Giving a new lease of life to a winged inmate of the Ramakrishna Mission in Rajahmundry are the brains sitting inside a start-up in Film Nagar in the city.
A team of two from ‘3Ding’ took it upon themselves to 3D-print a leg for a one-year-old duck which had become physically disabled after an accident. All it took was a few days of planning and a couple of hours of execution for M. Veeresh and Y. Sandeep Reddy to make a plastic substitute of the leg.
“I have a friend in Rajahmundry who called me up 10 days ago. He told me about the condition of the duck, which lost one leg, and asked me if I can help in any way. I readily accepted and asked him to send me the dimensions and photos of the duck,” said Sandeep Reddy, managing partner, 3Ding, who had no previous experience of 3D printing body parts of animals.
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According to Mr. Reddy, a significant time was spent on researching so as to give the best mobility to the duck. After referring to previous examples of such attempts across the world, the youngsters finally decided on a design.
Custom designed
A customised duck leg was 3D printed in two hours using plastic ABS material so as to add strength and longevity to the artificial leg.
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Coloured black and white, the replica also has flexible joints to make it convenient for the duck to move around or rest.
“We will ship the product to Rajahmundry and it will be fixed by a local veterinary doctor. We will also share information on how to attach the equipment to the duck in the right way so that it benefits the most,” said Mr. Reddy.
‘Not for money’
“We want to make more of such artificial body parts for animals, especially dogs, in the near future to help them lead a better life. This is not about money. We just want to prove that anything can be printed in 3D with very low costs, and it can make a big difference for many,” he said.