Nov.10, 2014 | By Alec
Attention dog owners! Is your dog stronger than he looks? Does your best friend not know his own strength? Can walking him be a bit of a challenge? Than the Leash Mate could be just what you need. Featuring a clever design and a clear purpose, it proves that any aspect of daily life, even our pets, can benefit from 3D printing technology.
Having just launched on Kickstarter, this clever 3D printed tool is set to help dog owners everywhere. What is it exactly? Well, the Leash Mate is an additional handle shaped like an ergonomic ball that will help you keep your dog under control. It can be easily attached to any standard dog leash to allow you to keep your dog closer and safer far easier than a regular leash does.
As Leash Mate's Canadian developer Jaan Hurditch explained, 'Some dogs just don't play well with others… others play so well they can be just a bit much at times.. Occasionally, even the best behaved dogs need that little extra bit of control, like when you're walking next to a busy road or down a crowded footpath.'
Typically, owners of dogs with a few bad habits like this resort to an easily-broken retractable leash, or simply wrap a leash around your hand a few times. None of this is very practical, as I'm sure dog owners will agree. Especially larger dogs will simply keep tugging until you scream in pain and give up.
And this is where the Leash Mate comes in, and I don't doubt that dog owners everywhere will recognise its usefulness. Instead of messing about with the leash, this ball simply clicks into place on any part of the leash and gives you a perfect, easy to hold grip when walking your dog. And as Jaan emphasized, even the strongest dogs won't be able to dislodge it. 'It was designed for people with large and excitable dogs, like me.'
And obviously, this clever tool has been developed using 3D printing technology, both for the prototyping phase and for the final product. To do so, Jaan used PLA filament and a Fusematic 3D printer.
Though going through a number of different concepts the past year or so, Jaan settled for a design with a ribbed internal structure that fits around the leash. Not only does this offer all the support needed to hold the leash, it's also very effective to 3D print, as it minimizes molding cycle times and cools much quicker than a solid structure. Even now, however, the design is easily strong enough to resist even the largest and energetic dog you can think of. The design is currently patent pending.
The final product will be 3D printed in PLA, which Jaan chose for its eco-friendly nature and its biodegradable properties. Those of you who are far away from Canada to order one, can always contact Jaan for a STL file that can be printed at home.
If all this sounds like the perfect solution for your easily-excited pet, than be sure to check out the Kickstarter for the Leash Mate, that was launched a few days ago. To successfully enter production, Jaan is aiming to collect a not overly-ambitious sum of $25,000 by the 8th of December. At the time of the writing, the Leash Mate was still about $21,500 short of the final goal, so dog lovers are advised to take a closer look. Participants can, of course, receive a Leash Mate for their troubles.
Also check out these short clips on this 3D printed leash:
Posted in 3D Printing Applications
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@AMnerd - Yes a knot will work similar, however, Leash Mate is significantly lighter than the equivalent knotted up section of lead so doesn't swing around anywhere near as much. Its also more comfortable to hold and can be re-positioned in a few seconds - try doing that with 6 knots on top of each other. Most trainers also suggest tying a series of knots that you use working further away from your dog as their manner improves. Leash Mate replaces them all and can be quickly positioned wherever you like to suit. The article was a little dramatic in places but some dogs just love to pull on a lead and although correct training can rectify this - I'm not a dog trainer so have come up with an alternative solution. It's not so much bad training but lack thereof. Perhaps you could offer some training advice instead of negativity? I've seen heaps of people purposefully being towed by their dogs on Skateboards, rollerblades even bikes - Leash Mate is perfect for this. Sure PLA is the cheaper option for 3D printing - the production models will actually be injection molded. It says 3D printed in the article but this is not correct as 3D was used for prototyping only. Injection molding ABS or Nylon is actually cheaper than PLA so being bio friendly is actually more expensive. @TobyCWood - Regarding 'free' advertising - we are a tiny start up company with zero advertising budget who have invented an entirely new product designed to help dog owners - we are running a kickstarter campaign to raise the funds needed to start production - please tell me what's wrong with websites getting the word out there on a new invention and helping promote our campaign a little in the process?
TobyCWood wrote at 11/13/2014 2:34:35 AM:
Wow... free advertising! All someone has to do is write it all up, take some cool pics with an awesome dog and then make a video and you guys then publish it! Cool!
AMnerd wrote at 11/11/2014 12:28:27 PM:
Lol just tie a knot. Come on this has never been an issue. Also, "Especially larger dogs will simply keep tugging until you scream in pain and give up." how badly do you train your dogs? Additionally, claiming to be bio friendly because you chose PLA as it is the cheapest and easiest material is juts dishonest. I'm sorry to be negative but nothing about this is good.
rich wrote at 11/11/2014 10:02:35 AM:
i cant be the only one who saw this and thought it was a ball gag
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