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3D Printing knew that 3D Printing was being used for many different things. But, I didn't know that it was being used for printing food. You can make many different foods you just need to have a special type of filament. I find the food industry of 3D printing to be very interesting.

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This little dog had no legs and may have not been able to walk if it where not for 3Dprinting. This dog had no legs so he could not do what most puppies can like running playing and having fun. But now he can run around maybe not rough house but still this puppy must be very grateful. It is very  cute aswell just look at it Awwwwwwwwwwww!

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Among 3D printing's many applications, the one that always guarantees a warm and fuzzy feeling is when its used to improve the lives of warm and fuzzy animals. Particularly when its applied to 3D print prostheses that give deformed, damaged, or diseased animals (many on the verge of being euthanized), a second chance.

For the tens of thousands of years that animals and humans have been around, even if you start counting from when humans first domesticated animals (dogs) about 15,000 years ago, the notion of veterinary care only formalized in 1761 A.D. with the opening of a school for veterinary science in France. Our expertise in caring for animals began first with horses, cattle, and livestock and has since extended to companion animals, especially dogs and cats, as well as wild or exotic animals. With the advances in veterinary medicine, especially in custom prosthetics and implants, we can do more today for the well-being of non-human species than we ever could before. And, with 3D printing, we are doing more than we could have ever imagined possible.

Here are ten animals we've been lucky to help save:

This adult female bald eagle was shot in the face by poachers in Alaska in 2005, and although she escaped with her life, the poachers' shot obliterated the upper mandible of Beauty's beak. Without it, she was unable to fend for herself, eat food on her own, or preen her feathers. A situation probably akin to trying to survive without one jawbone. She was rescued by Janie (Fink) Veltkamp and attended to at the Birds of Prey NW facility. Her beak didn't look like it would grow back and expert opinions suggested euthanizing her as the only option.

Beauty and the Beak from Keith Bubach - Trooper Media on Vimeo.

At this point, Nate Calvin, a mechanical engineer who knew about 3D printing technology, offered to help save Beauty. He made a mold of her missing upper mandible, 3D scanned it, used software to tweak the 3D model, and then printed it in nylon-polymer material. The 3D printed prosthetic was fitted onto the remaining beak using a titanium metal mount. Beauty was able to eat and drink on her own again, thanks to the synthetic beak. And, since 3D printing allows for quick and flexible redesign, her prosthetic beak was easily modified to suit her better as she adjusted to it over the years. Recently, her natural beak has begun to show some growth, and she can now consume strips of salmon herself. As such, ever since this was first made public in 2008, there has been an outpouring of support for Beauty and her story, and, soon, it will have its very own book!

Unfortunate to have a birth defect common among small dogs, this chihuahua was born without its two front legs. Despite the recommendations of four vets that the dog be euthanized, his owner refused to give in and left him at a vet office hoping the chihuahua would find someone to care for him. He did. Ashley Looper, a vet tech in Indianapolis, fell in love with him. She and her boyfriend Ray adopted him and named him 'TurboRoo', after the snail in the movie Turbo. They tried to build a cart for TurboRoo with PVC pipe and parts from a Fischer-Price toy, but it didn't quite work.

Mark Deadrick, president of 3dyn in San Diego, heard about TurboRoo's story, thanks to a local news report that went viral, and decided to use 3D printing to make the pup a better mobility cart. It fit TurboRoo perfectly and, as he grew, 10 different carts were made until he reached his full adult size. He can now move around comfortably on his own, stopping, starting, moving backwards as and when he chooses to. Eventually, his story led to the founding of TurboRoo Designs, a small company that custom designs 3D printed mobility carts for dogs. Earlier this year, TurboRoo won 'Underdog of the Year' at the CW Network show in L.A and is a celebrity dog with over 66,000 followers on Instagram!

In July, 2014, a collision with a boat's propeller, left this loggerhead sea turtle named Akut-3 (for the Turkish rescue agency that found him floating in the water - AKUT Arama Kurtarma Derneği) without 60 percent of his right upper and lower jaws. He was then brought to the Dalyan Iztuzu Pamukkale University (PAU) Sea Turtle Research, Rescue & Rehabilitation Center where he was fed by hand and nursed back to health. But, with the injured jaw, Akut-3 would not survive on his own and a permanent solution had to be found. His rescuers then approached BTech, a pioneering medical 3D printing company in Turkey, specializing in patient-specific implants for humans.

The team at BTech decided to attempt a first of its kind facial reconstruction for the sea turtle ( a first for its species), with 3D scanning and modeling using Mimics software from Materialise. Once they developed a model, they used Materialise's 3-matics software, to design highly customized prosthetic jaws that would seamlessly replace the missing parts of Akut-3. They 3D printed it in medical-grade titanium and in a two-and-a-half-hour operation, surgeons and veterinarians fitted the metal parts onto Akut-3's face. Part sea-turtle, part cyborg, it is yet to be seen if his body rejects the titanium prosthetic and if his soft tissue grows back over the implant. If all goes well, Akut-3 could soon head back into the Mediterranean and return to life as it was, but with a story that's more than a mouthful!

Akut-3 isn't the only turtle or tortoise who has 3D printing to thank for a second-chance at life. There's also Augie, Stumpy, and Cleopatra.

This duck tale is about a lively little duck named Buttercup who was born with a left foot that was turned backwards. The deformed foot left Buttercup unable to walk or waddle like a normal duck and caused him tremendous pain. His caretakers tried physiotherapy, but it wasn't making a difference. Mike Garey, founder of the Feathered Angels Waterfowl Sanctuary in Tennessee, who was caring for Buttercup, initially thought that amputating the deformed foot and replacing it with a peg leg would be best for the duck's survival. But then he tried seeking help from Novacopy, a company specializing in 3D printing, who came up with a unique solution for Buttercup.

They scanned the left foot of Buttercup's sister, Minnie, and used it to 3D model and print a mold for a new, silicone foot. The silicone foot was then fitted on using a customized nylon sock and Buttercup was able to walk more like a duck again. Several versions were made to make the prosthetic foot a better, more flexible fit for him. Later, a special foot with flapper doors was also designed to allow Buttercup to swim and, because 3D printing allows for quick and easy customization, they even made him a unique foot for Christmas! You can find out more about how this famous duck's been doing on his Facebook page.

For other feathered animals that 3D printing has helped, check out Ozzie, Dudley, Quack Quack and Trooper.

Probably the largest animal to use a 3D printed prosthetic, Holly, a ten-year-old mare in Australia, suffered from laminitis, a crippling disease that is common among horses, ponies, and donkeys. Laminitis affects the hooves of these animals and Holly had been suffering from it for three years. The disease causes pain and inflammation between the hoof and bone (an attachment similar to that of our finger and nail) and if unattended, could have left Holly unable to walk. Her vet and farrier, Luke Wells-Smith from the Equine Podiatry and Lameness Centre, had heard of the work CSIRO (Australia's national science agency) had done with a racehorse, aptly named "Titanium Prints", using 3D printed titanium horse-shoes.

CSIRO hadn't previously used 3D printing to rehabilitate lame horses, but, with Holly, they had their first opportunity. Collaborating with horse podiatrists, they 3D scanned and designed a shoe that was a perfect fit for Holly's hoof and 3D printed it in titanium. The custom shoe, a first of its kind 'horse-thotic' that can be made on-demand in less than a day, would equally redistribute the weight and stress on the hoof, encourage it to heal and give Holly a chance to recover.

A thoughtless act of cruelty by a group of teenagers left this one-year old toucan without a significant portion of its upper beak. Named 'Grecia' after the town in Costa Rica where he is from, the male toucan has since been recovering at Costa Rica's Animal Rescue Bird Zoo. A toucan's beak is not just vital to its ability to feed and defend itself, but is also needed to find a mate, since females choose one based on the color of a male's beak. Although he quickly learned to use his lower beak to feed himself, he is still dependent on his caretakers for survival. There was an outpouring of rage and sympathy when news of what had been done to Grecia spread and, thankfully, it didn't just end at that. A handful of local companies came forward to help build a prosthetic beak for Grecia and an Indiegogo campaign for him met its $10,000 goal in less than 48 hours.

The toucan's beak itself is a marvel of lightweight strength still being studied by material scientists and replicating it using 3D printing isn't a straightforward task. Attaching it to the remaining beak's stump using pins wouldn't be simple either, since the sandwich structure of the beak includes blood vessels, nerves, and tissue. But efforts are underway to design an ideal beak in two parts with one that can be detached, cleaned and readjusted as Grecia grows with it. It is also likely that it will be attached using a denture-type glue that won't be chemically harmful. If successful, the 3D printed replacement beak procedure will be the first of its kind in Latin America and the first for a toucan. And, since it will be 3D printed, Grecia might enjoy the opportunity to have a uniquely colored beak!

Felix isn't any ordinary sheep. Firstly, he is a rare kind of sheep called a Katahdin, that grows hair instead of wool. Secondly, and more importantly, as a baby, Felix arrived at Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary (WAFS) in New York missing a hind leg. The three-legged sheep, in need of a prosthetic, was cared for by Jenny Brown, founder of WAFS, who herself wears a prosthetic, having lost a leg to a childhood struggle with cancer. Felix was then fitted with a regular prosthetic leg and, just as he was getting used to it, it had begun to wear out.

It just so happened that Sean Eldrige, of the Hudson Valley Advanced Manufacturing Center (HVAMC) in New York, met Felix while taking a tour at WAFS and suggested designing a 3D printed prosthetic for the Katahdin. With the help of a prosthetist, a veterinarian, and a biology major from SUNY New Platz, a cast was scanned and modified to build a custom prosthetic leg for Felix. The leg was printed in Stratasys' ABSplus, similar to the material LEGOs are made of, but of an engineering grade. It was then tested and adjusted to ensure fitment. He may not give wool, but who cares, a 3D printed leg is so much more to 'baa-baa' about. The three-legged Felix is once again four-legged and, now, has a long, healthy life to look forward to.

