www.3ders.org

Nov 26, 2015 | By Alec

We’ve already known for a while that 3D printing is a perfect technology for making arm and hand prostheses in all shapes and sizes. Just look at the wonderful work E-NABLE is doing for children everywhere. But who says only humans should benefit from this exciting technology? Fortunately, more and more animals who have lost limbs are also benefitting from 3D printing. While we’ve already seen quite a few dogs with 3D printed legs and wheelchairs, the two-year-old Lilly from Virginia is actually a goat.

Unfortunately, Lilly was born with a very tragic deformity. She had no right front or back leg, which means she cannot move unassisted. While this is tragic enough already, it also means she has no opportunity to grow muscle mass or really do anything at all. For the last few months, she has been fortunate enough to receive help from Angels of Assisi, who have been moving her around and helping her work what muscles she does have – but that is obviously not a long-term solution. ‘Having both legs on one side is kind of a challenge, because you have to be able to balance her weight so, she won’t tip over,’ said Angels of Assisi Adoption Director Matthew Brown.

Looking for help to find a solution, they came in contact with a high school science teacher through Facebook. Teacher Caitlin Hartman, from the William Byrd High School in Roanoke County, saw this as a perfect teaching opportunity. ‘“ saw that they had a two legged goat that they were trying to work something out with for a wheelchair or legs or something,  she told reporters. ‘And, I thought we have the perfect class for this’.

Fortunately, the school had quite a lot of making equipment in their science lab, so the students decided to manufacture a special wheelchair just for Lilly. ‘You have to match the mechanics on both sides with the legs,’ said high school junior Christian Robertson. ‘You have to create almost like a suspension with a car.’ He went on to say that there’s quite a bit of urgency involved too, as Lilly is moving muscle mass everyday unless moved. ‘Now, that it’s loosing muscle mass in the legs it’s not able to operate until someone moves it. So, with this wheelchair it’s able to work out the other legs. It’s like physical therapy every time it moves,’ Christian says.

Using their in-house equipment, Christian and his class first used a 3D scanner to get a life-sized CAD model of Lilly and her deformities, and then used that to build a custom-fitting wheelchair for the goat. Teacher Hartman added that they were very happy having access to 3D printing technology. ‘If you’ve ever had like a regular printer at your house it’s very similar. Your printer lays down ink, this just lays down plastic. And it builds it from the bottom up and just puts layers of plastic on top of each other,’ she says, and her students love it.

Thanks to this fantastic project, not only will Lilly be given a chance at a normal life without the need for daily assistance, while the students from the William Byrd High School are getting a hugely important lesson in charity and next generation making. Do we need any more proof that students can benefit from 3D printers in classrooms?

 

 

Posted in 3D Printing Applications

 

 

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