A 3D printed shell has given a new life to a badly burned tortoise that was found by the side of the road in Brazil in 2015, with its shell heavily damaged.

 

The new shell was designed and printed by a Sao Paulo group of volunteers that includes veterinarians, a 3D designer, and a dental surgeon, who together are working to save injured animals using 3D-printed prosthetics to replace damaged or missing limbs. They call themselves Animal Avengers.

 

The tortoise, which the Avengers named Freddy, had been the victim of a fire in 2015 that destroyed 85 percent of her shell, which is critical protection from predators.

 

To save Freddy, the Avengers’s 3D designer compared photos of her to that of a healthy tortoise, and then used computer modeling to design a custom prosthetic hull based on Freddy’s measurements. The design was sent to the group’s dental surgeon, who used a desktop 3D printer to create a four-piece shell that fit together like a jigsaw puzzle.

 

The shell was then surgically attached to Freddy and even hand-painted by an artist to look authentic. The group reports that Freddy returned to full mobility.

 

The Avengers also have used this technique to print new beaks for a toucan, a goose, a parrot, and a macaw.

 

Many other animals have benefited from advances in 3D printing, including Derby, a dog born with deformed front legs. A 3D design and printing company in Rock Hill, S.C., called 3D Systems, printed a pair of prosthetics that allowed Derby to walk, run, and sit for the first time.

 

The company designed a figure-8 pattern with a central junction that flexes like a knee, as CNet reports.

 

It used a technology called Selective Laser Sintering, which uses a laser to harden and bond together tiny grains of plastic. The same technology was used to print the lightweight midsoles for New Balance shoes, according to CNet. (TheChristianScienceMonitor)