Housing crisis for hermit crabs! There's a shortage of shells in the ocean for these crabs, who don't produce their own shells, but tend to adopt shells they find as their homes. If they don't find a shell, they're likely to use garbage, cans, pipes, bottles or anything else as makeshift houses. For domesticated hermit crabs, owners typically farm shells for their pets. So a shortage of shells is just bad news all round.

TeamTeamUSA and MakerBot came together to start Project Shellter, with which they are exploring the possibility of 3D printing shells. While their prototypes are made of plastic, they hope to develop eco-friendly, sustainable shells for hermit crabs. Some shells are modeled on that of the sea snail, Oxystele sinensis, and empirical tests are performed to see if and how a hermit crab takes to them. The crabs are especially picky about the kind of shell they would make their home (I'm sure we can sympathize with that!), so designing and 3D printing these shells isn't so simple. Project Shellter has a group of classy crabs to test their 3D printed crabitats on, and these crabs have great names: Paris Shellton, Tori Shelling, Khloe and Kourtney Karshellian, and Shellton John. Although this application doesn't involve prosthetics, its a unique example of humans using 3D printing to recreate a natural habitat without any man-made limitations.

Nine-year-old Cyrano L. Catte II, more popularly known as Cyrano, had a great life taken away from him when he developed bone cancer in one of his left legs. His caretakers were intent on doing everything it took to heal Cyrano and bring his life back to normal. He was the first cat ever to receive radiation therapy and although it sent his cancer into full remission, it left his leg damaged beyond repair. Amputating the leg would have been the recommended next step, but for the 26 pound cat, surviving on three legs would invite a host a other problems. The only possible alternative would be a total knee athroplasty (TKA), though it had never been done before for a cat. Yet the pioneering Cyrano would be the first cat to undergo that treatment too.

His owners approached veterinary experts at NC State. In this challenging case, existing 3D printing technology was used to its maximum potential. The miniature knee implant had to be tiny, about the size of a human finger joint, but highly complex. It had to be porous, strong, durable, and with varied surface textures to ensure that it integrated completely with existing bone. It had to fit perfectly, while also accounting for added stems and surgical guides. The only 3D printing technology that suited the purpose was DMLS (Direct Metal Laser Sintering) and the material cobalt chromium, since titanium would wear down eventually. A team of engineers, veterinary surgeons, designers, and experts from across the world worked on developing a knee implant for Cyrano. They even used 3D printed bone replicas to practice to ensure that the actual operation, which took six hours, went smoothly. Cyrano, instead of losing his life to bone cancer and its side-effects, is back purring on four legs.

Arguably the most well-known application of a 3D printed prosthesis for an animal. Derby was born with deformities in both of his front legs, which left him unable to walk, run, or even sit upright. Slated to be euthanized, he was rescued and fostered by Tara Anderson, an employee at 3D Systems, who saw him at the Peace and Paws Dog Rescue in New Hampshire, USA.

With the 3D technologies available to Tara, she set about trying to create a custom prosthesis for Derby, starting with casts to mold the prosthetic design and later elbow cups modeled on 3D scans taken of Derby's deformed legs. The idea was to get Derby running again, but without wheels. During this time, he was adopted by the Portanova family who worked with Tara to develop the first of their kind prosthetic legs. These legs were developed in stages by trial and error, with the design slowly adjusted to Derby's body, particularly his spine, as he grew. The material had to be strong, durable, and flexible to closely mimic the behavior of his natural legs. The final 3D printed prosthetic had a curved design and incorporated treads to provide traction. It even had his name printed on each prosthetic leg! Today, Derby, nearly two years old, doesn't just walk, but runs, miles and miles each day.

Derby and Turboroo aren't the only dogs to have been helped by 3D printing, but they certainly are the most famous. Several other canines have also benefited from this technology namely Luisa, Freddy, Jack, Oreo, Bubbles and many, many more.

In each one of these examples, 3D printing has brought hope where they may not have been any before. It's magic is three-pronged. First, it allows for prostheses or implants to be made at low cost and on-demand, and this is important because a prosthetic needs to be quickly modified and revised several times as the animal grows. Second, the range of materials available in 3D printing means that these prostheses can not only mimic the natural function of the missing part, but also integrate with the organic structure of the animal. Third, it allows for the creation of highly complex and custom prostheses and implants that are as unique as the animals they are designed for.

For every animal that would have otherwise been euthanized, for whom doors were closed by fate or human cruelty, 3D printing has brought far more than ten reasons to go on living. So, the next time you come across a deformed, damaged, or diseased animal, no matter how small or big, anywhere in the world, remember that there may always be something that can be done to save it.

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10 Animals Who Got a 2nd Chance in Life with 3D Printing

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Among 3D printing's many applications, the one that always guarantees a warm and fuzzy feeling is when its used to improve the lives of warm and fuzzy animals. Particularly when its applied to 3D print prostheses that give deformed, damaged, or diseased animals (many on the verge of being euthanized), a second chance.

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This is Holly the ten year old mare got a second chance in life. Probably the most largest prosthetic leg for a horse. She suffered in with laminitis  so they had to amputate her leg sadly. After weeks and weeks of creating a leg for this pore horse she finally had hope they brought in a 3D printed horse leg and she was saved. Now she lives happily with her knew leg. And I'm happy that she's happy!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Among 3D printing's many applications, the one that always guarantees a warm and fuzzy feeling is when its used to improve the lives of warm and fuzzy animals. Particularly when its applied to 3D print prostheses that give deformed, damaged, or diseased animals (many on the verge of being euthanized), a second chance.

For the tens of thousands of years that animals and humans have been around, even if you start counting from when humans first domesticated animals (dogs) about 15,000 years ago, the notion of veterinary care only formalized in 1761 A.D. with the opening of a school for veterinary science in France. Our expertise in caring for animals began first with horses, cattle, and livestock and has since extended to companion animals, especially dogs and cats, as well as wild or exotic animals. With the advances in veterinary medicine, especially in custom prosthetics and implants, we can do more today for the well-being of non-human species than we ever could before. And, with 3D printing, we are doing more than we could have ever imagined possible.

Here are ten animals we've been lucky to help save:

This adult female bald eagle was shot in the face by poachers in Alaska in 2005, and although she escaped with her life, the poachers' shot obliterated the upper mandible of Beauty's beak. Without it, she was unable to fend for herself, eat food on her own, or preen her feathers. A situation probably akin to trying to survive without one jawbone. She was rescued by Janie (Fink) Veltkamp and attended to at the Birds of Prey NW facility. Her beak didn't look like it would grow back and expert opinions suggested euthanizing her as the only option.

Beauty and the Beak from Keith Bubach - Trooper Media on Vimeo.

At this point, Nate Calvin, a mechanical engineer who knew about 3D printing technology, offered to help save Beauty. He made a mold of her missing upper mandible, 3D scanned it, used software to tweak the 3D model, and then printed it in nylon-polymer material. The 3D printed prosthetic was fitted onto the remaining beak using a titanium metal mount. Beauty was able to eat and drink on her own again, thanks to the synthetic beak. And, since 3D printing allows for quick and flexible redesign, her prosthetic beak was easily modified to suit her better as she adjusted to it over the years. Recently, her natural beak has begun to show some growth, and she can now consume strips of salmon herself. As such, ever since this was first made public in 2008, there has been an outpouring of support for Beauty and her story, and, soon, it will have its very own book!

Unfortunate to have a birth defect common among small dogs, this chihuahua was born without its two front legs. Despite the recommendations of four vets that the dog be euthanized, his owner refused to give in and left him at a vet office hoping the chihuahua would find someone to care for him. He did. Ashley Looper, a vet tech in Indianapolis, fell in love with him. She and her boyfriend Ray adopted him and named him 'TurboRoo', after the snail in the movie Turbo. They tried to build a cart for TurboRoo with PVC pipe and parts from a Fischer-Price toy, but it didn't quite work.

Mark Deadrick, president of 3dyn in San Diego, heard about TurboRoo's story, thanks to a local news report that went viral, and decided to use 3D printing to make the pup a better mobility cart. It fit TurboRoo perfectly and, as he grew, 10 different carts were made until he reached his full adult size. He can now move around comfortably on his own, stopping, starting, moving backwards as and when he chooses to. Eventually, his story led to the founding of TurboRoo Designs, a small company that custom designs 3D printed mobility carts for dogs. Earlier this year, TurboRoo won 'Underdog of the Year' at the CW Network show in L.A and is a celebrity dog with over 66,000 followers on Instagram!

In July, 2014, a collision with a boat's propeller, left this loggerhead sea turtle named Akut-3 (for the Turkish rescue agency that found him floating in the water - AKUT Arama Kurtarma Derneği) without 60 percent of his right upper and lower jaws. He was then brought to the Dalyan Iztuzu Pamukkale University (PAU) Sea Turtle Research, Rescue & Rehabilitation Center where he was fed by hand and nursed back to health. But, with the injured jaw, Akut-3 would not survive on his own and a permanent solution had to be found. His rescuers then approached BTech, a pioneering medical 3D printing company in Turkey, specializing in patient-specific implants for humans.

The team at BTech decided to attempt a first of its kind facial reconstruction for the sea turtle ( a first for its species), with 3D scanning and modeling using Mimics software from Materialise. Once they developed a model, they used Materialise's 3-matics software, to design highly customized prosthetic jaws that would seamlessly replace the missing parts of Akut-3. They 3D printed it in medical-grade titanium and in a two-and-a-half-hour operation, surgeons and veterinarians fitted the metal parts onto Akut-3's face. Part sea-turtle, part cyborg, it is yet to be seen if his body rejects the titanium prosthetic and if his soft tissue grows back over the implant. If all goes well, Akut-3 could soon head back into the Mediterranean and return to life as it was, but with a story that's more than a mouthful!

