www.3ders.org

Oct. 17, 2014 | By Alec

We've already seen what 3D printing can do to make our lives easier and more fun, but what about the lives of our pets? While they might not fully appreciate the technological achievement of a desktop 3D printer, a new Kickstarter for the Odin dog toy might really be onto something here.

Of course, dogs are partially colorblind and enjoy a stick as much as a rubber chicken, which is why the Seattle-based designer Michelle Moy developed a 3D printed creation aimed at both dogs and their owners. Is your living room strewn with ugly, squeaking dog toys? Then the Odin, which looks more like a stylish sculpture than a dog toy might really be something for you. And your dog will definitely love it too.

What is this Odin? Well, it's a modular geometric puzzle toy named after Moy's own Pembroke Welsh Corgi Odin. Insert a few treats through the flaps, and you've got a mental and physical challenge for your dog: they'll roll and bounce it around and play with it to make the treats fall out. The various different-sized holes, meanwhile, can make things easier or more difficult depending on the treats you insert. Finally, you can add an extra dimension by snapping multiple Odins together like Lego blocks. All this makes it a fun and challenging toy for any dog.

As Moy explains on her Kickstarter, they 'believe dog toys can be functional and beautiful without compromising anything. Our toy is fun, beautiful and expandable like Legos. Dogs don't care how their toys look, they just want to play. So why not make a beautiful dog toy, something that complements your home? With this in mind and other ideas on improving our dog's favourite toys, we created The Odin, a puzzle treat toy that is beautiful for your home and fun for your dog.'

The concept is both simple and brilliant. Why not develop a toy that is both challenging and not an eyesore? It's also designed to with an eye on dogs of any size, as it's lightweight and sturdy and its dimensions are approximately 3.6 x 3.3 x 38 inches. Moy also promises its material 'tough, food safe, latex free and phthalates free. We chose a more expensive material to give you a better quality product that will last longer and is even dishwasher safe. You should always supervise your dog when playing with any toy though. They like the attention!'

It's also been tested by a number of dogs, who reportedly all loved it.

The Odin project has gone through various prototyping phases, that included drawings, paper creations, CADs and cut-up tennis balls before moving on to 3D printing. And in that prototyping phase is exactly where its strength is. Moy said 'we created a durable, beautiful and extremely functional shape, exceeding even our expectations of not compromising on any aspect of the toy.'

To realise this cool project, the Odin Kickstarter seeks to raise $25,000 by 13 November. And it looks like they might reach it, as they've already reached a third of that number with 27 days to go. Pledgers obviously have a chance to get one of these toys as soon as possible. You can find it here.

Also be sure to check out this promotional video on the Odin dog toy:

Posted in 3D Printing Applications

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