3D Printing a Life-Sized Elephant for A Good Cause

If you happen to be traveling through the Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, you might get a chance to see an impressive 3D printing project in the works. World Animal Protection, an animal rights group was looking to raise awareness on the mistreatment of elephants. Often kept in tiny quarters, chained, and beaten, the elephants that you see carrying around unaware children at fairs or zoos are often miserable. 

The installation, located at the very well trafficked airport, hopes to make people think a little bit about the elephants. The interesting print system they have come up with in conjunction with Ultimaker utilizes 5 modified printers. They are flipped upside down, their print heads flipped as well, and mounted on a very tall Z-axis carriage as well. This allows each printer to print up to 2.5 meters in height.  Viewers who choose to donate to the cause get their name embedded into the skin of the elephant as it prints.