Duck Gets New Feet From 3-D Printer

Duck Gets New Feet From 3-D Printer LIVESTOCK Miscellaneous When Oshkosh Wis middle school technology instructor Jason Jischke added 3-D printers to the school’s curriculum he never anticipated he would be printing duck feet It turned out to be lifesaving for Phillip a Muscovy duck who lost both feet due to frostbite because of an irresponsible owner And it was a real life lesson in problem solving and design for the teacher and his students     Jischke had developed two prototype projects so his seventh- and eighth-grade students could use the newly acquired printers As a result he offered a presentation on 3-D printing at the state technology conference A story about it was reported in a local newspaper and was read by the sister of Vicki Rabe-Harrison who had rescued the duck     After the sisters requested help Jischke decided to take on the challenge The process included measuring the duck’s legs precisely and printing the feet 4 times     The first was a rough prototype The second involved printing rings to check for the right size The third pair modified the angle and shape     “For the fourth pair we used a more flexible material donated by Ninjaflex and it took 39 hrs to print ” Jischke says “We put rubber booties on the end of each leg and it made a suction to keep the foot on ”     Though stiffer than normal duck feet Phillip can walk and swim with his 3-D printed prosthetics Donating his own time and using a trial printer Dremel Idea Builder Jischke was able to make the duck feet for free and give Phillip the chance to live a better quality of life in a sanctuary     When the story went viral Jischke was surprised by BBC and local and national media attention He plans to use the experience to help teach his student     “I always tell them ‘don’t be afraid to fail ’ This give the kids insight of how it’s done in the real world ” Jischke says     Like many of the projects featured in FARM SHOW he notes that things rarely come out right the first time and require creative thinking and problem solving doing it over and over until you get it right Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Jason Jischke South Park Middle School 1551 Delaware St Oshkosh Wis 54902 Jason jischke@oshkosh k12 wi us

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