Turtle Receives First-Ever 3D Printed Titanium Jaw Implant of Its Kind

ErnieKey writes: A wounded loggerhead turtle showed up in Turkey, with significant damage to its upper and lower jaws. It was taken to the Sea Turtle Research, Rescue and Rehabilitation Center at Pamukkale University (PAU) for help. The PAU team, working with BTech Innovation, was able to make a 3D printed titanium jaw implant for the turtle. The operation was a success, and the patient — the world's first sea turtle to receive a 3D printed implant — is recovering.

Does that mean

[Anonymous Coward]

Logo will be in 3D now?

Re:

[Mr D from 63]

I find it hard to believe this is the really first Turkish loggerhead turtle to receive a 3D printed titanium jaw. Maybe someone did it before and we just never heard about it.

Meanwhile

[rodrigoandrade]

There are idiots killing turtles for fun.

http://now.snopes.com/2015/05/09/200-year-old-turtle/

Re:

[cdrudge]

Your own link states that the turtle was used for meat and is legal game (with limits) where that one was killed. Sounds to me like it's in the same category of hunting deer, turkeys, or any other wild animal that's then used at least in part for food.

Re:

[ArcadeMan]

http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net... [nocookie.net]

Re:Meanwhile

[sideslash]

I wouldn't kill a turtle myself, but I do eat beef and other delicious meats regularly. According to the Snopes article, the incident depicted is credibly alleged to be a legal hunting kill in Louisiana wherein the hunter ate the meat. Snopes provides evidence that it wasn't a casual killing with a sawsall like the hysterical Facebook post claimed, but rather a couple of 22 bullets in the turtle's head. What's depicted is the butchering process -- which by the way is just as ugly when it's a cow, we're just not used to seeing it.

So simmer down a bit!

Re:

[GLMDesigns]

So knowing how to live off the land is simply foolish? Knowing how to track, kill and prepare game is simply foolishness? The only people that should have this knowledge are ranchers, butchers and cooks? I don't think so. I think it's useful to know how to use a compass; how to make fires; etc...

Re:

[FictionPimp]

Yes, let's all stop hunting deer in Indiana and Michigan. The ...something will eat them and they won't starve, get sick, and destroy our crops, smash into our cars, invade our lawns and bring diseased ticks. We killed all the predators a hundred years before I was born. We are the only thing keeping the herd in check.

Re:

[dugancent]

There is no longer any built-in systems. Wolf and bear have been virtually eliminated from Indiana.

Re:

[Spugglefink]

I killed around a dozen deer in 2013. One of them did $25,000 worth of damage to my truck.

I was almost literally the only guy at work who didn't hunt, so in 2014 I decided to go deer hunting. I figured I may as well eat a few of the damn things before they got splattered in the process of damaging motor vehicles.

It was a pretty radical paradigm shift for me, I have to tell you. I used to tow the liberal treehugger party line about "caveman blood lust" and all that. I looked down my nose at all the disg

Re:

[FictionPimp]

How is picking up a slab of beef and the store morally different than taking down a few deer?

Re:

[jellomizer]

Yea! Down with Mario!

Raphael?

[goombah99]

or Michelangelo?

They tried this on a duck

[fustakrakich]

He fainted when he saw the bill...

Re:

[jmcwork]

I would have thought AFLAC would have handled that for him.

I, for one, welcome...

[NostalgiaForInfinity]

our new titanium-jawed turtle overlords. Ruuuuuuuun... very slooooowly.

Re:

[RadioTV]

It is a sea turtle. You can't swim that fast.

Re:

[Greystripe]

Maybe not but you'd be amazed at how well I can completely avoid large bodies of water.

Re:

[Black Parrot]

If you tell them you're a turtle, maybe they'll 3dprint a damn for you to give.

david icke ?

[amias]

isn't this one of david icke's predictions of markers of beginning the end of the world ?

You know this has to come...

[Anonymous Coward]

I like turtles.

Science RULEZ!

[freeze128]

All the 3d printing printing aside.... That is now the most BADASS looking turtle that I have ever seen.

Re:

[funwithBSD]

What could possibly go wrong?

Re:

[jellomizer]

Infection, Nerve inflammation, Phanom Jaw syndrome,

Re:

[funwithBSD]

Kaiju!

Re:

[tomhath]

But does he look as tough as Lee Marvin in Cat Ballou [movieactors.com]?

Re:

[penguinoid]

Snapping turtles with razor sharp titanium beaks, what will they think of next? Laser implants for sharks?

PS: please don't be at loggerheads with me about the specific type of turtle involved.

Keep an eye on the news...

[Anonymous Coward]

...after they release that turtle back into the wild.
I bet we start seeing reports of ships with bites taken out of them by titanium jaws!

3D printing titanium

[phantomfive]

I understand extrusion machines, but how can you print titanium?

Re:

[Mr D from 63]

I understand extrusion machines, but how can you print titanium?

Most likely a sintering process, using layers of titanium powder.

Re:3D printing titanium

[wonkey_monkey]

Sintering [wikipedia.org], perhaps?

Put down a thin layer of titanium powder, flash over it with a laser to fuse powder particles together. Add another layer of powder, repeat.

Whether or not you call that 3D printing, well...

Re:

[amicusNYCL]

Sounds like a laser printer to me. It checks out. I''ll allow it.

Damn

[SpankiMonki]

Sounds like this turtle has a better health plan than I do. If I could find out who his provider is, I would switch plans in a snap - but his insurer seems to be hidden behind a maze of shell companies.

Re:

[Higaran]

Why does he need that hard of a jaw if he is only going to eat pizza?

obligatory

[ArcadeMan]

Do you want Gamera? Because this is how you get Gamera.

The Six Million Dollar Turtle

[Snufu]

We can rebuild him. Better, stronger, not quite as slow as most turtles.

Re:

[Snarky McButtface]

It is the six million lira turtle.

wait, what?

[slashmydots]

You can't 3D print titanium. I think they mean they CNC'ed it out of a block of titanium. That technology has been around for decades. It's how they make most expensive alloy rims for tires.

Re:

[amicusNYCL]

It's good that we have a 3D printing expert here. How do they 3D print other metals? Like the jet engine that was on Slashdot yesterday, for example.

Re:

[slashmydots]

By calling CNC machines 3d printers because it's a buzz word.

Finally!

[jbmartin6]

the world's first sea turtle to receive a 3D printed implant

Turtles have come a long way. I suppose it had to happen sometime.

Isn't the special?

[AndyKron]

Isn't the special? People over there are dying left and right, and they're saving fucking turtles.

I hope...

[pahles]

they fasten that one screw that is sticking out quite a bit.

Name it

[RoccamOccam]

Name it "Baron Ünderbheit".

Are you a turtle?

[ChrisMaple]

You bet your sweet ass I am.

Titanium is expensive

[Linux Torvalds]

they could have saved some money by using plastic; scientist not so smart han ;-)

And So It Begins

[Toad-san]

http://wow.mmosite.com/fanart/... [mmosite.com]