Akut-3 isn't the only turtle or tortoise who has 3D printing to thank for a second-chance at life. There's also Augie, Stumpy, and Cleopatra.

This duck tale is about a lively little duck named Buttercup who was born with a left foot that was turned backwards. The deformed foot left Buttercup unable to walk or waddle like a normal duck and caused him tremendous pain. His caretakers tried physiotherapy, but it wasn't making a difference. Mike Garey, founder of the Feathered Angels Waterfowl Sanctuary in Tennessee, who was caring for Buttercup, initially thought that amputating the deformed foot and replacing it with a peg leg would be best for the duck's survival. But then he tried seeking help from Novacopy, a company specializing in 3D printing, who came up with a unique solution for Buttercup.

They scanned the left foot of Buttercup's sister, Minnie, and used it to 3D model and print a mold for a new, silicone foot. The silicone foot was then fitted on using a customized nylon sock and Buttercup was able to walk more like a duck again. Several versions were made to make the prosthetic foot a better, more flexible fit for him. Later, a special foot with flapper doors was also designed to allow Buttercup to swim and, because 3D printing allows for quick and easy customization, they even made him a unique foot for Christmas! You can find out more about how this famous duck's been doing on his Facebook page.

For other feathered animals that 3D printing has helped, check out Ozzie, Dudley, Quack Quack and Trooper.

Probably the largest animal to use a 3D printed prosthetic, Holly, a ten-year-old mare in Australia, suffered from laminitis, a crippling disease that is common among horses, ponies, and donkeys. Laminitis affects the hooves of these animals and Holly had been suffering from it for three years. The disease causes pain and inflammation between the hoof and bone (an attachment similar to that of our finger and nail) and if unattended, could have left Holly unable to walk. Her vet and farrier, Luke Wells-Smith from the Equine Podiatry and Lameness Centre, had heard of the work CSIRO (Australia's national science agency) had done with a racehorse, aptly named "Titanium Prints", using 3D printed titanium horse-shoes.

CSIRO hadn't previously used 3D printing to rehabilitate lame horses, but, with Holly, they had their first opportunity. Collaborating with horse podiatrists, they 3D scanned and designed a shoe that was a perfect fit for Holly's hoof and 3D printed it in titanium. The custom shoe, a first of its kind 'horse-thotic' that can be made on-demand in less than a day, would equally redistribute the weight and stress on the hoof, encourage it to heal and give Holly a chance to recover.

A thoughtless act of cruelty by a group of teenagers left this one-year old toucan without a significant portion of its upper beak. Named 'Grecia' after the town in Costa Rica where he is from, the male toucan has since been recovering at Costa Rica's Animal Rescue Bird Zoo. A toucan's beak is not just vital to its ability to feed and defend itself, but is also needed to find a mate, since females choose one based on the color of a male's beak. Although he quickly learned to use his lower beak to feed himself, he is still dependent on his caretakers for survival. There was an outpouring of rage and sympathy when news of what had been done to Grecia spread and, thankfully, it didn't just end at that. A handful of local companies came forward to help build a prosthetic beak for Grecia and an Indiegogo campaign for him met its $10,000 goal in less than 48 hours.

The toucan's beak itself is a marvel of lightweight strength still being studied by material scientists and replicating it using 3D printing isn't a straightforward task. Attaching it to the remaining beak's stump using pins wouldn't be simple either, since the sandwich structure of the beak includes blood vessels, nerves, and tissue. But efforts are underway to design an ideal beak in two parts with one that can be detached, cleaned and readjusted as Grecia grows with it. It is also likely that it will be attached using a denture-type glue that won't be chemically harmful. If successful, the 3D printed replacement beak procedure will be the first of its kind in Latin America and the first for a toucan. And, since it will be 3D printed, Grecia might enjoy the opportunity to have a uniquely colored beak!

Felix isn't any ordinary sheep. Firstly, he is a rare kind of sheep called a Katahdin, that grows hair instead of wool. Secondly, and more importantly, as a baby, Felix arrived at Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary (WAFS) in New York missing a hind leg. The three-legged sheep, in need of a prosthetic, was cared for by Jenny Brown, founder of WAFS, who herself wears a prosthetic, having lost a leg to a childhood struggle with cancer. Felix was then fitted with a regular prosthetic leg and, just as he was getting used to it, it had begun to wear out.

It just so happened that Sean Eldrige, of the Hudson Valley Advanced Manufacturing Center (HVAMC) in New York, met Felix while taking a tour at WAFS and suggested designing a 3D printed prosthetic for the Katahdin. With the help of a prosthetist, a veterinarian, and a biology major from SUNY New Platz, a cast was scanned and modified to build a custom prosthetic leg for Felix. The leg was printed in Stratasys' ABSplus, similar to the material LEGOs are made of, but of an engineering grade. It was then tested and adjusted to ensure fitment. He may not give wool, but who cares, a 3D printed leg is so much more to 'baa-baa' about. The three-legged Felix is once again four-legged and, now, has a long, healthy life to look forward to.

Housing crisis for hermit crabs! There's a shortage of shells in the ocean for these crabs, who don't produce their own shells, but tend to adopt shells they find as their homes. If they don't find a shell, they're likely to use garbage, cans, pipes, bottles or anything else as makeshift houses. For domesticated hermit crabs, owners typically farm shells for their pets. So a shortage of shells is just bad news all round.

TeamTeamUSA and MakerBot came together to start Project Shellter, with which they are exploring the possibility of 3D printing shells. While their prototypes are made of plastic, they hope to develop eco-friendly, sustainable shells for hermit crabs. Some shells are modeled on that of the sea snail, Oxystele sinensis, and empirical tests are performed to see if and how a hermit crab takes to them. The crabs are especially picky about the kind of shell they would make their home (I'm sure we can sympathize with that!), so designing and 3D printing these shells isn't so simple. Project Shellter has a group of classy crabs to test their 3D printed crabitats on, and these crabs have great names: Paris Shellton, Tori Shelling, Khloe and Kourtney Karshellian, and Shellton John. Although this application doesn't involve prosthetics, its a unique example of humans using 3D printing to recreate a natural habitat without any man-made limitations.

Nine-year-old Cyrano L. Catte II, more popularly known as Cyrano, had a great life taken away from him when he developed bone cancer in one of his left legs. His caretakers were intent on doing everything it took to heal Cyrano and bring his life back to normal. He was the first cat ever to receive radiation therapy and although it sent his cancer into full remission, it left his leg damaged beyond repair. Amputating the leg would have been the recommended next step, but for the 26 pound cat, surviving on three legs would invite a host a other problems. The only possible alternative would be a total knee athroplasty (TKA), though it had never been done before for a cat. Yet the pioneering Cyrano would be the first cat to undergo that treatment too.

His owners approached veterinary experts at NC State. In this challenging case, existing 3D printing technology was used to its maximum potential. The miniature knee implant had to be tiny, about the size of a human finger joint, but highly complex. It had to be porous, strong, durable, and with varied surface textures to ensure that it integrated completely with existing bone. It had to fit perfectly, while also accounting for added stems and surgical guides. The only 3D printing technology that suited the purpose was DMLS (Direct Metal Laser Sintering) and the material cobalt chromium, since titanium would wear down eventually. A team of engineers, veterinary surgeons, designers, and experts from across the world worked on developing a knee implant for Cyrano. They even used 3D printed bone replicas to practice to ensure that the actual operation, which took six hours, went smoothly. Cyrano, instead of losing his life to bone cancer and its side-effects, is back purring on four legs.

Arguably the most well-known application of a 3D printed prosthesis for an animal. Derby was born with deformities in both of his front legs, which left him unable to walk, run, or even sit upright. Slated to be euthanized, he was rescued and fostered by Tara Anderson, an employee at 3D Systems, who saw him at the Peace and Paws Dog Rescue in New Hampshire, USA.

With the 3D technologies available to Tara, she set about trying to create a custom prosthesis for Derby, starting with casts to mold the prosthetic design and later elbow cups modeled on 3D scans taken of Derby's deformed legs. The idea was to get Derby running again, but without wheels. During this time, he was adopted by the Portanova family who worked with Tara to develop the first of their kind prosthetic legs. These legs were developed in stages by trial and error, with the design slowly adjusted to Derby's body, particularly his spine, as he grew. The material had to be strong, durable, and flexible to closely mimic the behavior of his natural legs. The final 3D printed prosthetic had a curved design and incorporated treads to provide traction. It even had his name printed on each prosthetic leg! Today, Derby, nearly two years old, doesn't just walk, but runs, miles and miles each day.

Derby and Turboroo aren't the only dogs to have been helped by 3D printing, but they certainly are the most famous. Several other canines have also benefited from this technology namely Luisa, Freddy, Jack, Oreo, Bubbles and many, many more.

In each one of these examples, 3D printing has brought hope where they may not have been any before. It's magic is three-pronged. First, it allows for prostheses or implants to be made at low cost and on-demand, and this is important because a prosthetic needs to be quickly modified and revised several times as the animal grows. Second, the range of materials available in 3D printing means that these prostheses can not only mimic the natural function of the missing part, but also integrate with the organic structure of the animal. Third, it allows for the creation of highly complex and custom prostheses and implants that are as unique as the animals they are designed for.

For every animal that would have otherwise been euthanized, for whom doors were closed by fate or human cruelty, 3D printing has brought far more than ten reasons to go on living. So, the next time you come across a deformed, damaged, or diseased animal, no matter how small or big, anywhere in the world, remember that there may always be something that can be done to save it.

