Just for the record - We do already have several 3-D printing posts - here is another, and this paradigm change is hardly started yet. This new manufacturing process may deserve a separate forum board, so as to consolidate all aspects of this technology into a meaningful and cohesive library of knowledge and achievement.
Here is another 3D- printing article that details an unusual but very interesting example of the limitless possibilities of this developing capability - 3D printed titanium horse shoes that were custom designed to fit a lame horses hoof. And, according to the below article, they had already made 3D-printed shoes for racing horses before this. (I assume that you will notice that this is being accomplished in Austrailia??)
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/sci/2013-12/18/c_132978950.htm
3D-printed shoes made by Australian scientists help disease-suffering horse
English.news.cn 2013-12-18 22:13:40
CANBERRA, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- Australian horse veterinarians and scientists have given a surprise Christmas gift to 10-year-old mare, Holly, who suffers from a chronic hoof disease.
The Commmonwealth Scientifc and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) announced on Wednesday that Holly took the first steps in her new 3D printed titanium shoes that were custom designed to fit her hoof.
CSIRO said these shoes may be the key to stomping out foot disease and lameness in horses.
The team of 3D printing experts from CSIRO worked with horse podiatrists to scan Holly's hoof and design the "horse-thotic" which aims to support the hoof and encourage it to heal, while making Holly comfortable.
Holly has been suffering from a debilitating disease called Laminitis for three years. Laminitis affects the attachment between the hoof and bone, causing pain and inflammation.
Horse vet and farrier, Dr Luke Wells-Smith from the Equine Podiatry and Lameness Centre, said his team saw the 3D-printed shoe CSIRO built for a race horse earlier this year and started to think about using 3D printing to rehabilitate lame horses.
"The new shoes will work to redistribute weight away from the painful areas of the laminitic foot and give Holly, and horses like her, the chance to recover," Wells-Smith said.
"Many attempts have been made in the past to cure laminitis but it's the 3D scanning and design part of this process that is so exciting to us," he said.
"Christmas is looking a lot merrier for Holly this year. She should be walking normally and without pain in just a few weeks."
CSIRO's 3D printing expert, John Barnes, said scanning the hoof would allow them to manufacture a shoe that is the 'perfect fit' for these complicated hoof diseases, giving the horse the best possible chance for rehabilitation.