3d printing is so cool. as the technologygets cheaper and better, it won’t cost an arm and leg, but it certainly could make one! hey guys julia here for dnews 3d printing technology is getting crazierby the day, from ballgowns, to bicycles, to instruments, seems like anything can be printedout of plastic. one of the best things to
what are 3d printed objects made of, come from this technology is it’s abilityto improve the design of artificial limbs. we’ve talked before on dnews about how 3dprinted limbs could help people. but what about animals? oh yes here’s some adorable ways 3d printinghas saved animals.
derby the dog can play fetch with his bestfriends thanks to 3d printed legs. you see this particular pooch was born with deformedfront legs. his foster mom rescued him from a shelter and refused to let his disabilitydefine him. he first got fitted with a cute little cart which supported his upper body,but unfortunately limited his movement, he had to stick to sidewalks and he couldn’tuse stairs. 3d systems, a company based out of south carolinadesigned artificial legs for derby. but unlike a cart system, these prosthetics are designedfor running! they look like the blades paralympic athletes might wear. now this lucky dog canfrolic through the grass with the best of them.
and 3d printing is for the birds too! tieta,a female tucan lost a huge chunk of her beak while being trafficked in rio de janeiro.leaving her unable to eat properly or fend for herself, she could only eat by throwingfood into the air trying to catch it. which didn’t work so well. only about a thirdof the time. thankfully she was rescued. in a team effortbetween a wildlife management group instituto vida livre and three brazilian universities,tieta got a new lease on life. the team used a deceased bird’s beak as a model to designa new one for tieta. in just two hours of printing and 40 minutes of surgery she wasalmost as good as new. it’s a light beak, weighing only 4g. it’sbasically a small 3d printed plastic piece
that’s then, covered with nail polish andsealed with a special polymer made from the castor oil plant. she’s still unfortunatelynot fit enough to survive in the wild, but she’s a lot better than she was! now shecan eat normally and even use her beak to clean herself. beauty the bald eagle lost the top of herbeak thanks to a shot from a poacher. left to die in alaska, she was rescued by raptorbiologist janie (fink) veltkamp. while some birds can regrow their beaks, experts didn’tthink hers would, and many recommended the bird be euthanized. but veltkamp wasn’tready to give up hope yet. in a fateful meeting with engineer nate calvin, the two hatcheda plan to help get beauty a new beak.
thanks to a volunteer team of specialists,beauty was fitted with a 3d printed upper beak in 2008. she could feed herself and preenand just be a big happy bird. but in the past 7 years, her natural beak has partially regrown!while it’s still not at it’s original shape and size, she can now eat salmon allby herself without the prosthetic. probably my favorite though is the story ofwinter. nearly ten years ago a young dolphin was found caught up in a crab fishing net.suffering extensive damage to her tail, it had to be amputated. for two years she dependedon her human caretakers for nearly everything. but a great team of handlers and scientistscame together design her a new tail in 2007. since then a movie with morgan freeman wasmade about her story. she lives at the clearwater
marine aquarium in clearwater, fla. whereshe continues to inspire millions today. it doesn’t take an expert to help an animalin need. stumpy the turtle lost her leg due to infection. but rather than let her spendher remaining years hobbling around, a group of six elementary students in savannah georgiahad a better idea. after being inspired by another lucky turtle with a lego prosthetic,the students designed a ball caster like leg that attaches to her shell. a design whichcan help her easily move in any direction. using their school’s 3d printer, and a littlehelp from their teacher, they helped stumpy be not so stumpy anymore, maybe she shouldbe called rolly. while most of these are heart warming stories,3d printing is insanely awesome. not only
does the technology enable a faster, cheaper,and easier way to make things, it allows for custom designs. a game changer for prosthetics.it can be super expensive if prosthetics wear out and break and need a replacement part.now a new part can be printed in a number of hours! and as the technology gets easierand more affordable, now almost anyone can help an animal in need. you know what else makes us feel all warmand fuzzy about the future? intel creates the breakthrough technologiesthat make amazing experiences possible. having intel inside makes for better experiencesoutside. intel drives innovation with products
like processors, wearables and iot devices,and
within data centers. in the pc and beyond. so what do you think the coolest thing everprinted was? have you ever used one? tell us about it in the comments below