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10 Animals Who Got a 2nd Chance in Life with 3D Printing

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Among 3D printing's many applications, the one that always guarantees a warm and fuzzy feeling is when its used to improve the lives of warm and fuzzy animals. Particularly when its applied to 3D print prostheses that give deformed, damaged, or diseased animals (many on the verge of being euthanized), a second chance.

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3D printed shoes. Now, shoes and clothing are being 3D printed. Some are even helping to reduce waste using plastic from the sea.

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Earlier this week, 3DPI reported on the Adidas Ultraboost Parley shoe made out of 3D printed recycled plastic from the ocean. Reebok has also recently been seen using its Liquid Factory technology to 3D print accents for the sole and lacing of their sneakers. Although at this stage the technology won't be used for mass production, it is pointing towards a new trend in the market, one which China's Winbo Smart Tech are keen not to miss out on.

3D printing a prototype shoe eliminates the need for making a CNC wooden shoe to then cast in plaster for making a metal mold, this not only saves time,but also the materials used are much cheaper and cuts out some of the waste involved. Admittedly, this is nothing new that we haven't already heard about the pros of additive manufacturing, but in these crucial early stages it is worth revisiting how 3D printing allows product prototyping to evolve more effectively. An ability to simply amend the CAD model and then print out a new solid plastic shape in a matter of hours is much simpler than having to go back to the drawing board and a block of wood every time.

The shoes designed by Winbo however are not only suitable as prototypes. Their website actively sells a few models as readily wearable footwear. The polygonal slippers they offer aren't dissimilar to the pumps you can buy in stores.

And these high heels are seemingly inspired by the Alexander McQueen armadillo shoes famously worn by Lady Gaga. Before you think its too much, consider the trend in Vivienne Westwood LadyDragon shoes that are also made out of plastic.

We'd love to see Winbo's shoe collection hitting the catwalk in some 'fashion of the future' theme show sometime soon. And look forward to seeing what new designs they create.

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Winbo weigh in on the fashion for 3D printed shoes

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252shares193536Earlier this week, 3DPI reported on the Adidas Ultraboost Parley shoe made out of 3D printed recycled plastic from the ocean. Reebok has also recently been seen using its Liquid Factory technology to 3D print accents for the sole and lacing of their sneakers.

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3D printing

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I think it's really amazing how you can almost print everything on a 3D printer!

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3D printing is a now necessary part of medical treatments and let me explain why. When people need a prosthetic attachment, it may be hard to get a custom fit, but with 3D printing, things can now be printed to perfection!

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KOCHI: A 60-year-old housewife from Kottayam became the first patient in the state to undergo a hip replacement using a 3D model of the hip. The patient, Pennamma Mani, had been suffering from severe pain in the hip and could hardly walk after she met with an accident in 2014.
The pioneering surgery was performed at VPS Lakeshore Hospital by a medical team under Dr Bipin Theruvil, senior consultant specialised in hip replacements. A special software was used to process the CT scans of the patient's fractured hip and printed the same by using a 3D printer. The model itself was an exact copy in size and detail of the woman's hip. It took 18 hours to print. The medical team performed a mock surgery on the 3D model in order to determine the position and exact size of the implants required thereby making the complex procedure possible to a high level of accuracy.

The final surgery lasted for less than four hours and the patient was able to walk on the same day itself. Dr Bipin Theruvil, said this technology will revolutionise complex joint replacements. "The 3D printed hips offer surgeons an opportunity to plan and practice the surgery in complex cases and thereby saving operating time, reducing blood loss and in the end speeding up recovery," he said, adding the 3D printing technology has become relatively cheap.
Dr Jacob Varghese, HOD, orthopaedics at VPS Lakeshore Hospital said 3D printing is a game changer and will become a routine practice for complex reconstructions as surgeons will be able to understand the anatomy better resulting in a better outcome for the patient. Dr Mahesh K, who did software optimisation and 3D printing, and Dr John Ferns were also part of the medical team.

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KOCHI: A 60-year-old housewife from Kottayam became the first patient in the state to undergo a hip replacement using a 3D model of the hip. The patient, Pennamma Mani, had been suffering from severe pain in the hip and could hardly walk after she met with an accident in 2014.

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3D printing foods is really cool because who

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3D don't just a thing you design and play. I is a tool that can change people life and animals . It can also make something better.

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Among 3D printing's many applications, the one that always guarantees a warm and fuzzy feeling is when its used to improve the lives of warm and fuzzy animals. Particularly when its applied to 3D print prostheses that give deformed, damaged, or diseased animals (many on the verge of being euthanized), a second chance.

For the tens of thousands of years that animals and humans have been around, even if you start counting from when humans first domesticated animals (dogs) about 15,000 years ago, the notion of veterinary care only formalized in 1761 A.D. with the opening of a school for veterinary science in France. Our expertise in caring for animals began first with horses, cattle, and livestock and has since extended to companion animals, especially dogs and cats, as well as wild or exotic animals. With the advances in veterinary medicine, especially in custom prosthetics and implants, we can do more today for the well-being of non-human species than we ever could before. And, with 3D printing, we are doing more than we could have ever imagined possible.

Here are ten animals we've been lucky to help save:

This adult female bald eagle was shot in the face by poachers in Alaska in 2005, and although she escaped with her life, the poachers' shot obliterated the upper mandible of Beauty's beak. Without it, she was unable to fend for herself, eat food on her own, or preen her feathers. A situation probably akin to trying to survive without one jawbone. She was rescued by Janie (Fink) Veltkamp and attended to at the Birds of Prey NW facility. Her beak didn't look like it would grow back and expert opinions suggested euthanizing her as the only option.

Beauty and the Beak from Keith Bubach - Trooper Media on Vimeo.

At this point, Nate Calvin, a mechanical engineer who knew about 3D printing technology, offered to help save Beauty. He made a mold of her missing upper mandible, 3D scanned it, used software to tweak the 3D model, and then printed it in nylon-polymer material. The 3D printed prosthetic was fitted onto the remaining beak using a titanium metal mount. Beauty was able to eat and drink on her own again, thanks to the synthetic beak. And, since 3D printing allows for quick and flexible redesign, her prosthetic beak was easily modified to suit her better as she adjusted to it over the years. Recently, her natural beak has begun to show some growth, and she can now consume strips of salmon herself. As such, ever since this was first made public in 2008, there has been an outpouring of support for Beauty and her story, and, soon, it will have its very own book!

Unfortunate to have a birth defect common among small dogs, this chihuahua was born without its two front legs. Despite the recommendations of four vets that the dog be euthanized, his owner refused to give in and left him at a vet office hoping the chihuahua would find someone to care for him. He did. Ashley Looper, a vet tech in Indianapolis, fell in love with him. She and her boyfriend Ray adopted him and named him 'TurboRoo', after the snail in the movie Turbo. They tried to build a cart for TurboRoo with PVC pipe and parts from a Fischer-Price toy, but it didn't quite work.

Mark Deadrick, president of 3dyn in San Diego, heard about TurboRoo's story, thanks to a local news report that went viral, and decided to use 3D printing to make the pup a better mobility cart. It fit TurboRoo perfectly and, as he grew, 10 different carts were made until he reached his full adult size. He can now move around comfortably on his own, stopping, starting, moving backwards as and when he chooses to. Eventually, his story led to the founding of TurboRoo Designs, a small company that custom designs 3D printed mobility carts for dogs. Earlier this year, TurboRoo won 'Underdog of the Year' at the CW Network show in L.A and is a celebrity dog with over 66,000 followers on Instagram!

In July, 2014, a collision with a boat's propeller, left this loggerhead sea turtle named Akut-3 (for the Turkish rescue agency that found him floating in the water - AKUT Arama Kurtarma Derneği) without 60 percent of his right upper and lower jaws. He was then brought to the Dalyan Iztuzu Pamukkale University (PAU) Sea Turtle Research, Rescue & Rehabilitation Center where he was fed by hand and nursed back to health. But, with the injured jaw, Akut-3 would not survive on his own and a permanent solution had to be found. His rescuers then approached BTech, a pioneering medical 3D printing company in Turkey, specializing in patient-specific implants for humans.

The team at BTech decided to attempt a first of its kind facial reconstruction for the sea turtle ( a first for its species), with 3D scanning and modeling using Mimics software from Materialise. Once they developed a model, they used Materialise's 3-matics software, to design highly customized prosthetic jaws that would seamlessly replace the missing parts of Akut-3. They 3D printed it in medical-grade titanium and in a two-and-a-half-hour operation, surgeons and veterinarians fitted the metal parts onto Akut-3's face. Part sea-turtle, part cyborg, it is yet to be seen if his body rejects the titanium prosthetic and if his soft tissue grows back over the implant. If all goes well, Akut-3 could soon head back into the Mediterranean and return to life as it was, but with a story that's more than a mouthful!

Akut-3 isn't the only turtle or tortoise who has 3D printing to thank for a second-chance at life. There's also Augie, Stumpy, and Cleopatra.

This duck tale is about a lively little duck named Buttercup who was born with a left foot that was turned backwards. The deformed foot left Buttercup unable to walk or waddle like a normal duck and caused him tremendous pain. His caretakers tried physiotherapy, but it wasn't making a difference. Mike Garey, founder of the Feathered Angels Waterfowl Sanctuary in Tennessee, who was caring for Buttercup, initially thought that amputating the deformed foot and replacing it with a peg leg would be best for the duck's survival. But then he tried seeking help from Novacopy, a company specializing in 3D printing, who came up with a unique solution for Buttercup.

