3D/CAD Designer for Pet Parrot Prototypes

I’m looking for a fun, imaginative 3D/CAD designer to design 3D printed prototypes for pet parrot products. I’m hoping this will be an ongoing, collaborative relationship for a bunch of products I’m working on. This is a self-funded passion project with no deadlines or strict requirements. I’m hoping to find someone who can get excited about the project and help me offer better lives to our parrot companions.

Overview:
I’m in a second prototyping phase for a food dish to place in a bird cage. I suspect the finished product will need to be made with plastic molds for food safety. These will be test runs of temporary prototypes using a nontoxic, high-density plastic filament.

I don’t expect any strict deadlines for the early stages. You can work on this at your own pace. I’m setting a budget for $100-300 per design, but this can be expanded depending on revisions needed and services offered.

Design:
The initial prototype will be a three-compartment dish similar to a small dipping sauce tray. Once we’re happy with the design and test it with some parrot owners, we’ll continue to a second project (with a new budget) for a tray holder to attach it to a bird cage.

Requirements:
– No AI: I want to pay someone a living wage for their services and expertise.
– Knowledge of plastic filaments and their properties: Parrots are extremely sensitive to toxic materials including VOCs. I’ll need someone who can recommend filaments based on those needs and design products well suited for them.
– Creativity & Collaboration: We’ll be trying new and imaginative designs based on feedback from the parrot community testing these products. They’ll be based on parrot physiology and logistics of the cage environment. That will undoubtedly mean trial and error.

Optional Bonuses:
– Print & ship prototypes: If you have a 3D printer that can handle heat-resistant, high-density, nontoxic filaments, I’ll happily pay you to print and ship prototypes. If you can’t print them yourself but know someone who can, that works as well.
– Experience in plastics manufacturing: Since a final food-safe product will need to be made from plastic molds, any experience you have in the process of plastics manufacturing will help out a lot.
– Networking in related fields: If you have a working relationship or contacts within 3D printing and plastics manufacturing, that would kickstart the prototyping and production process.

About me & my project:
I was unintentionally sucked into the world of parrot rescue when my neighbor found a parakeet deep in the woods, which I took in. I got further involved when my rescue flock was afflicted with a new antimicrobial-resistant strain of a deadly avian infection. The infection impacted their digestion and I quickly realized how awful most pet store products were. The food bowls are too deep for small parrots like parakeets to comfortably reach the bottom. They’re narrow and pressed against the back of the cage, completely unaligned with their natural foraging behaviors.

It turns out most of pet store products are holdovers from the poultry industry and completely unsuited for parrots, but most people don’t care enough to address it. I started working some experts – a vet school professor, a parrot behaviorist, and an avian physiologist – to find solutions. I took woodworking classes and received the help of a friend to make my earliest prototypes. (Yes, I literally took weeks worth of woodworking classes just for this.) However, the designs are just too heavy for most bird cages to support. If I continue working on this, I have to pivot to plastics.

My dream is to design, produce, and sell products that will offer better lives to our parrot companions. That’s why I’m looking for an ongoing relationship with a designer. It will require revisions based on parrot community feedback and imaginative designs to meet their needs. While I insist on paying you a living wage, this is my passion product without the expectation of profit or success. I have no idea where it will take me but I hope it’ll give back to the parrot community in desperate need of solutions.

Project Categories: Prototyping and Engineering

Digital Delivery: No

Additional Requirements: Check full post text for requirements and optional requests

Desired timeline (best estimate): August 31, 2025

Attachment:Login to View