After 3 months, Peachy has become 6 months old and has already adopt to the prosthetic Wong has made for her. And she has also become heavier, more stronger then before, which means Wong have to adjust the design of the tailored prosthetic to better fit her current state.
Wong has also tried out some new material making the prosthetic. Despite other kinds of resin has stronger, more durable result compared to the Phrozen Rock-Black Stiff he's originally used, Rock-Black for its easy to print, high dimensional accuracy, is still the choice for him to do the fast prototyping, and able to resilience to prolonged use, showcasing remarkable resistance to wear and tear.
Here's the translate of the post which
Wong updates the project and Peachy recently:
Hello everyone, I am a volunteer for animal adoption, currently working on creating prosthetics for disabled stray animals. Three months ago, I posted a question about resin selection, and at that time, I received resin samples from the Phrozen company (thanks a million). Now, after some time has passed, I'd like to share my experience.
The star of this story is a stray dog named Peachyπ. She usually lives in a dog shelter on the mountain, available for adoption. Occasionally, she comes down the mountain to participate in adoption events. However, due to her natural disability, it's challenging for her to find a home. Therefore, I decided to make a prosthetic for her to improve her mobility. Peach is now 6 months old, approximately 13KG, and has a strong running power (as those who have had dogs would know). Therefore, the material for the prosthetic is crucial.
While the characteristics of the resin are essential, the printing properties are equally important. I initially tried using ONYX Impact Plus Resin. Although the characteristics of the finished product are excellent and suitable for high-strength applications like prosthetics, the printing process was quite challenging. Especially in thinner areas, deformation occurred, and the surface remained sticky for some time after curing. This made it difficult to immediately test on the dog and, and do the post processing (priming for protections) right away. Moreover, the printing time was significantly long. For volunteers, it's challenging to spend a considerable amount of time on a single part, and it doesn't align with the actual workflow (usually, dogs stay at the event only for a few days, and we can only work on this during evenings and weekends).I also tried Phrozen Protowhite Rigid, which is quite hard and can print well in thin or delicate areas. The printing time was relatively shorter. However, even after curing, the surface remained sticky for several days, making it unsuitable for immediate testing on the dog.
In the end, I returned to Phrozen Rock-Black Stiff Resin. It has sufficient characteristics for prosthetic use, and most importantly, it's easy to print! Cleaning is also easy, and deformation is less likely in large, thin areas. After curing, it doesn't remain sticky.Currently, using 3D printing to create prosthetics is not mainstream, but there are many advantages. Especially for stray animal prosthetics, the most important factors are reducing costs and simplifying production. Even if the 3D printing material is not the best, as long as there is a 3D file, a new prosthetic can be printed (in fact, well-made ones are quite durable). Moreover, future printing technology will only improve, and costs will decrease, making animal prosthetics more accessible and benefiting more animals.
Our Facebook page is: ζεηεη©η·£ (Our Serendipity with Animals). We are located in the Hualien area and hold stray animal adoption events every week.Link to the original post: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Phrozen3DP/permalink/2742991165839252/
Link to Fanpage of the animal rescue group ζεηεη©η·£: https://www.facebook.com/weneedshome
All photos provided by Sui-Wah Wong.
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