Liam Dippenaar couldn't catch a ball with both hands. Holding two objects at once was a feat and, though right-handed, the 5-year-old used his left. Born with Ambiotic Band Syndrome, Liam lacks the instrument critical for most tasks: fingers.

Thanks to two strangers halfway around the world and the magic of 3D printing, Liam is now able to color and write to his heart's content. Ivan Owen and Richard Van As created Robohand, an open-sourced device built with customized prosthetic fingers.

Owen, of Washington state, and Van As, of South Africa, collaborated via the Internet to create the prosthetic. The duo decided to make the design in the public domain to help others who can benefit from the technology.

Their journey started in 2011, when Van As came across a video of Owen's costume piece, a robotic hand built for amusement. Van As lost most of the fingers on his right hand in a woodworking accident and cast a net out for those willing to help build a prosthetic. Owen was the only one who agreed.

"I had started with the first prototype prior to meeting Ivan. But yes, there were so many obstacles and one of the main ones was contacting people and them just saying, 'No, it can’t be done,'" Van As tells Mashable. "People are not keen to think outside the box. Best to cut your whole hand off and not just your fingers because there’s a better chance of finding something out there if you’re missing the whole hand."

Long nights on Skype and a 10-hour time difference took some getting used to, but the two kept the project going through email and file sharing. Owen and Van As initially used a milling machine and spent hours engineering parts until MakerBot donated two Replicator2 Desktop 3D Printers.

The donation exponentially cut production time for prototypes. What used to take up to three days to complete can now be done in only 20 minutes. Using OpenSCAD, a free software application, Owen and Van As can exchange files and make changes in minutes.

Jenifer Howard, MakerBot's PR director, says the cross-continent collaboration fits perfectly with the company's mission.

"We love to see our printers being used for amazing life-changing and life-validating projects like this," Howard says.

The two men document their progress on a blog called "Coming up Short Handed." Liam's mother, Yolandi, saw the site and reached out to Van As for help. Liam, who has no fingers on his right hand, received his own Robohand at no cost after several trials and prototypes.

"At first it was quite amazing to see the smile on his face when they made the first prototype and he put it on his hand," Yolandi says. "His expression was, 'Oh wow, it’s copying me.' There's been days that I am actually speechless. I think this can help so many people out there, especially kids."

Watch Liam's first attempt with the new hand here.

The hand operates with cables and pulleys, and is made of nontoxic, biodegradable, printable plastic. As Liam grows, a new, scalable Robohand can be printed in a matter of minutes.

High-tech prosthetic designs available on the market can cost up to $60,000. The Robohand cost the team approximately $150 to make, but they're giving the design out for free on Thingiverse and are willing to help anyone at no fee, if funds permit.

"It’s not something we plan to market," says Van As, who uses an adult version of the hand. "If you want one, we’ll help you. There’s lots of people out there that have got 3D printing experience and there’s lots of people who have got 3D printers. That’s something that’s certainly taken over."

Individuals from France, Thailand and Canada have contacted them for assistance. Van As and Owen raised more than $10,000 of the $50,000 goal on their Fundly page, where money will go toward additional research and prototype improvements.

The duo is in the process of fitting a hand for another South African child, Eden, also born with Ambiotic Band Syndrome.

"We're exploring how can we best get this to as many people as possible, utilizing the least amount of resources," Owen says. "Hopefully there'll be people that use this technology to approach other problems as well. There’s definitely a need for it all over."

Images courtesy of Facebook, Robohand