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The idea hasn’t progressed to a physical form. The digital modeling environment influenced my project in the fact that programs such as Tinkercad and Blender are needed to design such an object. The struggle between tinkercad and blender has been educational to say the least. To print my object would take 10 minutes and it dimensions are, X: 54.07 mm, Y:58.67 mm and Z: 3.46 mm. My ideas fate is to stay save on a hard drive until needed. The main thing I think I can take away is that 3d printing in certain applications can be used to help make people and animals feel better.

Blue Rabbit 3

In a world that’s full of so much stuff. I feel that expanding on the idea of 3D printing horseshoes is a satisfactory idea. I chose this idea when I read about a horse in Australia named Holly with Laminitis.  CSIRO created titanium horseshoes for her easing her pain by taking the pressure away for inflicted leg. Seeing this article put 3D printing in perspective for me. You have this amazing device that can print almost anything you want it too. I really like the application of 3D printing in the fields of Human and Veterinary medicine worldwide, and I’m excited to see how this technology improves medical advances. I became familiar with horses as a teen working on my friends farm and a summer camp that did trail rides for kids. I learned some about the equine species. Horses are noble creatures that throughout history we’ve relied on for big and small jobs. I feel without them this work wouldn’t be accomplished as efficiently. So I think if 3D printing can help relive the pain of inflicted horses then we should. This iteration of my project really didn’t expand or greatly impact the project as a whole. I still want to pursue the idea from the same aspect as before. Maybe it put a little more fuel in the motivation tank and that’s always a plus. Horseshoes are also good luck charms that ward off evil spirits and brings good fortune. The creation of a horseshoe is an amazing thing all around, and through the images below I will attempt to express said idea.

Ross, Eric ” 3D horseshoes.”   2014. PNG

The above image is a screenshot of my horseshoe in a popular program called Blender.

   CSIRO ” 3D printed horseshoe to improve racing performance”  2013 JPEG

The above image is a pair of 3D printed titanium horseshoes made by CSIRO.

Davidson, Elaina “Lucky Horseshoe”  2013 JPEG

The above image tells a little about horseshoes being lucky.

Bibliography

Davidson, Elaina ” Lucky Horseshoe”  2013 JPEG

< http://elainajdavidson.blogspot.com/2013/11/lucky-horseshoe.html>

CSIRO ” 3D printed horseshoe to improve racing performance”  2013 JPEG

< http://www.csiro.au/Portals/Media/3D-printed-horseshoe-to-improve-racing-performance.aspx>

     

Eric Ross

Week 6

Blue Rabbit pt. 2 WD:614

11/4/2014

WD 941

 

3D Horseshoes

In a world already full of so much stuff I wanted to expand on the Idea of 3D printing horseshoes. This idea is meaningful to me because it has been used in to help horses. My interest in helping horses stems from jobs of my youth in which I worked with horses. I like this idea, the fact that you can scan a horses hoof and 3d print a horseshoe that will then improve that horses well being is awesome. The horseshoes I’ve had the privilege to read about were racing shoes and horseshoes that help with a disease called Laminitis. “Laminitis (also termed founder) is inflammation of the laminae of the foot – the soft tissue structures that attach the coffin or pedal bone of the foot to the hoof wall. The inflammation and damage to the laminae causes extreme pain and leads to instability of the coffin bone in the hoof. In more severe cases it can lead to complete separation of and rotation of the pedal bone within the hoof wall. Laminitis is a crippling condition which can be fatal in severe cases. Once a horse has had an episode of laminitis, they are particularly susceptible to future episodes. Laminitis can be managed but not cured which is why prevention is so important”. (RSPCA)  In the horse racing aspect of 3d printing the horse can run faster because the shoe is lighter. But cost significantly more because the 3d printed shoes are titanium and the traditional shoes are aluminum. For the treatment of disease in horse hoofs I believe that 3D printing can help so many horses. As this technology advances it never ceases to amaze, so much good is waiting to be done with what we have been given. Horseshoes are also symbols of good luck. This was created through ancient folklore during the stone age in Northern Europe and the British Isles. To scare away goblins and evil the people hung iron horseshoes above their door. The evil was scared of the horseshoes because, it looked like the Celtic Moon gods crescent.

