Horn Protector

Another Columbus Zoo animal benefitted from a custom 3D printed protector in 2024. I was contacted by one of the veterinarians at the zoo to make a horn protector for a goat. This goat had a broken horn and she was rubbing the horn on rocky surfaces, causing bleeding and preventing healing.

My main concern was that a plastic 3D printed cap wouldn't hold up to rubbing against walls or head-butting hard objects.

The team at the zoo created clay molds of the horn segment for me to use as a sizing reference. I then 3D printed 3 different sizes of caps just to test the best-fitting version.

I designed a separatable 2-piece horn cap. The base would be epoxied to the healthy bone at the base of the horn, and the cap could be removed by the veterinarians and keepers to easily clean and treat the horn. 

I wanted the cap to be made in metal to hold up to the rigorous environment, but the complicated shape made it prohibitively expensive to cut on a CNC machine. I contacted one of my prototyping suppliers overseas, and they were able to produce the cap in 3D printed stainless steel for a very affordable price. This was my first time using metal 3D printing - and I was impressed!

The vet team successfully installed the cap on the horn, and the goat was able to resume her healing process.