Cat Spring Toy Maker

This is a tool to help form cat toy springs from 1.75mm filament.
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updated August 25, 2024

Description

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Cats seem to love springs. We just adopted from the local humane society and they gave us some toys which included a spring which was her #1 favorite toy.  Turns out our other cat likes springs as well.  

I decided to make some more springs from filament scraps.  First I just wrapped filament around a pipe and taped the ends.  Then I went over it with a heat gun and then cooled in water.  This made perfectly playable springs but they were a bit messy looking so I made this tool. 

Print the tool from ABS or other higher temp filament as you will be applying heat to set the springs. 

I have 2 sizes to choose from. The one labeled “cat spring maker” makes a 1" (25mm) diameter spring almost 2" (50mm) long. The “1_5” makes a 1.5" (38mm) diameter spring.

Spring Making:

  1. Wrap filament. Insert the end of the filament in the hole near the base knob and use your fingers to hold it in the spiral groove and wrap around until you can hook the other end in the notch. Cut the filament after the notch.  
  2. Anneal and set the spring.
    1. If you are using PLA you might be able hold it under hot tap water for awhile and then under cold water.  This is more likely to work with a plain low temp PLA.  PLA+ and a lot of silks seem to need a little more heat for the shape to set.   
      1. What works best for me so far is to use the one with the handle on it (1.5 w handle.stl) and dipping it briefly in boiling water.  This seems to work well for any PLA or PETG.  Have one hand on the handle and the other holding slight tension on the other end of the filament to keep it wrapped.  When I see/feel the filament I am pulling on start to stretch, take it out and dip in cool water while maintaining slight tension.  It will stretch out easily like taffy, so not too much tension and be quick!  You only need about a second in the boiling water to do the trick.
      2.  Be careful not to burn yourself especially if using boiling water!  . If it doesn't hold the shape, then you are probably not getting the spring warm enough. You need to get it beyond the plastic's glass transition temperature which is 60C for basic PLA.
  3. Trim off the bent ends that held it in place while on the tool.

If your filament keeps on snapping during the forming process, then your filament is probably too brittle to be a good toy anyways.  Check to make sure the spring will hold its shape by gently stretching it a little and seeing if it springs back.  If not, then either you didn't get it hot enough or that filament may not work well. 

CAUTION:  If your cat is a chewer or starts chewing on the springs, then don't let them play with these unsupervised since they could be injured by swallowed plastic bits.  Same caution should be used for store-bought cat springs and other toys. 

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