Examples of How 3D Printed Prosthetics & Orthotics Are Helping Animals

3D printing is known to reach across industries and help everyone around the world, and this includes animals! We decided to take a closer look down at some of the animals that have had their lives saved or helped thanks to the power of 3D printing. Just like with humans, 3D printing has numerous applications for helping animals who have lost limbs or other important body parts. Thanks to increasingly cheaper technologies as well as accurate scans, many different animals have had the opportunity to have a customized 3d printed prosthetics or orthotics, significantly improving their lives. Though this list is by no means exhaustive, we took a look at some of our favorite examples below.

The Shellter Project

Paris Shelton, the hermit crab, was forced to abandon its natural habitat due to a shortage of shells, forcing the crustaceans to make homes out of any trash that they can find, such as glass bottles. In response to this situation, which affects not only Paris Shelton but many hermit crabs, Makerbot launched the Shellter project. This community initiative is designed to give these marine animals a new home through 3D printing, while still being environmentally friendly. To accomplish this, they enlisted the help of makers to design new shells. The designs were then 3D printed and integrated into the environment of the crabs and hermit crabs, saving their lives.

Using Thingiverse, Makerbot and TeamUSA called on fellow makers to reach into their creativity to create new shell designs, which are then uploaded onto Thingiverse using the tag “SHELLTER”. From here, the team 3D prints the shells and incorporates them into their crab habitat (or crabitat) at the Botcave in Brooklyn, New York. Using their crabitats, they are able to see the preferences of the crabs, helping them to end the current hermit crab crisis.