Fluent Pet Button Housing

Industrial Design, Product Design, 3D Printing
Fluent Pet Button Case
I designed this button holder to act as a housing for the fluent pet buttons. The actual button is tiny and comes with a foam pad with cutouts as a way to hold the buttons in place but this foam holder was totally useless against a 4 month old puppy. It was floppy, easy to flip, slippery, and the dog could easily pluck the button right out of the foam and chew it or hide it. I needed a better solution and there was nothing available on the market. My only option left was to build it since I couldn’t buy it.
Design Requirements
Protection. For a button intended to be tapped by dogs of varying sizes with their nose or paws, Fluent Pet really did not try very hard at all to make this button durable. Perhaps it was their master plan to make it fragile so users would be forced to purchase buttons over and over again. Ultimately, I wasn’t plan on building my own button but just a housing to protect the button; the solution had to fit flush to offer maximum protection against the elements and prevent the dog from being able to pluck it out of the housing.

Stable. The button alone weighs 30 grams at most so it wasn’t very stable. The button with the foam pad wasn’t any more stable or anti-slip as foam is very light and not very grippy. I needed the button to stay in place, not be flip-able, and  

Sound. Perhaps the most important aspect of the button is its ability to make sound. Without sound the button is useless. There would be no association or communication for the dog or owner when the button is pressed. A housing usually encases something and in most cases wrapping an object that produces sound can reduce the efficacy or sound levels produced by the object. The design needed to at least be able to preserve the buttons ability to make sound.

Market Ready Solutions

The fluent pet base button allows you to record any sound for playback when the button is pressed. Can be reprogrammed whenever and is powered by a replaceable battery.

The hex tiles are made of foam and designed to hold multiple buttons for when your dog’s button learning capabilities expand.

The User

This is Lemura, the intended user of the button housing. In most cases I’d be trying to satisfy the user but in this case we’re going the opposite direction. Lemura was actually extremely pleased with the market offering which allowed her to bite, chew, flip, throw, and swallow it. If my design is successful, she will be extremely displeased by the fact that she can only press the button and do none of the biting, chewing, flipping, throwing, or swallowing. Kidding of course, I am in fact intended user of the button housing. A button that provides a good experience for me unfortunately provides a terribly boring experience for Lemura.
Design Requirements
Protection. For a button intended to be tapped by dogs of varying sizes with their nose or paws, Fluent Pet really did not try very hard at all to make this button durable. Perhaps it was their master plan to make it fragile so users would be forced to purchase buttons over and over again. Ultimately, I wasn’t plan on building my own button but just a housing to protect the button; the solution had to fit flush to offer maximum protection against the elements and prevent the dog from being able to pluck it out of the housing.

‍Stable. The button alone weighs 30 grams at most so it wasn’t very stable. The button with the foam pad wasn’t any more stable or anti-slip as foam is very light and not very grippy. I needed the button to stay in place, not be flip-able, and  

‍Sound. Perhaps the most important aspect of the button is its ability to make sound. Without sound the button is useless. There would be no association or communication for the dog or owner when the button is pressed. A housing usually encases something and in most cases wrapping an object that produces sound can reduce the efficacy or sound levels produced by the object. The design needed to at least be able to preserve the buttons ability to make sound.
Post Launch Learnings and Thoughts
The hardware I used initially was not made of stainless steel. I did not think it was necessary to go with stainless steel for the additional cost since this product wouldn’t be near water or moisture. After a few months I noticed the hardware rusting, likely from dog slobber. In hindsight stainless steel would have been a better choice.

The fluent pet buttons are very fragile and poor in quality, however, they are one of the best quality buttons on the market so it is what it is. I’ve gone through 3 buttons in about 2 years. The last button I received appears to be a new version utilizing the same dimensions so I did not have to change my housing design. The most recent button seems to be far more durable than the previous.

I never planned to have my dog learn more buttons than this single one for “outside” If the user is planning to have the dog learn more buttons than a design that can accommodate for some kind of linking or connecting of more buttons would be nice.
Notes
Designed in Rhinoceros, 3D Printed in Form Futura Galaxy PLA Filament, Printed on Prusa i3 MK3S
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