One of the first 2022 recipients of Protolabs’ Cool Idea Award is SECORE International, a nonprofit dedicated to global coral reef restoration. The award provides a manufacturing grant to nonprofits to support the scaled production of a prototype. The SECORE team reached out to Protolabs in 2021 for help with developing a funnel that would support the collection of coral reef gametes (packets of egg and sperm released by coral during spawning).

The award announcement corresponds with the ongoing meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity being held in Geneva. Backed by the United Nations (UN), the convention is a gathering of leaders from across the globe who are discussing the ongoing loss of biodiversity due to the climate crisis. This adds to the previous declaration by the UN of 2021-2030 as the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development to help protect vulnerable ecosystems over the next decade and beyond.

Worldwide, oceans and marine ecosystems provide an important food source and support the income of 3 billion people. Current predictions estimate that tropical coral reefs could disappear by 2100. To meet this global challenge, SECORE hopes to create and share the tools and technologies needed to sustainably restore coral reefs.

Protolabs helped SECORE 3D print a funnel to improve coral gamete collection. (Image courtesy of Mike McCue.)

SECORE Expands Coral Restoration with 3D Printing

To restore coral reefs, scientists and engineers work to help adult corals reproduce in the wild. Normally, coral can reproduce both sexually and asexually. Asexual propagation, or fragmentation, involves collecting a piece of coral and placing it in a new area of the reef so that it can regrow. Although this process can be fast, the resulting coral is clonal, meaning expansions on the reef will continue to be susceptible to the same diseases and environmental fluctuations as the parent organism. In contrast, sexual reproduction allows the coral to adapt to its rapidly changing environment. The only issue is that sexual reproduction is an incredibly rare event in the coral lifecycle, occurring approximately once per year. The process involves coral releasing their eggs and sperm as gametes that seed on the ocean floor, which, if successful, will develop into an adult coral after five years.

Organizations like SECORE can speed up this process by collecting the eggs and sperm when they are released, fertilizing embryos in the lab, then transplanting baby corals back into the wild to restore damaged reefs.

But scaling this restoration process remains a major issue. Collecting and breeding coral is a very time-consuming process. Usually, scuba divers use mesh-like tents to cover coral and collect the floating larvae into a small vial via a funnel attachment. However, traditional nets are difficult to manipulate and sometimes damage the coral gametes. SECORE’s previous collection devices were homemade and difficult to translate into a specification sheet that could ultimately scale. To take advantage of this once-per-year spawning event, SECORE wanted to design a better tool for collecting coral gametes.

An example of the coral gamete collection process. (Image courtesy of SECORE.)

With the Cool Idea Award, SECORE worked directly with Protolabs to iteratively design a new collection device for the coral gametes. Specifically, the company developed an improved design of the collection net’s funnel to better withstand water movement and diver manipulation. The final design included a collapsible funnel 3D printed with selective laser sintering (SLS). SECORE chose SLS to take advantage of fast production times, high levels of resolution, and the ability to test a wide variety of flexible materials. SLS, which is often hailed as the ideal 3D printing strategy for prototypes and experimental designs, fit the needs of SECORE for a fast, iterative process.

To 3D print the funnel, SECORE ultimately used TPU-70A, an elastic thermoplastic material that is flexible and resistant to abrasion and chemicals. Protolabs specifically consulted on the material selection and the manufacturing process to ensure a fast turnaround time for the prototype funnel so that it could be tested during the spawning season. The resulting product was more user-friendly, easier to swim with, and better able to dynamically capture the gametes as they were released.

“Without the service Protolabs provided, SECORE would not have been able to test the concept of this design, nor be able to consider what our next steps should be as we look to iterate on this design and continue to improve it,” said Miles McGonigle, lead engineer at SECORE International. “We are incredibly grateful for the award and for the availability of custom fabrication to test and hone our design as we look at new potential improvements to assist coral reef restoration.”

A render of the collapsible funnel made by Protolabs in collaboration with SECORE. (Image courtesy of Protolabs.)

However, one issue was identified in the field: the gametes stuck to the TPU-70A material. Although the organization needs the funnel to collect the gametes, it doesn’t want them to be stuck to the device surface. Instead, the company is continuing to work with Protolabs to try to develop a silicone alternative. SECORE is still determining whether it can 3D print the silicone funnel or if it will need to 3D print a mold for scaling production.

McGonigle is currently the only engineer on the 13-person SECORE team. The organization employs multiple scientists focused on the biology of corals and optimizing the restoration process. As the lead engineer, McGonigle helps develop prototypes, establish supply chains, and assist with large-scale manufacturing of SECORE’s technology.

“I am proud of [SECORE] for integrating engineering into their process and recognizing that not all the answers to scale an idea can be found in the science and research realm. To scale production, we need to bring on engineering expertise; we need to look at supply chain development; we need to look at finding industry partners to support these efforts while the scientists focus on the biological bottlenecks,” said McGonigle.

Engineering Can Support All Levels of Coral Restoration

One of the key goals of SECORE is to create tools that support global coral restoration efforts. A modular system capable of assisting researchers and nonprofits at any international site would help accelerate restoration efforts around the world. As such, the collection funnel is not the first tool engineered by SECORE.

Previously, the organization partnered with the Autodesk Foundation to iteratively design substrates to support the growth of baby corals in wild marine environments. Scientists use these substrates to help settle coral larvae and facilitate their transfer to the reef. With guidance from engineering experts at Autodesk, the SECORE team built and tested prototypes of substrates, ultimately landing on a 3D-printed ceramic material.

The substrate features grooves and micro-ledges to support settlement and protect the larvae as they mature. The overall design also helps prevent algal growth and reduce competition with other organisms. Plus, the tile is designed to be self-stabilizing and does not require manual attachment to the reef. This helps minimize the time-consuming task of manually placing corals as part of the out-planting process. These tiles are already being scaled to expand restoration efforts, with manufacturing occurring at a facility in Canada.

As SECORE continues to optimize its collection and transplantation technologies, its efforts will further support global coral restoration. It will be interesting to witness SECORE’s efforts over the next few years as it works to mitigate the impacts of the climate crisis on coral reef ecosystems.