3D Printing Gives Buttercup the Duck a New Foot

Every 3D printing development inspires a new wave of awe. 'Really? They couldn't be. They're not. Really?' The new, fully printable, fully-walkable (or waddlable, rather) silicon duck's foot is no exception.

A lame duck named Buttercup who calls Tennessee home has become the first of our feathered friends to benefit from the technology. He hatched in Arlington on November 9 last year to find his left turned backwards. Attempts to rectify the problem, guided by the team at the Feathered Angels Waterfowls Sanctuary, were unsuccessful, and the foot was amputated in February. So, for the first seven months of his life, Buttercup was forced to hobble about, while his friends walked and swam with ease.

That all changed on June 30, when his human 'dad', Mike Garey, fitted Buttercup with a  foot created through 3D printing. As you can see from the videos on his highly popular Facebook page, the once crippled duck is now one hundred per cent mobile. He's also something of an international celebrity.

Garey developed the foot in conjunction with 3D printing company Novacopy, producing an accurate mould by scanning the left foot of Buttercup's sister, Minnie. "There was always the big unknown of whether or not it would work and if he would accept it," Garey told USA Today. ". . . But it's functional and comfortable, and straight away he accepted it. So that's exciting."

[via mashable]