing for. Without having the devices in the lab at all times, they had to rely on initial measurements and wait for long gaps between testing sessions. 

"We had trouble because we didn't get to keep the iPads, so we had to take measurements and then hope we got all the right ones," Dahl explains. "Then they would have to come in when their schedule allowed and we'd have to check and see if it worked. And if it didn't, then we'd have to redo it and then wait for the next time they came in."
Doug CoombeCaleb Dahl.
This required much patience, flexibility, and an attention to detail that tested the students' problem-solving skills.

Beyond the technical learning curve, these projects reshaped how students thought about the technology itself. Many saw 3D printing as a flashy, experimental novelty. But using it to make tangible, functional tools for real people transformed it into something much deeper and more meaningful.

"3D printing, when it kind of first came out, was more of a gimmick than something that could be useful," Bentley says. "But this is helping us see that it has real world applications."
Doug CoombeJonah Bentley.
From Trout’s perspective, the biggest takeaway for students isn’t just the technical skills they learn: it’s what the project teaches about empathy, adaptability, and social responsibility. Some of his students are already thinking about ways to expand on what they’ve learned. 

"I have students that have talked about starting a business with that skill," Trout says.

And even beyond entrepreneurship, the experience introduces students to what it means to work in service of others. 

"It's great for them because it's a real-world need," Trout says. "They get that experience of working with a customer to design a product and then go back and make changes too."

Vaishnavi Attili is an incoming freshman at Brown University with a deep commitment to social justice and equity. She truly believes in standing up and advocating for issues she believes in, and thinks that journalism is an extremely powerful way of doing that. She will be studying anthropology and neuroscience in college.

Concentrate Managing Editor Patrick Dunn served as Vaishnavi's mentor on this story.

Photos by Doug Coombe.