In 2013 CSIRO with help from a horse podiatrists scanned and 3D printed titanium horseshoes for a horse named Holly. For three years Holly had been suffering with Laminitis. The horse’s foot is similar to our finger; the hoof wall is like our finger nail and is attached to the bone underneath. Laminitis affects the attachment between the hoof and bone, causing pain and inflammation. “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” (Smith)  Dr. Luke Wells-Smith is a Veterinarian from Australia whose research includes biomechanics of therapeutic horse shoes.

That same year CSIRO also created 3D horseshoe for a race horse named Titanium Prints. The printed horseshoes are half the weight of traditional aluminum horseshoes. Here is what CSIRO’s titanium expert had to say ” 3D printing a race horseshoe from titanium is a first for scientists and demonstrates the range of applications the technology can be used for.” (Barnes) Mr. John Barnes is Titanium Technologies Theme Leader Future Manufacturing Flagship, at CSIRO.

Curtis Burns in Florida uses a 3D printer to design his Polyflex  horseshoes before they go into mass production. Polyflex shoes are glue-on urethane shoes that allow the hoof to flex.

 

Dr. Andrew Schneider a human Podiatrist in Houston Texas commented on CSIRO work with horse podiatry, in the article “A Tale of Horseshoes, Podiatrists and Grey’s Anatomy” He says that ”  I find this new development in 3D print technology very exciting. I already create custom orthotics for my clients, using the inserts to help your feet work as efficiently as possible, making the rest of your body more stable. Right now, I make the orthotics from a mold I take of your foot when it’s in a ‘neutral’ position; once that mold is made, I modify the orthotic to create a shape that will counteract the unique problems created by your own biomechanics.” (Schneider) I think its really good that Dr. Schneider is excited for this technology. He envisions what this means for the future of human Podiatry.

Experts on this Idea seem to be in unison,  this is something that can be great. The ability to not only help horses that are crippled and in pain, but improve their hoof health for eons to come. But through this idea I discovered some one wanting to improve human foot health in similar ways. So I believe that without a doubt that these expert would agree. In a world full of so much stuff, a horseshoe that restores life is worth making more of.

In closing what I’ve learned about 3D printing and horseshoes only adds kindling to my desire. That desire is to see this idea through to completion.  Horses are noble creatures, that since the beginning of time we have made work for us. We have used horses in battle and have we’ve made them things we were to weak to accomplish. After all we have asked of them, its only right for me to try and expand on a idea to help them. I’ll leave you a quote I like from Ralph Waldo Emerson “Riding a horse is not a gentle hobby, to be picked up and laid down like a game of solitaire. It is a grand passion. It seizes a person whole and once it has done so, he/she will have to accept that his life will be radically changed.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bibliography

 

“What is laminitis, and how can it be prevented or treated?” RSPCA N.p. , 21 Apr, 2011 Web. 3 Nov. 2014.< http://kb.rspca.org.au/What-is-laminitis-and-how-can-it-be-prevented-or-treated_461.html>

“Luke Wells-Smith BVSc” EQUINEPODIATRY  N.p. , N.d. ,Web. 3 Nov. 2014

< http://equinepodiatry.com.au/staff/158-luke-wells-smith-bvsc.html>

” John Barnes” FITT.  N.p. , N.d. ,Web. 3 Nov. 2014

< http://www.fitt.org.au/Portals/0/John%20-%20Melbourne.pdf>

Jurga, Fran “3-D Printing in the Forge and Clinic: Hoof Anatomy Models, Veterinary Applications, and Horseshoes” hoofcare. N.p. , 27 Oct. 2013 , Web. 3 Nov 2014

< http://hoofcare.blogspot.com/2013/10/3-d-printing-in-forge-and-clinic-hoof.html>

Melina, Remy ” Why Are Horseshoes Considered Lucky?” livescience. N.p. 15 Mar. 2011, Web. 3 Nov. 2014 < http://www.livescience.com/33116-lucky-horseshoes.html>

Schneider, Andrew ” A Tale of Horseshoes, Podiatrists and Grey’s Anatomy”   tanglewoodfootspecialist. N.p. 23 Dec. 2013 Web. 3 Nov. 2014

< http://www.tanglewoodfootspecialists.com/blog/a-tale-of-horseshoes-podiatrists-and-grey-s-anatomy.cfm>

Emerson, Ralph ” Quotes” thenaturallyhealthyhorse. Casie. N.d. Web. 3 Nov 2014

< http://thenaturallyhealthyhorse.com/horse-quotes/>

Eric Ross

Week 4

Blue Rabbit pt. 1 WD:614

10/19/2014

 

3D Horseshoes

In a world full of mass produced  junk is it OK to create something useful? 3d printing can be used to improve plant, animal and environmental life.

