Case Study: Boxing Hand Grenade reduces boxing hand injury risk with Protolabs 3D printing

Protolabs’ 3D printing helps Shrewsbury inventor’s new boxing training aid go boom

Boxing Hand Grenade, created by Shrewsbury personal trainer and martial arts instructor John Docherty, needed a fast way to bring a new boxing training aid to market after he came up with the idea to reduce hand and wrist injury during bag and pad work. Faced with limited resources and the risk of being beaten to market, the customer turned to Protolabs for prototype development using its PolyJet 3D printing service.

Protolabs produced a detailed, precise prototype that helped refine the ergonomic design and demonstrate key features such as flexion grooves and a visible implosion chamber, while also showing a viable path from 3D printing to injection moulding for production. The result was a quick, cost-effective launch of the Boxing Hand Grenade, which retails at £19.99 for a pair and has since gained positive feedback, international sales, and testing from professional boxers and trainers.

Boxing Hand Grenade

John Docherty

Personal Trainer and Martial Arts Instructor