Thanks to 3D printing and a group of middle - school kid , this African penguin is back with a convinced new waddle .
Purps , a resident at Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut , injured a tendon in her ankle after getting into a fight with another penguin five years ago . She was ab initio give a boot forge out of a moldable charge plate cloth to avail patronize and provide trade protection for the immobilized ankle . However , the fresh boot proved too weighty and made it hard for her to walk .
The opportunity to help make a more lightweight and tractile rush was render to a group of student from the nearby Mystic Middle School . Together with the assist of veterinarians from the marine museum and tech company3D Systems , they start by scanning Purps ’ base to create a three - dimensional digital exemplar . This was then used to make a 3-D - impress boot that was customized specifically for the penguin ’s ankle joint .
Also dearly known as jackass penguin because of their donkey - like braying call , this species of penguin is solely found on the southern seashore of mainland Africa and its 25 surround islands . As of 2010 , theIUCN Red Listclassified them as an endangered coinage after intensified commercial sportfishing caused a sudden and on-going decline in their population .
“ This project not only serve a member of an endangered species , but it gave our students a hand - on intellect of the 3D printing process unconscious process and how to carry an approximation through from a construct to a design to a usable object , ” Sue Prince , a library media specialists from Mystic Middle School , said in a argument to3D Systems .
This is by no means the first time 3-D printing has been used in biomedicine or veterinary care . the great unwashed have received three-D - printedvertebra implantsandskulls , while many animals have been return a new lease on life thanks to this increasingly democratic technique , such as the turtle thatreceived a new jawor the toucan that was givena prosthetic beak . Another penguin , Bagpipes , was also given a 3D - printed footlast monthin New Zealand .
3D Systems also created a unretentive film about the convalescence story of Purps . you may watch thefull bring down hereand a slightly shorter version below .
