Kickstart: Saving Charlotte with 3D printing

A team of marine biologists, students, 3D design specialists, materials suppliers and 3D printing firms are making it possible for a sea turtle to swim again. And the team is looking for more partners to help more sea turtles.

Charlotte, a green sea turtle, was found in 2008 in Jekyll Island, Ga., suffering from positive buoyancy syndrome — more commonly called bubble butt — as the result of a run-in with a boat that had damaged his shell. Bubble butt traps air beneath the shell, making it difficult to swim or submerge, meaning he couldn't eat or survive for long.

The Georgia Sea Turtle Center cared for him before contacting Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut for help.

Mystic tried attaching weights to Charlotte's shell to counteract the buoyancy, but glue irritated the surface and cloth straps were too easy to dislodge. Staff there then took inspiration from a project by a Minnesota high school student, Gabriela Queiroz Miranda, who had developed a weighted belt for turtles suffering from bubble butt that used 3D design and printing.

That decision led to creating a team of experts — feel free to picture your favorite comic book movie trope of assembling the best superheroes, but with engineers and designers instead — consisting of 3D specialists Adia Inc., designers from New Balance (yes the shoe and sportswear company), Oxford Performance Materials and Formlabs, whose SLS Fuse machines were used to print a customized harness using nylon 11.

With bubble butt cases increasing among sea turtles due to more collisions between boats and wildlife, the team is seeking more companies to volunteer to help with similar projects at other aquariums.

Check out Formlabs extensive blog on the project — and contact information for participation in future programs — here.

As I mentioned above, the project to rescue Charlotte got its inspiration from an idea developed by a high school student with access to 3D printing and design. Imagine what could be dreamed up by more than 750 middle school students at a single Wisconsin school district.

The Milwaukee Society of Plastics Engineers' education foundation recently donated nearly $3,000 to replace 3D printers and equipment for Hamilton School District's Silver Spring Intermediate School Applied Engineering and Technology students.

Hamilton schools estimates Silver Spring's 3D printers could benefit 3,790 students over the next five years.

One of the most visible impacts of President Jimmy Carter's post-presidential life may be the hundreds of houses he and his wife, Rosalynn, helped build for Habitat for Humanity. His involvement elevated the program and spotlighted volunteer opportunities for individuals and companies.

Carter called his participation in rehabbing a building in New York City in 1984 "one of the best experiences of my life."

Many plastics firms adopted Habitat projects for their own community outreach programs. In just one example, Westlake Corp. has donated vinyl siding and trim to more than 300 Habitat homes in Ohio its workers helped build.

Following Carter's death at age 100 on Dec. 29, Habitat is accepting donations in his honor. It also allows donors to select key materials for donations, including vinyl siding, noting that "by providing a gift of siding, you're putting the essential finishing touch on a Habitat home and giving a family the security and stability it needs."