Tile Collar Case

Our cats love going outside. They aren’t outdoor cats, although they’ve never been given the opportunity to be. We always go out with them and have trained them to know they must have their collars on before we let them out.

The Problem

When you have two cats that like to climb trees or the occasional roof, they can be pretty hard to keep track of. Especially when they decide to run in opposite directions. There are existing products that have SIM cards and GPS, but most require some 3rd party carrier lacking support for data SIMs or require a paid subscription service.

The Solution

Bluetooth covers the ranges that they travel and with Tile’s crowd-sourced loss prevention, this made it a viable option. The cost of the device is very affordable and you don’t need to pay for their premium service if you do not need the features it provides. The Tile Mate has a relatively small form factor and the replaceable CR1632 battery is a huge plus (with BLE, the battery life on these things is pretty insane).

Requirements

Before starting the modeling phase, it’s always a good idea to have clearly defined requirements that the design needed to meet:

• No modifications to the Tile itself to allow easy replacement.
• No modifications to the collars like un-sewing or removing the buckles.
• Provide access to the battery for easy replacement.
• Provide access to the face button and speaker holes on the back.
• Simple assembly with sturdy attachment to ensure it stays on.
• No dangling or protruding shapes to prevent snagging.
• Rounded corners and edges for max comfort.
• Durability and 3D printability.

Design

With these requirements in mind, I settled on a two part assembly that clamps around the Tile and collar, and is held together with a single M4 screw.

Assembly

I really wish I could have printed this using an SLA printer and translucent resin to show off the internals like the model, but for now I have to stick with what I have: a FDM 3D printer. For durability I used the PETG filament I had on hand which was a not so visually appealing black.

Result

So far they’ve held up pretty well, even with the most vigorous of rolly-pollies. I wish they were a little smaller, but the cats don’t seem to mind it much. I would highly recommend a quick-release collar just in case they do get snagged, but it’s much better than having the Tile dangling by the provided key-ring and has the added benefit of protecting it too.