83 replies to this topic

[dermy]

They look awesome, have you tried them out yet?

 

I bet you'll be up to all sorts of things with your 3D Printer that actually works

[dspdrew]

Yeah I'm using a bunch of them now. I'll get some pictures of the ants drinking from them later. I just have to test them for a while. The prototypes would start to dry out a little bit after a while, but I think that was caused partly by the polypropylene holes squeezing the wick. This plastic is not flexible and should not do that.

[Bryce]

Wow I really like that!

[dspdrew]

By now I can say these are definitely working great. They dispense such a small amount of liquid when the ants lick on them, that I really don't have any ants even trying to stick anything to them like they do with other feeders. Part of the reason I designed them in the shape of a pyramid was so they would keep from tipping over. It's definitely worked too. They will slide across the ground before they'll ever tip over.
 
The only problem I have had is giving them to large-sized harvester ants, like Pogonomyrmex. They tend to chew and pull on the kevlar until it bunches up at the top. I haven't yet checked to see if I can pull the kevlar back in again after this happens. It really isn't a big deal though, because a lot of large harvester ants don't need liquid feeders.
 

 

 

[NightsWebs]

The feeders work great and my Pogonomyrmex and novos are always on these things.  As far as chewing the Kevlar they sure do like to chew.  The only other thing I do to help with crust forming is I drop some water on the feeders daily to keep them moist and helps clear minor debris that forms.  both of my Pogonomyrmex colonies 600+ and 100+ use them constantly as well as my novo colony 600+.  Ill be ordering more of these from Drew soon.

[Tpro4]

how will you refill them?

[dspdrew]

how will you refill them?

 
You take the cap off.
 

[Tpro4]

oh, okay nice design

[Loops117]

Will these work for C.Pennsylvanicus? If so, how do i order one or a couple.

[dspdrew]

They should work fine. I'll add them to the Marketplace subforum if I decide to start selling them.

[Okeedoke22]

very nice design. Great solution.

[PTAntFan]

Nice work, Drew.

[PTAntFan]

 

Looks good. Funny how it took a while before I realized looping it over solved a lot of the minor problems with this design. Are those wicks sponges?

 

I made the loop so that more ants can drink simultaneously. Those are called sponge cloths but it's not a sponge. It's made out of cellulose and cotton. It's food safe and compostable so It's safe for ants.

 

Like these, Barristan?  http://www.amazon.co...ds=sponge cloth

[benjiwuf]

Hey drew, would you mind sending me the .stl file for this? I'd love to try them out.

Edit: what size kevlar thread did you use also?

Edited by benjiwuf, July 14 2016 - 8:43 AM.

[Foogoo]

Hey drew, would you mind sending me the .stl file for this? I'd love to try them out.

I was wondering the same thing, if you're willing to share I'm sure more than a few of us would like the file as well.

[Kevin]

Me too, I'd like to take a look at the design.

[NightsWebs]

They work great except my ants have done the impossible and chewed through the Kevlar strings. I know impossible but not for Pogonomyrmex and Novomessors.

[dspdrew]

Yeah Pogonomyrmex can eventually chew through the kevlar, but that's okay because they shouldn't really need any of these feeders.

 

I'll post the .stl file later.

[dspdrew]

Hey drew, would you mind sending me the .stl file for this? I'd love to try them out.

Edit: what size kevlar thread did you use also?

 
This is the kevlar string I used.

 

https://www.amazon.c...duct/B009PAOLP6(seller: Deals Only Web Store )

 

Here are the .stl files.

Attached Files

•  Liquid_feeder_01_1.2_base.STL   1.14MB   116 downloads
•  Liquid_feeder_01_1.2_cap.STL   4.67MB   109 downloads

[Foogoo]

Thanks!