The Japanese company Dogsoxx produces custom-made dog shoes using 3D printing, which are enjoying great popularity. Original Prusa 3D printers play a key role behind the scenes.
Company founder Chiba came up with the idea of customized footwear through his sick four-legged friend. Commercially available models did not fit. So Chiba set about developing it himself.
He originally tried injection molds, but the cost of around 3 million yen per mold exceeded his budget. Instead, he turned to 3D printing and initially purchased inexpensive printers from Chinese and Taiwanese manufacturers. However, the print quality did not meet his requirements. Following recommendations from online communities, Chiba finally opted for the Original Prusa MINI.
According to Chiba, the MINI is ideal for Japanese households due to its small size, low noise level and print quality. He now uses several MINIs for his dog shoe production. Chiba was able to solve initial problems with material selection and lamination of the shoe soles with the help of the Prusa community. For highly individualized production, his company models each model individually based on customer photos using Fusion 360.
The bespoke shoes are currently available to order in six colors and with a monthly capacity of around 30 pairs. Despite the small quantities, demand is so high that orders are sold out within minutes. For Chiba, this impressively demonstrates the possibilities of 3D printing for individualized and demand-oriented production. He is already thinking about decentralized production networks using individual 3D printers.
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