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3D printing turtle shell
How Do You 3D Print A Tortoise Shell? – 3DChimera
June 8, 2020
In 2017, Hurricane Irma swept through South Florida. Once of the unintended effects of the storm was that George, a Sulcata tortoise, escaped from his home and was hit by a car. He was rushed to the Broward Avian and Exotic Animal Hospital and came under the care of Dr. K.
After stabilizing George and allowing a couple moths for recuperation, 3DChimera was asked to come in and solve a new, living, engineering problem. To create a safe, watertight, sanitary shell replacement for the area George had lost.
Using our team's deep expertise in 3D scanning, materials, and 3D printing, we were able to come up with a lifelong solution for our new friend, George.
OUR IDEAWe brainstormed the best ways to give George a lifelong housing solution. We knew it needed to be both durable and flexible.
Spending all their time on the ground foraging, tortoises tend to bump, scratch and grab plants that grow above them.
We knew that the best way to get the necessary fit on a replacement shell was to 3D scan George and engineer a precise fit. We also knew that the idea l material to 3D print his new shell would be PETG, a material known for being both tough and flexible enough for George to move around comfortably, yet not be weighed down.
Harnessing these 2 technologies would give us the best chance for success.
TOOLS & TECHNIQUESWe pulled the Creaform Handyscan 700 from our shelf because it can capture high-quality images during scanning and the VXElements smart algorithm will convert those images to a photorealistic mesh texture.
Using Geomagic for SOLIDWORKS to convert the STL data to a STEP file, we were able to use George's exact shell data to create a prosthetic cover that would be a perfect match for his existing shell. We mounted the prosthetic with an adhesive-backed velcro since both Lenard (George's owner) and Dr.
K still need access to monitor and clean the wound.
Printing shell in PETG took approximately 24 hours in-house on our German RepRap x400 3D printer, and we were able to bring the replacement in the following day to fit George.
Concurrently, we printed a jig to place on George's existing shell to quickly and correctly mount the velcro strips in place, alongside Dr. K and her team. George's prosthetic was a perfect fit on the first try.
Apply
Since then, he's had the touch of a master artist to give the appearance of a natural pattern, and keep his coverup low-key.
RelaxYou can watch the full segment of Dr. K's Exotic Animals here or view the whole episode on Disney+ (it is season 5 episode 8!)
Alexander Hussain
- 3D CAD /
- 3D Printing /
- 3D scanning /
- eliminate tooling costs /
- German RepRap /
- innovatiQ /
- offer customized products /
- SOLIDWORKS /
- STL to STEP /
- X400
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3D Printed Shell Helped Cleopatra the Tortoise Relieve Pain
It all started in Golden, Colorado at Canyon Critters Rescue, a company that takes care of abandoned pets and educates people about how to properly and responsibly keep homes reptiles. While working for Los Angeles County Animal Control, Canyon Critters founder Nicola "Nico" Novelli began taking rescued pets home to prevent them from being euthanized. Among the lucky ones at his home is Cleopatra, a tortoise suffering from a painful and potentially dangerous condition.
“Turtles that are malnourished or fed the wrong food develop pyramidal shell growth (metabolic bone disease). When the turtles play and mate, they crawl on top of each other and then all the weight falls on the protruding "peaks" of the pyramids of the shell, grinding them down. I wanted to protect these areas because when the tortoise shell wears off, the animal becomes more vulnerable to bacteria and infection,” explains Novelli.
Novelli provided the tortoise with proper nutrition in the first place, but he wanted to do more for Cleopatra. In one of the public education programs he has run in support of the nursery, Novelli talked about his idea to 3D print a shell that could be placed on top of a tortoise shell as a protective overlay. Among those present was an employee of the Technical University of Colorado, who offered to help Novelli to realize his plan.
Together with TU and Denver's 3D Printing Store, who scanned Cleopatra's shell and donated materials for the project, Novelli's idea was brought to life. The 3D Printing Store took over scanning and measuring, while Colorado Tech University commissioned the development of the 3D model itself to senior student Roger Henry, who spent about 600 hours prototyping and making changes to the model. The entire project was managed by Dr. Lanka Elson, Head of IT at Colorado Tech University.
“The project started with a digital scan by Debra Wilcox's team (at the 3D Printing Store in Colorado Springs).
They created a 3D scan of Cleopatra,” says Dr. Lanka Elson. - From these images, accurate data on the size and shape of Cleopatra's damaged shell were obtained. Based on this data, we transferred the scanned images to several 3D modeling programs, and then created the basis for making the carapace. More than twelve different programs were used during the project. Using the MakerBot Replicator 2 3D printer, we created models of a turtle and a prototype artificial shell at 25% and 45% scale. These prototypes played a critical role in the final 3D printing decision. Due to the size of the real shell and the limitations of the printer's working platform, the prototype was printed in four parts."
“I am grateful to everyone who volunteered their time and effort to help me,” says Novelli. “The nursery has neither the funds nor the materials to carry out a project of this magnitude. Volunteers have provided invaluable assistance to me and the nursery.”
Now Cleopatra feels fine, she does not have to worry about other turtles hurting her or getting an infection in her worn shell.
It is expected that a number of improvements will soon be made to the design of the artificial shell, such as Velcro fasteners and ventilation holes. Cleopatra is still a very young tortoise and she probably has many decades of life ahead of her. Novelli says that such turtles live safely up to 80 years, and Cleopatra will still grow by 200-300%. This means that as she grows older, new shells will need to be made.
An injured turtle gets the world's first 3D printed shell
stories
3d
animals
09/11/2016
3819
When a turtle named Freddy was found in one of the burning bushes during a fire in Brazil, his chances of survival were slim. But thanks to a group of pioneering doctors known as "The Animal Avengers", Freddy not only survived, which was already an ordeal - he also became the proud owner of the world's first 3D printed carapace!
A turtle named Freddie was very lucky to survive after severe burns from a fire
His shell was badly damaged.
In this state, Freddie would hardly have lasted long. But luckily, a group of resourceful doctors made him a new 3D printed shell!
A group of doctors call themselves "The Animal Avengers", and as you can see, their skills are superhuman
The new carapace made for Freddy looks great, but it lacks a bit of color
Team members and in this regard proved to be of all trades! They hand painted the shell to look as natural as possible
Now it looks as good as the real shell!
The Animal Avengers team includes four veterinarians, one dental surgeon and a 3D designer
Now Freddy would definitely have the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!
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