3DPets and Creality are demonstrating how 3D scanning and 3D printing can be used to create customised prosthetic and mobility devices for pets living with limb loss, injury or impaired mobility. The collaboration highlights a growing area of additive manufacturing that sits at the intersection of veterinary care, rehabilitation engineering and personalised assistive technology.
While 3D-printed prosthetics are often discussed in relation to human healthcare, pets also face significant mobility challenges. VoxelMatters reports that as many as 120 million dogs globally may be living with impaired mobility caused by injury or illness, with older dogs frequently affected by conditions such as osteoarthritis.
For many years, pet owners have relied on compensatory movement, standard carts, braces or wheelchairs to help animals adapt. These solutions can help, but they may also create problems when they are heavy, poorly fitted, uncomfortable or require repeated modification. Conventional pet mobility devices made from metal, leather or hard plastic can also restrict movement or place extra strain on the animal.
New Jersey-based 3DPets has developed a workflow built around 3D scanning, digital design and 3D printing. The company produces full-limb canine prosthetics and carts designed around each animal’s anatomy, condition and mobility needs.
The process begins with a candidacy application, where the owner provides details such as the pet’s condition, amputation history and the type of device required. Once the pet is accepted as a candidate, 3DPets captures the animal’s shape either through an at-home casting kit or by direct 3D scanning at its facility or partner sites. If a cast is used, it is later scanned using a smartphone equipped with LiDAR.
The scan data is then brought into 3DPets’ design software to create a custom jacket, orthotic or support structure. The final CAD file is printed using Creality K2 Pro 3D printers with a flexible but durable TPU material. The Creality K2 Pro’s 300 × 300 × 300 mm build volume helps support production of devices for larger dogs.
Animal prosthetics and orthotics require a high level of personalisation. Unlike standard product categories, each pet’s anatomy, posture, gait pattern, amputation level and behaviour can be very different. A device that is too rigid, too heavy or poorly contoured may be rejected by the animal or may fail to support healthy movement.
3D printing offers several advantages in this context:
After printing, 3DPets finishes the customised parts by hand, sanding surfaces and assembling them with high-quality components. The devices can then be refined further to optimise fit for the individual dog.
The original article highlights the case of Mustard, an adopted dog born without front legs. His owners had previously tried several wheeled and assistive devices, but he reportedly did not fully adapt to them. After receiving a custom 3DPets wheelchair, Mustard adjusted quickly, and his owners noticed improvements in posture and strength over time.
This is the central point for both animal and human prosthetics: the value of a device is not only technical. It is measured by comfort, function, confidence, mobility and quality of life.
3DPets reports that improvements in its digital workflow have helped it achieve a first-fit success rate above 90% while reducing rework by 40%. That kind of result shows why digital production can be valuable when the goal is to create customised devices at scale.
Although the article focuses on pets, the lessons are relevant to human prosthetics and orthotics as well. The same principles apply: accurate shape capture, good design software, appropriate material selection, lightweight construction, iterative fitting and user-centred outcomes.
For CPOs, veterinary rehabilitation specialists, engineers and additive manufacturing providers, pet prosthetics are an interesting test case for highly personalised mobility devices. They show how digital workflows can move beyond novelty and into practical rehabilitation applications.
The collaboration between 3DPets and Creality also reinforces a wider trend: desktop and professional 3D printing systems are becoming increasingly capable of producing real-world assistive devices, especially when combined with specialist design knowledge and careful finishing.
For IMEA CPO, this story is useful because it shows how customised rehabilitation technology is expanding beyond conventional human clinical settings. In India, the Middle East and Africa, animal prosthetics may remain a small niche compared with human O&P needs, but the workflow itself is highly relevant.
The same digital pathway — scan, design, print, finish, fit and refine — is already reshaping prosthetics, orthotics, insoles, paediatric devices and custom supports. Pet prosthetics simply make the value of customisation easy to see.
The key lesson is that additive manufacturing works best when it solves a fit and function problem, not when it is used only because it is new. 3DPets’ use of scanning, TPU printing and hand finishing shows a practical model: combine digital efficiency with careful fitting and real-world user feedback.
As 3D printing continues to mature, the most meaningful innovations will be those that improve mobility, comfort and participation — whether the user is a person, a working animal or a much-loved family pet.