This is cool technology! ~Declan

Pretty in Pink: 3D-Printing 'Jimmy Choos' for Horses

By Marc Lallanilla, Assistant Editor   |   November 22, 2013 03:13pm   As posted on Live Science

These custom-made horseshoes were created in minutes with a 3D printer that uses titanium as a design material. Credit: CSIRO View full size image

Gone are the days when a sinewy blacksmith would hammer out a set of horseshoes over a hot anvil. One Australian racehorse is now sporting high tech horseshoes that some are calling "the Jimmy Choos of horseshoes," referring to the luxury shoe designer.

Designed by researchers at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), the Australian science agency, the hot-pink horseshoes are custom-made for each of a horse's four hooves, using lightweight titanium and 3D-printing technology.

Each new shoe weighs about 3.5 ounces (100 grams) less than a regular aluminum horseshoe — and every ounce counts in the high-stakes world of horse racing. "Any extra weight in the horseshoe will slow the horse down," trainer John Moloney said in a statement. "These titanium shoes could take up to half of the weight off a traditional aluminum shoe, which means a horse could travel at new speeds." [The 10 Weirdest Things Created By 3D Printing]