A Texas man bought a 3D printer to make toy dragons. Now he prints free wheelchairs for toddlers.

October 17, 2026

By Kim Komando

Luke Saintignan got a 3D printer the way a lot of us pick up a hobby. A friend at work sold him one. (Seriously, that’s how it starts.)

He printed dragons. Jets. Chess pieces. Then in June, he found a design that changed what his printer was for.

It’s called the Toddler Mobility Trainer, or TMT. Think of it as a wheelchair and a stroller rolled into one, built for little kids with mobility challenges. Luke’s two printers in Longview, Texas, take a couple of weeks to make one. The kids’ families pay nothing.

His first chair went to a girl named Lucy.

“It really hit me when delivering the first chair and seeing that family and how grateful little Miss Lucy was,” Luke said.

I had Luke on my show, and that story got me. So I donated $1,000 to help build more chairs.

🛞 A garage full of good

The design comes from MakeGood, a disability design nonprofit in New Orleans. The plans are free, so anyone with a home 3D printer can build one. Here’s how it works:

• Families request a chair at 3d-mobility.org, ideally with a doctor’s OK.
• Volunteer makers print a few test parts to get approved, then claim a child’s build.
• Each chair costs makers $175 to $500 in materials. Donations help cover filament, hardware and shipping.
• The chair fits kids ages 1 to 8, and families never get a bill.

So far, volunteers have built 1,400 of these chairs for kids in 49 countries. More than 1,000 families are still waiting.

Store-bought mobility devices for kids cost more than many families can swing, and insurance denials are common. For a toddler, a few months is forever. Getting around on your own is how little ones explore, learn and keep up with their friends.

💛 How you can roll with it

You don’t need to be an engineer. Pick your lane:

• Own a 3D printer? Sign up as a maker at 3d-mobility.org/makers.
• Want to fund a build? Donate at 3d-mobility.org/donate. Your money buys the parts for a child’s chair.
• Know a family who needs one? Send them to 3d-mobility.org/request-device.
• No printer? Many public libraries and makerspaces have one you can use.

Luke started with dragons. Now he builds something a lot bigger: a kid’s first taste of getting somewhere on her own.

🗣️ Text/post this stat: Volunteers with home 3D printers have built 1,400 free wheelchairs for toddlers in 49 countries, and more than 1,000 families are still waiting. Help at 3d-mobility.org. GetKim.com

📩 Send this to someone who has a 3D printer collecting dust in the garage.