People can do amazing things with special kinds of filament. Take thermo-sensitive filament for instance. Thermo-what? Yes, filament that changes its color when it heathens up. 46-year-old engineer Reginald Taylor used this kind of filament to create an extraordinary thing: a birdhouse that changes its color when it is occupied. The normal birdhouse has got a brown/grey-ish color, but when a bird enters the ‘house’, the house starts to turn purple and then red.
With this birdhouse, you will know exactly when a bird is inside or not – I am wondering whether the bird will be aware of the change of colors as well. Anyway, Taylor – an engineer who studied and worked at Oxford but currently resides in France – just bought his first 3D printer 18 months ago, and decided to try out this experiment. His birdhouse design can be downloaded for free on My Mini Factory.
It can get 3D printed in about 7 hours. That is not much for a 3D print, as many designs have a printing time of days to weeks. However, this is not a giant model, and it is shaped relatively easy for a printing machine to make. It will be 3D printed in a single piece, with the optional addition of a seed holder. Some important technical details before you start printing: you can best print the birdhouse with a 0.25mm layer height and 50% infill.
It is not the first time 3D printing technology is being used for animal purposes. Whether its about about saving animals in Africa or closer to home: the technology can do good to animals. Striking but heartwarming as well was the story of Derby the dog. This dog was born without most of his forearms, which made it hard for him to run and move in general. His owner, who works at 3D Systems, decided to 3D print prosthetics, and suddenly the dog was able to move a lot faster than he did before. In addition, he can even run for miles now. Arr…
Credits images: Reginald Taylor.
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