The things people are doing with 3D printing – from robotic prosthesis to cookie cutters shaped like Yoda – never cease to amaze me.  We’ve mentioned some of the medical applications to the 3D printing in previous blog posts, but those have been in relation to human patients.  I thought I would look in the cuter side of the internet to see how 3D printing has been helping our fuzzier friends.

The plastic used in many 3D printers is ideal for creating beaks for birds who have birth defects or injuries.  Grecia the toucan (warning: graphic image), is due to receive a prosthetic beak after losing a large portion of his to human cruelty.  Another bird, a bald eagle named Beauty, received a custom-made, 3D printed beak to replace her broken one. Continue reading →