Otter had his surgery to close the hole in his skull in Dec 2022; his recovery went extremely well and has been back to being an incredible kitten - he'll have the opportunity to grow up to be a healthy loving creature!
As it turns out, ordering some 3" (actuallly 3.17") diameter cupcake holders worked out really well! They were inexpensive, quick, and easy to cut. Also, There was a decision to add venting holes for Otter's condition. Cutting it from the button to top seemed to prodcue the best results.
The edges need to be cleaned up a bit... it seemed the the bulb tip actually worked better than the razor blade tip... E6000 glue works incredibly quickly when setting the two materials together...
We wanted to utilize a Quick Release Cat Collar clip into the design... ultimately I ended up purchasing some quick release collars, cannibalized the clips and went with a simple loop with the velcro straps... To remove the clips I used a razor blade attachment on the wood burning tool (I got the blade tip from Michaels)
Although the Helmet Shell looked really good, it's a little too difficult to get it 'just" right without constant immediate access to Otter... so I'm not able to get a good fit on him, plus the little guy is growing like a weed and would need a constant updated helmet. The other Caps are flats cutout, then heated and formed over my aluminum foil covered 3d printed buck... not amazed by the results...
I wanted the chin strap to be as basic as possible- so just a simple loop... The velcro I used has a really soft touch. I'm working on a quick release iteration.
Here are some of the plastic shell styles I was developing... I used a wood burning pen to melt out the shape. The razor blade worked the best, the part in the picture is using the nubbin' and wasn't as clean.
You can pick up inexpensive 1/4 craft foam at Michaels, the neoprene wasn't pricey either... however The Craft Foam wasn't AS pliable as the neoprene; although you can heat shape the Craft Foam with a heat gun/ blow dryer...
brucejdii
