Lending a Paw: Elegoo & 3DPets Make 3D Printed Prosthetic Leg for Rey the Doberman Pinscher

Rey is a four-year-old Doberman Pinscher—one of the best-looking breeds, in my humble opinion—who became a “tripod” dog after losing his front left leg. We’ve written about many dogs over the years who got back on all four paws with the help of 3D printed prosthetics, but it’s been awhile since we’ve seen one quite this big: Rey weighs 100 pounds, which means he needed a big print. So New Jersey-based 3DPets, a subsidiary of product development studio DiveDesign LLC with plenty of experience in custom 3D printed pet prosthetics, turned to the large-format FDM OrangeStorm Giga industrial 3D printer by Elegoo.

When Rey started limping and whining often, his owners initially thought it was a minor injury, checking for a cut on his paw and putting heating and cooling pads on his leg. But they soon took him to the vet, where they learned that he had a serious type of bone cancer called osteosarcoma; amputating his leg saved the young dog’s life.

When dogs lose a limb, they can still function well most of the time because, as Elegoo puts it, “their natural resilience often allows them to maintain impressive balance and mobility.” Rey’s owner said the dog still loved to run around and play. But, the remaining legs have to deal with significant strain, which can cause the risk of joint issues to increase. Plus, because dogs carry up to 60% of their weight on their front limbs, it’s even harder for them to deal with an amputated front leg. Since Rey is such a large dog, he needed a strong prosthetic. While searching online for custom pet prosthetics, his owner found 3DPets.

3DPets is dedicated to advancing the pet mobility devices field with its customized, 3D printed solutions, which include carts, orthotics, and full-limb prosthetics; this last option is what Rey needed. But his large size was an issue—it would be extremely challenging, and maybe even impossible, to manufacture a flexible thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) harness in one seamless print on a standard-sized Elegoo system, like the Neptune.

“Printing the jacket for our full-limb prosthetics or carts in one piece is extremely important because we want to avoid any potential areas of weakness or fracture,” explained Lydia Mindek, Director of Operations at 3DPets.

This project was actually part of the heartwarming ELEGOO Gives A Hand initiative, which helps people and pets who need 3D printing assistance. To help Rey, the Chinese 3D printer manufacturer covered the $1,750 cost of Rey’s prosthetic, and offered its massive 800 x 800 x 1000 mm OrangeStorm Giga for the job. The industrial-grade FDM system features maximum print speeds up to 300 mm/s, delivering on precision, speed, size, and quality.

“Partnering with 3DPets to help Rey really meant a lot to us. It’s more than a real-world use case of the OrangeStorm Giga, but a powerful reminder of how technology can improve lives. Printing a big, one-piece TPU harness isn’t easy, but Giga pulled it off with solid reliability. 3DPets has believed in us for a long time, and now we’re proud to team up and create a better future for more pets,” said Coco Lee, Brand Director of Elegoo.

Once they had the right printer in place, the 3DPets team used a smartphone to scan Rey’s body and create an accurate 3D model. This was necessary to get the proper dimensions to tailor the harness so it fit the dog snugly, while ensuring even weight distribution so the rest of his body wouldn’t undergo extra physical strain.

“Our custom software and algorithm allows us to generate a lattice pattern that has strength and structure where it’s needed (like where the leg mounts) and flexibility in other areas like around their ribcage for when they turn and breathe,” explained Mindek. “This is super important because dogs are not static, they’re dynamic so their device should support that. The lattice pattern also makes the device super breathable to prevent any moisture buildup. All Rey’s family will have to do is make sure that if they get the device in water that they clean it with Dawn dish soap and water.”

The Elegoo OrangeStorm Giga was the perfect printer for fabricating Rey’s full-body prosthetic harness. It’s large enough that the harness could be easily printed in a single, seamless piece, so any weak points were eliminated. The team used flexible TPU, which is a breathable, waterproof material, and the device then went through post-processing, including support removal, sanding, and attaching padding. After it was fitted and tested to ensure proper alignment with the dog’s body, a footpad and leg support were added, and the harness was finally adjusted for comfort and balance.

Mindek was there when Rey was introduced to his new prosthetic harness, and worked with him to build up his confidence and teach him how to trust the device. While he may still need some adjustments in the future as his needs and mobility change, Mindek said that “his baseline is great!”

“Rey’s owner was ecstatic! He loved seeing Rey pick up the device so quickly and even start to play with toys at his fitting.”

The dog adapted quickly, and with the device’s comfortable fit, he’s running and jumping just like he did before he lost his leg. Rey’s owner says that while the dog is continuing to work on his confidence with the new harness and prosthetic, he is “still a ham,” rolling around when he wants attention, and that the ongoing training is going very well, because “he’s a very strong and active guy and he just wants to go,go,go.” 

With the success of Rey’s prosthetic leg and harness, Elegoo plans to offer its support to even more pet mobility projects. To learn more about Rey’s journey, you can watch a video on Elegoo’s Instagram page here.

Images & video screenshots courtesy of Elegoo