UTAH TEEN SPENT SUMMER 3D PRINTING A WHEELCHAIR FOR TODDLER
Zac Waters, a 13-year-old from Lehi, Utah, spent his summer break making a custom 3D-printed wheelchair for a 21-month-old girl. He got hooked on 3D printing through a YouTube channel, found a nonprofit called MakeGood that makes assistive devices, and finished the chair with pink accents because pink is the girl’s favorite color.
While plenty of kids his age spend the summer at the pool or on a ball field, Zac put in roughly 300 hours. ABC4 reported on August 5, 2026, that he designed, printed, tested and assembled the chair. My Modern Met and Upworthy also put the project at about 300 hours.
“It combines my two favorite things in life: 3D printing and helping people in need. It just makes sense!” Zac told ABC4.
From a YouTube rabbit hole to a toddler’s chair
The idea started after Zac watched a YouTube channel about 3D printing and decided he wanted to use the hobby to make a difference. That led him to MakeGood, a nonprofit that 3D prints assistive devices for people with disabilities around the world.
The chair he built is a Toddler Mobility Trainer, a mobility chair for young children with disabilities, India Today reported. The outlet said MakeGood’s volunteer effort has delivered more than 1,000 of them. MakeGood’s designs are free, and People reported that recipients get the devices at no cost. ABC4 said the MakeGood team designed the chair Zac worked on.
His favorite part of 3D printing is putting the pieces together, and this project was no exception. After 300 hours, that probably felt earned.
The pink is the first thing you notice, but the chair is built to be practical. It has a removable cupholder and tray table, and the back has a space designed for heavier medical equipment. The straps are made from soft, bendable material for comfort.
The footrest and headrest both adjust, so the chair can keep up as the girl gets older.
The family rails
Zac said he is grateful for his family’s support in bringing his ideas to life. He compared them to the training rails at a bowling alley, the ones that keep the ball out of the gutter. In his telling, they keep him on the right path and let him bounce ideas off them until he reaches the end.
His grandmother, Charlotte Waters, who supplied the photos ABC4 ran, said the family hopes he holds on to the bigger lesson.
“We hope he always remembers that the greatest legacy anyone can leave is to make someone else’s life better,” she told ABC4. “His age does not define his ability to make a difference. His character does.”
People’s headline called Zac a “true hero,” which is a lot to hang on a kid who, by his own account, mostly enjoys snapping parts together.
Zac told ABC4 he is thrilled to be part of the 3D printing community that helped bring the chair to life. He hopes to keep sharpening his skills until he reaches the level of the MakeGood team behind the design.
As for what comes after that, he told ABC4 he wants to do “something techie” when he grows up, and he hopes to keep using 3D printing to help more people.