They scanned the left foot of Buttercup's sister, Minnie, and used it to 3D model and print a mold for a new, silicone foot. The silicone foot was then fitted on using a customized nylon sock and Buttercup was able to walk more like a duck again. Several versions were made to make the prosthetic foot a better, more flexible fit for him. Later, a special foot with flapper doors was also designed to allow Buttercup to swim and, because 3D printing allows for quick and easy customization, they even made him a unique foot for Christmas! You can find out more about how this famous duck's been doing on his Facebook page.

For other feathered animals that 3D printing has helped, check out Ozzie, Dudley, Quack Quack and Trooper.

Probably the largest animal to use a 3D printed prosthetic, Holly, a ten-year-old mare in Australia, suffered from laminitis, a crippling disease that is common among horses, ponies, and donkeys. Laminitis affects the hooves of these animals and Holly had been suffering from it for three years. The disease causes pain and inflammation between the hoof and bone (an attachment similar to that of our finger and nail) and if unattended, could have left Holly unable to walk. Her vet and farrier, Luke Wells-Smith from the Equine Podiatry and Lameness Centre, had heard of the work CSIRO (Australia's national science agency) had done with a racehorse, aptly named "Titanium Prints", using 3D printed titanium horse-shoes.

CSIRO hadn't previously used 3D printing to rehabilitate lame horses, but, with Holly, they had their first opportunity. Collaborating with horse podiatrists, they 3D scanned and designed a shoe that was a perfect fit for Holly's hoof and 3D printed it in titanium. The custom shoe, a first of its kind 'horse-thotic' that can be made on-demand in less than a day, would equally redistribute the weight and stress on the hoof, encourage it to heal and give Holly a chance to recover.

A thoughtless act of cruelty by a group of teenagers left this one-year old toucan without a significant portion of its upper beak. Named 'Grecia' after the town in Costa Rica where he is from, the male toucan has since been recovering at Costa Rica's Animal Rescue Bird Zoo. A toucan's beak is not just vital to its ability to feed and defend itself, but is also needed to find a mate, since females choose one based on the color of a male's beak. Although he quickly learned to use his lower beak to feed himself, he is still dependent on his caretakers for survival. There was an outpouring of rage and sympathy when news of what had been done to Grecia spread and, thankfully, it didn't just end at that. A handful of local companies came forward to help build a prosthetic beak for Grecia and an Indiegogo campaign for him met its $10,000 goal in less than 48 hours.

The toucan's beak itself is a marvel of lightweight strength still being studied by material scientists and replicating it using 3D printing isn't a straightforward task. Attaching it to the remaining beak's stump using pins wouldn't be simple either, since the sandwich structure of the beak includes blood vessels, nerves, and tissue. But efforts are underway to design an ideal beak in two parts with one that can be detached, cleaned and readjusted as Grecia grows with it. It is also likely that it will be attached using a denture-type glue that won't be chemically harmful. If successful, the 3D printed replacement beak procedure will be the first of its kind in Latin America and the first for a toucan. And, since it will be 3D printed, Grecia might enjoy the opportunity to have a uniquely colored beak!

Felix isn't any ordinary sheep. Firstly, he is a rare kind of sheep called a Katahdin, that grows hair instead of wool. Secondly, and more importantly, as a baby, Felix arrived at Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary (WAFS) in New York missing a hind leg. The three-legged sheep, in need of a prosthetic, was cared for by Jenny Brown, founder of WAFS, who herself wears a prosthetic, having lost a leg to a childhood struggle with cancer. Felix was then fitted with a regular prosthetic leg and, just as he was getting used to it, it had begun to wear out.

It just so happened that Sean Eldrige, of the Hudson Valley Advanced Manufacturing Center (HVAMC) in New York, met Felix while taking a tour at WAFS and suggested designing a 3D printed prosthetic for the Katahdin. With the help of a prosthetist, a veterinarian, and a biology major from SUNY New Platz, a cast was scanned and modified to build a custom prosthetic leg for Felix. The leg was printed in Stratasys' ABSplus, similar to the material LEGOs are made of, but of an engineering grade. It was then tested and adjusted to ensure fitment. He may not give wool, but who cares, a 3D printed leg is so much more to 'baa-baa' about. The three-legged Felix is once again four-legged and, now, has a long, healthy life to look forward to.

Housing crisis for hermit crabs! There's a shortage of shells in the ocean for these crabs, who don't produce their own shells, but tend to adopt shells they find as their homes. If they don't find a shell, they're likely to use garbage, cans, pipes, bottles or anything else as makeshift houses. For domesticated hermit crabs, owners typically farm shells for their pets. So a shortage of shells is just bad news all round.

TeamTeamUSA and MakerBot came together to start Project Shellter, with which they are exploring the possibility of 3D printing shells. While their prototypes are made of plastic, they hope to develop eco-friendly, sustainable shells for hermit crabs. Some shells are modeled on that of the sea snail, Oxystele sinensis, and empirical tests are performed to see if and how a hermit crab takes to them. The crabs are especially picky about the kind of shell they would make their home (I'm sure we can sympathize with that!), so designing and 3D printing these shells isn't so simple. Project Shellter has a group of classy crabs to test their 3D printed crabitats on, and these crabs have great names: Paris Shellton, Tori Shelling, Khloe and Kourtney Karshellian, and Shellton John. Although this application doesn't involve prosthetics, its a unique example of humans using 3D printing to recreate a natural habitat without any man-made limitations.

Nine-year-old Cyrano L. Catte II, more popularly known as Cyrano, had a great life taken away from him when he developed bone cancer in one of his left legs. His caretakers were intent on doing everything it took to heal Cyrano and bring his life back to normal. He was the first cat ever to receive radiation therapy and although it sent his cancer into full remission, it left his leg damaged beyond repair. Amputating the leg would have been the recommended next step, but for the 26 pound cat, surviving on three legs would invite a host a other problems. The only possible alternative would be a total knee athroplasty (TKA), though it had never been done before for a cat. Yet the pioneering Cyrano would be the first cat to undergo that treatment too.

His owners approached veterinary experts at NC State. In this challenging case, existing 3D printing technology was used to its maximum potential. The miniature knee implant had to be tiny, about the size of a human finger joint, but highly complex. It had to be porous, strong, durable, and with varied surface textures to ensure that it integrated completely with existing bone. It had to fit perfectly, while also accounting for added stems and surgical guides. The only 3D printing technology that suited the purpose was DMLS (Direct Metal Laser Sintering) and the material cobalt chromium, since titanium would wear down eventually. A team of engineers, veterinary surgeons, designers, and experts from across the world worked on developing a knee implant for Cyrano. They even used 3D printed bone replicas to practice to ensure that the actual operation, which took six hours, went smoothly. Cyrano, instead of losing his life to bone cancer and its side-effects, is back purring on four legs.

Arguably the most well-known application of a 3D printed prosthesis for an animal. Derby was born with deformities in both of his front legs, which left him unable to walk, run, or even sit upright. Slated to be euthanized, he was rescued and fostered by Tara Anderson, an employee at 3D Systems, who saw him at the Peace and Paws Dog Rescue in New Hampshire, USA.

With the 3D technologies available to Tara, she set about trying to create a custom prosthesis for Derby, starting with casts to mold the prosthetic design and later elbow cups modeled on 3D scans taken of Derby's deformed legs. The idea was to get Derby running again, but without wheels. During this time, he was adopted by the Portanova family who worked with Tara to develop the first of their kind prosthetic legs. These legs were developed in stages by trial and error, with the design slowly adjusted to Derby's body, particularly his spine, as he grew. The material had to be strong, durable, and flexible to closely mimic the behavior of his natural legs. The final 3D printed prosthetic had a curved design and incorporated treads to provide traction. It even had his name printed on each prosthetic leg! Today, Derby, nearly two years old, doesn't just walk, but runs, miles and miles each day.

Derby and Turboroo aren't the only dogs to have been helped by 3D printing, but they certainly are the most famous. Several other canines have also benefited from this technology namely Luisa, Freddy, Jack, Oreo, Bubbles and many, many more.

In each one of these examples, 3D printing has brought hope where they may not have been any before. It's magic is three-pronged. First, it allows for prostheses or implants to be made at low cost and on-demand, and this is important because a prosthetic needs to be quickly modified and revised several times as the animal grows. Second, the range of materials available in 3D printing means that these prostheses can not only mimic the natural function of the missing part, but also integrate with the organic structure of the animal. Third, it allows for the creation of highly complex and custom prostheses and implants that are as unique as the animals they are designed for.

For every animal that would have otherwise been euthanized, for whom doors were closed by fate or human cruelty, 3D printing has brought far more than ten reasons to go on living. So, the next time you come across a deformed, damaged, or diseased animal, no matter how small or big, anywhere in the world, remember that there may always be something that can be done to save it.

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10 Animals Who Got a 2nd Chance in Life with 3D Printing

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Among 3D printing's many applications, the one that always guarantees a warm and fuzzy feeling is when its used to improve the lives of warm and fuzzy animals. Particularly when its applied to 3D print prostheses that give deformed, damaged, or diseased animals (many on the verge of being euthanized), a second chance.

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Because of 3D printing, this little hermit crab can live in a shell instead of having no other choice than to live in rubbish. Now the question is, can 3D printing give hope to all the hopeless?

-Cambry Gerardi

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Cars  have been  3D printed weather be this blade car  or other cars so rather than taking forever to be made they can be printed at home of course you still have to assemble it but you don't have to take to manufacture

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Technically, this is no 3D printed car, but a 3D printed bus that can transport up to 12 people. It is probably one of the most sophisticated 3D printed automobiles ever to hit the road.

Developed by Local Motors, the "Olli" is an electric, driverless and extremely smart 3D printed bus. As with Local Motors' other car projects, most of the parts are made in microfactories with a turnaround time of approximately 10 hours.