The following image is of a horseshoe that was 3d printed by CSIRO in Australia. This shoe is a titanium shoe printed  for a horse named Holly she has Laminitis.  Laminitis is a painful inflammatory condition of the tissues (laminae) that bond the hoof wall to the pedal (coffin) bone in the horses hoof. These shoes are remarkable bringing pain relief to horses everywhere. What if I could help do that in America?

My Idea is to create something significant to do my part and help improve the planet.  I’ve been thinking about the horseshoes and how much its improved Holly’s life in Australia. I want to use this idea in America to help horses with Laminitis.

Due to excessive intake of grass and grains being a common trigger. The website www.animedvets.co.uk/laminitis mentioned prevention through diet.  Some other risk factors other than diet include enlargement of the Pars Intermedia of the Pituitary gland and high insulin levels.  Can horseshoes be 3d printed to relive pain for horses?

I believe my Idea is important because eight thousand horses per year get Laminitis.  Of those eight thousand six hundred are euthanized.  Laminitis is a disease that has affected the horse from the beginning of recorded time.  If one those horses can be saved than what are we waiting for? I also worked with horses most of my teen years. Saddling, Feeding, riding and fencing. I remember the farrier telling us that any horse is prone to Laminitis no matter the breed or size. That’s why this idea is important to me.

CSIRO and a veterinarian named DR Luke Wells-Smith have created a titanium horse shoe for a 10 year old mare named Holly. They scanned her hoof and 3d printed a shoe perfectly fitting her hoof. The new shoes redistribute the weight away from painful areas and allows Holly and other horses to heal. CSIRO alaso makes horeshoes for race horses. (http://www.csiro.au/Portals/Media/Hollys-Christmas-wish-comes-true.aspx)

In 2010 Pre-Vet student Amanda Lee Welch researched Laminitis of the bovine claw.  What if this idea can be used on other animals that suffer from this disease? Think of how many animals we can relive from this burden. (http://www.udel.edu/ocm/development/evan/delete_me/envirotext_ek_older.html) It would be nice if she could 3d print something to help relive Laminitis the bovine claw.

Maryland farrier Henry Heymering wrote a paper in 2010 titled a Historic Perspective of Laminitis. At the end he concluded.  “We’ve had nearly 2,000 years of bleeding as treatment, 1,700 years of exercise as treatment and more than 40 years of phenylbutazone as treatment – without proof of effectiveness in treating laminitis. Although longevity suggests effectiveness, until we have proof of our treatments, future generations may find them as quaint and misdirected” as the ancient treatments that have come before.  (Historical perspective of laminitis Henry W. Heymering, CJF, RMF)

What I believe he is trying to say is that until we know what treatments work we will doubt current treatments out there. So if this idea can help there will be no need for doubt or skepticism.

So without a doubt I believe that this idea is worth spending the rest of the quarter on. If I can help just one animal it will be worth that and more. If veterinary medicine can use 3d printing to evolve then it must. In order create and improve the animal life across the world, that would be amazing wouldn’t it?

 

 

 

 

 

Blue Rabbit Sources

 

1. http://www.csiro.au/Portals/Media/Hollys-Christmas-wish-comes-true.aspx  (Holly’s horseshoe’s)

1. http://www.udel.edu/ocm/development/evan/delete_me/envirotext_ek_older.html ( Pre-Vet student Amanda Lee Welch)

1. http://www.laminitishelp.org/504/history-of-laminitis-may-date-to-ancient-greece-and-beyond/  ( Historical perspective of laminitis Henry W. Heymering, CJF, RMF)

1.  www.animedvets.co.uk/laminitis