Using 3D printers to save the hermit crab
OCT 24, 2011
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.025662
Shareable : Here is a novel use for three-dimensional printers: producing shells for hermit crabs. Because they don’t make their own shells (they scavenge shells made by other creatures) and because the worldwide shell supply is diminishing, the crabs have been forced to use other objects instead, such as bottles and shotgun shell casings. Makerbot Industries , which produces build-it-yourself 3D printer kits, has launched Project Shellter to inspire members of the Makerbot community to design and produce the ideal hermit crab home. As inspired and inspiring as the project sounds, however, critics point out that a better solution would be for humans to stop destroying seashells in the first place. They also warn that the world’s oceans already contain too much plastic.
© 2011 American Institute of Physics