Olli uses IBM Watson's "Watson Internet of Things for Automotive". The brain of the 3D printed bus, IBM Watson is a cognitive learning platform that analyzes all sorts of data for Olli. Using natural language recognition, the 3D printed bus will understand and answer passengers' questions about the bus, technology, or the area.

Olli is already on the road and being purchased. Las Vegas bought two of the vehicles, and Miami-Dade County in the US is looking into a pilot program in a similar vein.

3D Printed Car Manufacturer: Local Motors

3D Printing Technology: Polyjet

Status: Functional Prototype (already in use)

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16 Coolest 3D Printed Cars In The World (Right Now) | All3DP

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Technically, this is no 3D printed car, but a 3D printed bus that can transport up to 12 people. It is probably one of the most sophisticated 3D printed automobiles ever to hit the road. Developed by Local Motors, the "Olli" is an electric, driverless and extremely smart 3D printed bus.

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3D printing has saved the lives of many animals. The most touching story I read was about a dog named Derby. He was born without his front legs, but by using 3D printing, devices to make him able to walk were created. To find out more, take a look at this video: (click on it)

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Derby the dog: Running on 3D Printed Prosthetics

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3D printed pancakes are finally here. The Pancakebot is a 3D printer that allows you to print whatever shape or specified details you want your 3D printed pancake to be. Also, at the end you can eat them!

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Space Station 3-D Printer Builds Ratchet Wrench To Complete First Phas

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The International Space Station's 3-D printer completed the first phase of a NASA technology demonstration by printing a ratchet wrench.

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3D printing can help save lives and by lives i mean by this dog named Derby. Derby was born with deformed two front legs that did not allow him to to run ,walk or even sit up correctly. So when these people found out about Derby they decided to 3D print him some "Legs"

https://3dprintingindustry.com/news/10-animals-who-got-a-2nd-chance-in-life-with-3d-printing-51221/

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3D printing saves all animals and people such as this chihuahua. I wonder if they've printed these in different sizes and colors for different sized dogs.

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5 Ways 3D Printing Is Helping Animals Across The Globe

There has been a lot of talk about the possibilities of 3D printing. While the future of 3D printing is still uncertain, this technology is already doing wonders. Here are some of the latest innovations that are helping animals all over the globe.

Tieta was rescued from an animal fair in Rio de Janeiro. Photo Credit: BBC.com
A 3D Printed Beak
After losing the upper portion of her beak, Tieta the Toucan was rescued from a wildlife fair, where she was most likely neglected. With the top of her beak missing, she had to learn how to use the bottom portion to throw food up in the air and try to catch it. Tieta only succeeded in this once in every three tries. However, this summer, Tieta was fitted for a prosthetic beak that now allows her to eat normally and access the glands that keep her feathers properly preened.

AKUT3, the Loggerhead Sea Turtle's new bionic 3D-printed jaw. Photo Credit: NBCNews.com
A 3D Printed Jaw
After a collision with a boat propeller, Akut-3 the Loggerhead Sea Turtle lost 60% of his lower jaw. A team of specialists carefully constructed a medical-grade titanium 3D printed jaw piece, which was installed during a grueling surgery. Now, Akut-3 is well on his way to recovery and his rescuers hope to release him back into the wild.

TurboRoo in his 3D printed mobility cart. Photo Credit: Facebook.com/Turbo.Roo 3D Printed Prosthetic Legs
TurboRoo was born without his front legs. After being adopted from a staff member at a veterinarian's office, a 3D printing company got wind of TurboRoo's condition. They printed a custom 3D printed cart that is fitted to TurboRoo's chest. Now, TurboRoo is perfectly mobile, and he isn't alone. Many other similar 3D printed prosthetics are being used for household pets that are missing limbs.

Computer rendering of 3D printed drone. Photo Credit: NationalGeographic.com

Outside of prosthetics, there are many other 3D printed innovations that are lending animals a helping hand. Teams all over the globe are working together as part of the Wildlife Conservation Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Challenge to build drones that will track poaching activities. Ultimately, the initiative's goal is build a drone that will be cost-effective and can make a positive change for animals that are being hunted illegally.

Samples of human tissue being printed by Organovo's Novogen MMX Bioprinter. Photo Credit: Organovo
Bioprinting is an innovation that could spare the lives of lab animals everyhwere. For many years, L'Oreal has been working with artificially manufactured skin samples, each of which takes a week to create. Thanks to bioprinting, the process can be both quicker and more effective. The skin samples will also be three dimensional, allowing for superior experimentation. While L'Oreal only tests on animals when local authorities demand it, the team developing this bioprinter hopes that animal testing will be significantly decreased because of this technology. Maybe someday, animal testing will be altogether unnecessary.

Do you have ideas about how to use 3D printing to help animals? Contact us or tweet your ideas to @StratoStar4u!

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5 Ways 3D Printing Is Helping Animals Across The Globe - StratoStar

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There has been a lot of talk about the possibilities of 3D printing. While the future of 3D printing is still uncertain, this technology is already doing wonders. Here are some of the latest innovations that are helping animals all over the globe. Tieta was...

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Doctors have made a fully functional kidney that worked for 3 months! Wow! How do doctors test that this really works for a human being?

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This turtle collided with a boat propeller and lost 60% of his/her lower jaw. A team of specialists printed the jaw out of medical grade titanium. The jaw was installed during the grueling surgery.

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3D Printing Has Moved On to the Chocolate Industry

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3D Printing Has Moved On to the Chocolate Industry

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Instead of printing in plastic the Choc Creator allows you to print drawings and miniature objects in chocolate. Below is a 3D printed Pug. This could revolutionize the way we live. Imagine waking up with a chocolate craving, and instead of going the store to buy some you can print it out. I wonder if in the future there will be chocolate Logotto Romagnolos and Bouvier des Flandres.

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Doctors all over the world are creating different medical tools to help people and save lives! What kinds of movements are possible with this?

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Hospitals and doctors are working on creating 3D printed medicine and body parts.Scientists are creating hearts kidneys legs etc.What material are people using to create these things and how it is functional

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Kaiba Gionfriddo was born prematurely in 2011. After 8 months, his lung development caused concerns, although he was sent home with his parents as his breathing was normal. Six weeks later, Kaiba stopped breathing and turned blue. He was diagnosed with tracheobronchomalacia, a long Latin word that means his that windpipe was so weak that it collapsed. He had a tracheostomy and was put on a ventilator - the conventional treatment. Still, Kaiba would stop breathing almost daily. His heart would stop, too. Then, his caregivers 3D printed a bioresorbable device that instantly helped Kaiba breathe. This case is considered a prime example of how customized 3D printing is transforming healthcare as we know it.

Since Kaiba's story, 3D printing in medicine has been skyrocketing. And the list of objects that have already been successfully printed in this field demonstrates the potential that this technology holds for healthcare in the near future.

1. Tissues with blood vessels:

Researchers at Harvard University are making great progress in bioprinting blood vessels, a crucial step towards printing tissues with a blood supply. The lab of Dr. Jennifer Lewis designed a custom-built 3D printer and a dissolving ink to create a swatch of tissue containing skin cells interwoven with structural material that can potentially function as blood vessels.

2. Low-Cost Prosthetic Parts:

Creating traditional prosthetics is very time-consuming and destructive, in that any modifications to the prosthetics would destroy the original molds. Moreover, the cost of traditional prosthetics is a significant barrier to those without significant resources. Researchers at the University of Toronto, in collaboration with Autodesk Research and CBM Canada, used 3D printing to quickly produce cheap and easily customizable prosthetic sockets for patients in the developing world, particularly Uganda. Similarly, "Not Impossible Labs" based in Venice, California took 3D printers to Sudan where the chaos of war has left many people with amputated limbs. The organization's founder, Mick Ebeling, trained locals how to operate the machinery, create patient-specific limbs, and fit these new, very inexpensive prosthetics. This work is also being driven quite significantly by two major organizations, Robohand and E-Nable, whose 3D printable prosthetics have proliferated with wild success.

3. Drugs:

Lee Cronin, a chemist at the University of Glasgow, wants to do for the discovery and distribution of prescription drugs what Apple did for music. In a TED talk Cronin describes a prototype 3D printer capable of assembling chemical compounds at the molecular level. Patients would go to an online drugstore with their digital prescription, buy the blueprint and the chemical ink needed, and then print the drug at home. In the future Cronin suggests that we might sell not drugs but rather blueprints or apps. Progress is already being made in this direction as Louisiana Technical University researchers have printed biocompatible, biodegradable devices for delivering bone cancer medicines.

4. Tailor-made sensors:

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have used scans of animal hearts to create printed models, around which, stretchable electronics were wrapped. The silicon device can be peeled off of the printed model and attached onto a human heart for a perfect fit. Though the electronic sensors can detect oxygenation detectors, heart strain strain, and temperature, the next step is to enhance the electronics with multiple sensors, including those that measure acidic conditions to detect blocked arteries.

5. Medical Models:

A group of researchers in China and the US have printed models of cancerous tumors to aid discovery of new anti-cancer drugs and to better understand how tumors develop, grow, and spread. Creating patient-specific models from CT and MRI scans expands from medical research into practical application with the ability to prepare doctors for surgeries, thus drastically reducing surgery times. Taking this one step further, there are numerous examples of using medical scan data to 3D print implants tailor-made to the patient.

6. Bone:

In 2011, Professor Susmita Bose, of Washington State University, modified a ProMetal 3D printer to bind chemicals to a ceramic powder, creating intricate scaffolds that promote the growth of bone in any shape. Prof. Bose's goal is to, one day, be able to implant the bone scaffold with bone growth factors in such a way that the implant is dissolved by natural bone material in even load-bearing bone structures.

