8th Grade Students Create 3D Wheelchair for Special Needs Kitty
A cat in New Hampshire has a new way to get around after a group of students designed him a set of wheels for his unique set of challenges.
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When a cat-loving teacher heard about a friend's feline with mobility issues, she had an innovative idea to use 3-D printing to help get the kitten moving a little easier.
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Carrie Barron from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, adopted a loving and feisty 6-month-old Maine coon kitten named Ray from the Odd Cat Sanctuary in Salem, Massachusetts, despite his physical limitations.
The Maine Coon was born with unusually small eyes that have left him blind and an odd kink in spine, that doesn't completely paralyze him, but can make it tough for him to move around.
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Teacher Bakkom assigned her eighth-graders to split into two teams and create a 3-D-printed design concept for a wheelchair for Ray.
After a long working process, they ended up with designs for two- and four-wheeled contraptions to help Ray mobilize without dragging his hind legs. Barron took Ray to the classroom, and he was fitted for two prototypes. Bakkom knew there was a 3D printer at the public library and pitched the idea to Michaela Pugh, the library's emerging technology assistant. Pugh said most people use the 3D printer to make small animal figures as an exercise to learn how they work. A few people have used it to make prototypes for tweaking product designs, she said.
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Today, Ray is on his third 3D-printed wheelchair, having outgrown the first two
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Thanks to those kind hearted students, Ray has a bright future
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