3D printed prosthetic foot saves duck’s life

3D printed prosthetic foot saves duck’s lifeall images courtesy facebook

in november 2012, buttercup, a baby duckling hatched in a high school biology lab with a backward left foot. at the time, he probably wouldn’t have survived if mike garey, of feathered angels waterfowl sanctuary, didn’t reccomend a proper amputation. months after the healing process, engineers at novacopy inc produced a 3D printed prototype for a mold that would be then used to create a prosthetic foot for buttercup. because ABS plastics used in the additive manufacturing process are not flexible enough for this type of exercise, the three-dimensionally modeled foot will later be used to create a mold for a permanent silicone prosthesis for the duck. taking just over 13 hours to produce, the printed part demonstrates the capabilities for rapid-prototyping technologies to be used not only for human application, but also in foreign subjects such as animals and other medical treatments.

3D printed prosthetic of buttercup’s left duck foot

3D printed prosthetic – left foot detail

3D CAD model of the prosthetic foot replica

buttercup was hatched in a high school biology lab with a backward left foot

my new foot is designed!