7. Heart Valve:

Jonathan Butcher, at Cornell University has printed a heart valve that will soon be tested in sheep. With a dual-syringe machine, he was able to print a combination of alginate, smooth muscle cells, and valve interstitial cells, to control the valve's stiffness.

8. Ear cartilage:

Cornell's Lawrence Bonassar used 3D photos of human ears to create ear molds. These molds were then filled with a gel containing bovine cartilage cells suspended in collagen, which held the shape of the ear while cells grew their extracellular matrix. Bonassar and his team have since gone on to 3D print intervertebral discs to treat major spinal complications, while researchers at Princeton have 3D printed their own collagen ear, this time, with built-in electronic components for superhuman hearing.

9. Medical equipment:

Already, 3D printing is occurring in poverty-stricken areas of the world. Due to the ability to manufacture items that may be difficult or expensive to obtain by traditional means, groups like iLab//Haiti have taken to 3D printing umbilical chord clamps for local hospitals in Haiti.

10. Cranium Replacement:

A team of Dutch surgeons at the University Medical Center in Utrecht replaced the entire top portion of a 22 year-old woman's skull with a customized printed implant made from plastic. This story has been replayed in China, where a man with a crushed skull was given a tailor-made, 3D printed, titanium replacement, and in Slovakia, in which a different man with brain damage received a similar, 3D printed treatment.

11. Synthetic skin:

James Yoo at the Wake Forest School of Medicine in the US has developed a printer that can print skin straight onto the wounds of burn victims. With the ability to scan a wound, the printer can then fabricate the appropriate number of skin layers to fill the wound. Yoo's research was able to successfully demonstrate the viability of a 10-cm piece of skin transplanted onto a pig and has since been funded by the US Army to use the technology to treat wounded soldiers.

12. Organs:

Organovo recently announced the commercial launch of their bioprinted liver assays, 3D printed liver cells that able to function for more than 40 days. While, at the moment, the product is used for testing new pharmaceuticals, Organovo's top executives and other industry experts suggest that within a decade we will be able to print solid organs such as liver, heart, and kidney. Hundreds of thousands of people worldwide are waiting for an organ donor; imagine how such a technology could transform their lives.

3D printing is just one of the many revolutionary technologies currently being used in healthcare. You can read more about the use of 3D printing, and much more, in medicine in my recent book, The Guide to the Future of Medicine!

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12 Things We Can 3D Print in Medicine Right Now

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Kaiba Gionfriddo was born prematurely in 2011. After 8 months, his lung development caused concerns, although he was sent home with his parents as his breathing was normal. Six weeks later, Kaiba stopped breathing and turned blue. He was diagnosed with tracheobronchomalacia, a long Latin word that means his that windpipe was so weak that it collapsed.

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Scientists are 3D printing hearts to help people live. I think that this is really awesome and helpful. However, I have one question. What kind of filament are they using? Picture By: http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/06/health/3d-printed-heart-simulated-organs/

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Engineers are 3D printing parts for air crafts. Picture By: https://www.3dhubs.com/what-is-3d-printing#who-is-using-3d-printing

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One of many cool things that 3D printing helped was with a bald eagle who had got shot in his beak and some people printed a new beak for her to help him out.To help her because she could not eat with no beak so they printed out a beak for her.I wonder what kind of filament they use to make her this beak.

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3D printing can help animals.This animal (duck) was saved by 3D printing Buttercup (the ducks name) lost her leg and got it replaced by a 3D printed foot.She can walk well with the 3D printed leg,how amazing!!!!

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A lot of people don't like to go out and have to buy their own food. Because of this, people in this world thought of a better and cheaper way to get food. Last time I mentioned that it was cheap. Well, its not. First, you would have to BUY the printer. Then you would have to get the filament. Now, you can make some tiny little desserts using the printer. But NASA owns a 3d printer that could print out PIZZA!!!! Sounds like a miracle right? It is. Well, all I can say is if you want to be lazy, then you might as well be rich
Top 5 Food Printer You MUST See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JurMIT062LU

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One cool thing that i learned about 3d printers is that they use less resources and it doesn't cause pollution but it cost a lot just to buy one.

I wonder in the distant future if 3d printers will evolve and become 4d printers.

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Some people don't like to go out or some people could be lazy because they maybe, be too old to walk. If people had a 3D printer to print food some don't need to go outside what a treat. Do you wonder how the 3D printer was made without over heating, because I always see 3D printers overheating!

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As unusual as it may sound, 3D printing, food is becoming a real trend as of late. Although this requires custom food 3D printers to create, a lot of progress has been made in the past few months. In fact, it is possible to 3D print some delicious-looking food without too many problems. Below are some of the examples of what the future will hold for 3D printed food moving forward.
6. Chocolate Mousse and Caramel Sauce

One of the primary reasons why 3D printing food is becoming so popular is due to the fact that chefs can create any size and shape they like. In the image below, we see a square-shaped chocolate mousse and heart-shaped caramel sauce. A very intriguing concept that wouldn't look amiss in any gourmet restaurant. The nuts on the side are not 3D printed, though.

5. Dumplings

Everyone who has ever eaten Asian food will have tried dumplings. Not only is this type of food shaped in an odd way, it is impossible to tell what it is made of exactly. Tangyuan dumplings have been created by a 3D printer in the image below, thanks to using glutinous rice flour. The careful observer may have noticed the dumplings are shaped like cat paws, which is just a twist by the chef. It looks quite good, though.

4. Mini Mooncakes

Desserts are one of the main areas where 3D printed food will excel in the coming years. Mini mooncakes filled with a paste can be 3D printed with relative ease, assuming one has the necessary hardware to do so. In fact, the printed version looks like a very close match to the "normal" version we know and eat today. Assuming printers can process a wide variety of pastes and filling, things can get very interesting in the coming years.

3. Multi-colored Salad Tower

One aspect about 3D printing food some people may like a lot is how it can "stack" different-colored types of food on top of one another. As seen in the image below, we see a salad tower made up of spinach, beetroot, and carrot. A stackable tower of healthy food looks quite delicious, that much is certain. Moreover, chefs can shape the food in the way they like, allowing customers to somehow customize their dishes.

2. Spaghetti

Looking at the picture, one could mistake this bowl of spaghetti for the real deal. Don't be mistaken, however, as you are looking at spaghetti that comes out of a 3D printer. Fresh pasta dough, flour, water, and a few other ingredients mixed together to create a good-looking spaghetti. In fact, the pasta itself is printed in a flat spiral, after which it is broken into pieces and cooked. The big question is whether or not one can actually taste the difference between this spaghetti and freshly made pasta.

1. Pizza

Bitcoin Pizza Day may look a lot different a few years from now, as traditional pizzas may be replaced by 3D printed versions. Both the base and topping on the pizza below were applied using a 3D printer. Additional toppings can be added by the user before putting it in the oven, though. It will take some time before we can print pepperoni pizzas, but this is a good starting point nonetheless.
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As unusual as it may sound, 3D printing, food is becoming a real trend as of late. Although this requires custom food 3D printers to create, a lot of progress has been made in the past few months.

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Companies like 'Made in Space' and 'Axiom' are working on technology to build a future space station and bioprinting food for astronauts while in space! I wonder how gravity affects printing processes like these.

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The first 3D printer from Made In Space was installed aboard the International Space Station (ISS) in November 2014. The idea sounds cool, but many ordinary earthlings have yet to feel its impact.

The start-up, based at NASA Ames Research Center in California, has since installed a second 3D printer on the ISS. The Additive Manufacturing Facility (AMF) is the first commercial 3D printer in space. Brought to the ISS in 2016, the AMF is already printing orders for commercial customers, including the first 3D-printed advertisement in space, a crowdsourced sculpture and projects for educational programs, such as Enterprise In Space.

With the AMF, the implications are starting to become clear. 3D printing in space isn't just meant to be a novelty, but a technology that enables humanity's proliferation throughout the cosmos. Now, it's possible for customers with a small wad of cash to 3D print plastic objects on the ISS, but, if Made In Space's plans pan out, we may see a future in which those customers can head to space themselves.

ENGINEERING.com spoke with Made In Space President Andrew Rush to learn about the company's latest projects, including 3D printing a small satellite as well as organic matter in microgravity, developing a robot that can build satellites in space and a partnership dedicated to the first commercial space station.

The AMF platform uses fused deposition modeling (FDM) to melt thermoplastic filament and extrude it onto a substrate. The machine has been designed in such a way that it is remotely controlled by Made In Space from Earth and minimizes the amount of time that ISS residents need to interact with it, according to Rush.

"We designed the printer to be really, really easy to use because astronaut time is very precious and constrained," Rush said. "We command the printer from the ground and manufacture the part, and then we tell the astronaut, the printer is done, so they kind of float over and pop the part out and utilize it. So, it really minimizes their time spent on the manufacturing process and maximizes the time they spend in utilization."

Among the plastics that the AMF is able to print with is polyetherimide (PEI), also known by the brand name ULTEM. A temperature-resistant plastic with high mechanical strength, ULTEM has received a number of certifications that make it widely used in aerospace. However, printing with the material requires the ability to ensure stable, high temperatures within the print chamber while protecting the components of the printer. Despite these constraints, Rush says that the AMF will be printing the first parts in ULTEM on the ISS this month.

Rush also explained that the AMF was designed to be easily upgradable in order to expand its material set. "We intentionally designed the AMF to be very scalable, upgradable and really easy for the astronauts to use so that it's a one-handed operation for the astronauts to swap out the printhead and install a new one, whether it be another single material FDM head, a syringe head, a multimaterial FDM head or a scanner," Rush said. "The AMF that is on station today can do multimaterial printing. It's plumbed for it and it's designed for it. Honestly, we just need a customer to say they need to use those capabilities and then we would build and fly a multimaterial head and multimaterial canisters to support that activity."

Despite some of the constraints of printing on the space station, 3D printing in space has advantages that aren't seen on Earth. For instance, there's no need for support structures. "[W]e can 3D print structures that cannot support their own weight," Rush relayed. "We can make microgravity-optimized structures-such as gossamer structures that work really well in space-but would not be able to support their own weight if they were in gravity."

From 3D Printing Electronics to Tissues in Microgravity

At the end of January 2017, Made In Space reported what may have been its most exciting parabolic flights to date. With experiments tightly secured, Made In Space rode an aircraft from the Flight Opportunities Program at Johnson Space Center in Houston, where a sharp nosedive succeeded by a sharp ascent allows for less than a minute of microgravity.

During the course of 200 such flights and about an hour total of microgravity, Made In Space was able to demonstrate a number of important firsts: digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing, metal casting, materials process, electronics 3D printing and bioprinting-all in microgravity. Each experiment revealed potential insights into the future of in-space manufacturing.

According to Rush, the experiments were meant to demonstrate the sheer range of manufacturing technology Made In Space hopes to bring to space. "Our approach is that we're trying to bring manufacturing to space, not just FDM, not just metal welding, but every single manufacturing technique that is possibly useful in space or on other planets," Rush said.

While FDM is useful for durable parts, it has its limitations. For instance, the minimum layer resolution on the AMF is 75 microns. FDM systems are also quite slow in comparison to other technologies. DLP 3D printing uses a projector to cure liquid photopolymer resin layer by layer, producing objects much more quickly with higher resolution.

Made In Space worked with DLP printer manufacturer B9Creations to successfully control the liquid resin while in microgravity. In addition to high resolution parts, it's possible to create transparent parts with photopolymer 3D printing, possibly opening the door to creating optic components, such as lenses. "Resin printing is really interesting because there are materials that enable you to make ceramic parts," Rush added. "From a space perspective, that means that, one day, you might be able to 3D print a heat shield, which is very important for spacecraft."

Photopolymer 3D printing processes can also print with materials for lost wax casting. In this process, a part 3Dprinted from castable resin can be used as the basis for a mold. Once the mold is formed around the print, molten metal can be poured into the mold to create a metal part. During this most recent round of experiments, Made In Space demonstrated the ability to cast metal in microgravity using a proprietary process Made In Space refers to as Forced Metal Deposition (FMD), in which molten metal was cast into a 3D-printed mold to create metal objects.

"Casting is super useful because it is a well-known process that people are very comfortable with," Rush said. "No one objects to casting like they used to object to 3D printing. We're comfortable with it from a manufacturing and verification perspective."

The ability to fabricate with metal in space obviously opens up the possibility of producing more functional components in space, not just those that may be used to on Earth, but new parts that rely on materials harvested from asteroids and other bodies. For this reason, Made In Space also used the parabolic flights to experiment with material processing. The microgravity materials processor forced waste plastic through the system via forced convection and the use of a driven plate, which ground input material into smaller pieces.

"This is really important in the near term for recycling," Rush said. "We want to recycle material on the station, take old parts or plastic bags or other material and turn it into 3D printer filament. We're also looking further into the future at asteroid mining, for instance. There are several pieces to the pie of asteroid mining. First, you have to find the asteroid; then you have to get to the asteroid; then you have to dig material out of it and process the ore. So, we're really laying the groundwork for those last two pieces."

To get the most use out of these materials, Made In Space has been developing technology capable of fabricating fully functional objects. The Satellite Manufacturing Machine (SMM) is a combination 3D printer and robotic assembly system designed to, well, manufacture satellites. On the parabolic flights, Made In Space used the SMM to 3D print a picosatellite in microgravity.

The system first 3D printed a structural substrate before placing the necessary electronic components, such as a transmitter, battery, a solar panel and integrated circuits. Next, the printer laid down conductive traces, wiring the components together to create a functioning satellite capable of reproducing the functions of the original Sputnik, the first satellite launched into space. Upon completion, the picosat transmitted "Go Bucks," a shout-out to Made In Space Chief Engineer Michael Snyder's alma mater, Ohio State University.

"Half a century after Sputnik launched, we can robotically manufacture in microgravity. It can fit in the palm of your hand," Rush said. "We did it completely robotically, completely autonomously. We pressed 'go' and it made this little chipsat that duplicated the behavior of Sputnik."

Using a robotic pick-and-place system and the same 3D printing technology currently installed on the ISS, the SMM is designed to be versatile. While it can 3D print a Sputnik analog, it is also engineered to use just about any prefabricated components and 3D printing material needed to create other satellites as well. The idea is to be able to produce custom satellites on demand, beginning with small satellites such as the one made during parabolic flight and expanding from there.

"Now we're making small satellites," Rush said. "Soon we're making cubesat-sized satellites, the size of bread loaves. Then, you can see how that technology progresses to factories on orbit that are manufacturing a wide variety of large, capable satellites."

As if to push the boundaries of science fiction even further into science fact, Made In Space also experimented with bioprinting aboard the recent parabolic flights. A bioscaffold was 3D printed before living cells were distributed and attached using a 3D printer.

"There's a lot of interesting research out there being done now on vascularized tissue, making it in a microgravity environment and bringing it back down to Earth. Ultimately, maybe being able to make heart valves, for example, and importing them back to Earth," Rush explained. "Bioprinting may also be very integral to deep space missions, not only for food production, but, looking even further afield, for life support and environmental control systems, bio-based systems rather than mechanical systems. That's the far-reaching future that we're working toward."

Building Space Stations

Before we can begin traversing the stars with biological life support systems, humanity may be able to extend its presence in low Earth orbit through the construction of a new space station. Axiom Space intends to do just that by constructing the world's first commercial space station.

Ahead of the ISS' retirement, Axiom plans to develop a module that would be installed on the space station in 2020. This will serve as the basis for constructing a complete station to succeed the ISS when it is ready to retire between 2024 and 2028. The goal may be a realistic one, given the experience of the Axiom team.

The company is led by Michael Suffredini, who spent 10 years as NASA Space Station Program Office manager, where he was responsible for the creation, launch and operation of 460 metric tons of the ISS. If he did it before, he can likely do it again.

When Axiom's first module-made up of sleeping quarters, restroom, galley, and experimentation and storage areas-does launch, Made In Space will be along for the ride. Because so much of what Made In Space does necessitates a microgravity environment, the company will have plenty of opportunities as a tenant of the Axiom module.

An obvious example is the use of an AMF facility on the module, but Rush explained that the company may also manufacture optical fibers from the Axiom Space station. To eliminate gravity-induced imperfections in ZBLAN optical fiber-used in medical products, fiber lasers and other near-infrared applications-Made In Space hopes to fabricate the material in space before returning it for use on Earth.

Rush believes that Made In Space may even be able to aid in the manufacturing of the Axiom Space station with the use of its Archinaut system. Under a two-year, $20 million NASA contract, Made In Space, along with Northrop Grumman Corporation and Oceaneering Space Systems, aims to develop and deploy the Archinaut, a robotic assembly system capable of additively manufacturing parts that can be combined with prefabricated components, like reflectors, solar panels and sensors, to construct large-scale structures.

"The core manufacturing technology is extended structure additive manufacturing, which is basically a 3D printer with a small manufacturing size that can make things much larger than itself," Rush said. "We're not just talking about making trusses. We're talking about eventually being able to make complex geometries and, with robotic manipulation, build large, bulk complex structures. As we progress, we want to be able to do multimaterial structures and integrate electric conduits so that there's not a need for wiring harnesses."

Installed onto an external module on the ISS, the Archinaut would be able to create solar arrays, satellites and even space stations, according to Rush. "The ISS was built on the backs of astronauts in Extravehicular Mobility Units, taking prefabricated components that were launched from the ground and connecting those together," Rush said. "It's an amazing achievement, but, from a commercial perspective, we don't have the money or the risk profile to support extravehicular activity assembly."

Rush claims that a small-scale prototype of the Archinaut's base technology is already near completion and will be shipped to a commercial customer later this summer. Depending on the customer's plans, this could be flown in the next year or two. The NASA-funded project is about three years from an on-orbit demonstration that will see Made In Space launch a small satellite and then assemble a large structure potentially over 10 meters in size.

After the technology has been proven for building satellites and solar arrays,it's not difficult to imagine the Archinaut constructing portions of the Axiom Space station. At which point, Axiom Space will be able to take customers for its 60-day sovereign astronaut missions, shorter space tourism missions and more.

These endeavors combined take the costly burden off of Earth rockets to send supplies into space and may let humanity focus on living and working in space itself. The idea of space as something "out there" will become more and more distant, as we establish a thriving economy between Earth and those of us colonizing the stars.

Made In Space is already building up the commercial demand for space-based endeavors. With the first commercial 3D printer on the ISS, it's become easier than ever for ordinary people to become a part of a world off-Terra. For instance, Enterprise In Space has launched the Print the Future competition, which will allow university and graduate students to 3D print a project on the ISS.

Rush concluded, "Our big goal, long-term vision as a company is to create the tools that will help people colonize space. This is a vision that is not unique to us. SpaceX has a similar vision of enabling exoplanetary travel, and they're tackling that problem by building really cost-effective rockets that will serve as the wagon trains to the stars. We want to make the manufacturing technologies that will both help people live and work in space. The difference between going on a camping trip and settling are the tools you take with you. "

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The Future of Building and 3D Printing in Space

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The first 3D printer from Made In Space was installed aboard the International Space Station (ISS) in November 2014. The idea sounds cool, but many ordinary earthlings have yet to feel its impact. The start-up, based at NASA Ames Research Center in California, has since installed a second 3D printer on the ISS.