32 replies to this topic

[Del]

Hi all, figured I would post this here to get peoples opinions on the design. Very rough prototype a this stage, and it has highlighted a few areas to work on.

 

The original form was sculpted in polymer clay, from which I made a silicone mould. These shots are of a smaller founding formicarium, but the process is the same.

 

I cast a blank in resin with a piece of unglazed tile embedded in the bottom. This hydration system owes a lot to Drew's research on this forum.

 

I cleaned and sanded the cast and added a magnetised acrylic face. The water tank is also made out of acrylic, and has a sponge to wick the water to the tile. For some reason a gap developed that the ants could fit through, so I had to patch it temporarily with clay. Either the resin is uneven or the thin acrylic has warped. These Iridomyrmex bicknelli have decided to nest in the tube, perhaps because it is more enclosed. It's possible that the cut out walls of the nest don't do enough to restrict airflow, so the whole thing seems like a giant cavern. One more thing to think about for the next iteration. 

Edited by Del, February 16 2017 - 4:27 AM.

[Leo]

nice design 

Edited by Leo, February 16 2017 - 5:19 AM.

[T.C.]

Looks good.

[Del]

A slight improvement to the above design. The water tank is now flush with the nest body, and does not leak which is always a plus. However the nest is still too deep, making the whole unit too tall. I may have to sculpt a new, thinner version. Feedback always welcome

[dspdrew]

Glad to see someone who actually does some research first.

[Del]

Less research and more trial and error I guess. My colonies are growing so fast that they are going to have to make do with sub-par designs until I can come up with something I am happy with

[dspdrew]

I'm talking about your hydration method haha.

[Del]

Oh, I get you
I remember speaking to you a little while ago about my trying and failing to get a moisture gradient in grout/plaster. Realised that I'd need to restrict hydration to a small section of the nest and your discovery of unglazed ceramic was perfect, so hats off to you

[Del]

Things have been slowly progressing in my quest for the ideal formicaria. I sculpted a new thinner nest blank, altered the hydration system and added a custom made water tank that (mostly) does not leak. Suggestions and criticisms welcome!

 

1. Sculpting/finishing the nest 

 

2. Rather than embed the tile in the resin I have tried to use small individually removable tile pieces, the idea being they can be replaced with plastic or resin blanks to reduce nest humidity for ant varieties that prefer it drier. These will eventually be screwed down with a strip of ABS or other rigid plastic to hold them in place. Pictured here is a rough mock up using acrylic glued in place. Predictably the acrylic warped with exposure to water and the tiles began to rattle a bit.

 

3. Overall, I think it is an improvement on the last version seen here. There are still several problems to be resolved including resin toxicity and tweaking the hydration system

 

[Del]

I decided to move my Notoncus sp. colony into the mock-up to see how it fared.
 

 

 

They moved in fine, but within a day they were dying in droves. I discovered I had used a polyurethane resin which apparently is toxic to ants (http://www.formicult...-casting-resin/) and immediately shifted them back to a test tube. However, I have since kept a Polyrhachis worker sealed in the nest for the last 5 days with no ill effect.

 

The mass die off occurred during an unseasonal spike in temperature which suggests dehydration may have been a cause. Despite this, there seems to be a bead of standing water around the edge of the tile area:

 

Does anyone have any thoughts about a] the toxicity of the resin and b] whether such a bead of water will be problematic for a colony living in this nest? I have considered adding a layer of stainless steel mesh above the ceramic layer to ensure brood are not sitting directly on water, but would rather not bother if this is unlikely to be a problem.

 

[Del]

Quick update: A 'canary' Iridomyrmex colony has been in place for 48 hours with no ill effects. Resin toxicity couldn't be genus specific, surely?

[Del]

A big change of plans since the last update. I had originally planned to machine the cured sculpey into the right shape to be cast, but it is just too soft and crumbly to hold the form well so I gave up trying. Instead I 3d printed some 'shell' parts which will house the sculpted nest areas.

 

 

After filling and finishing, the test casts came out great.

 

 

I added a small 3d printed bracket to hold in a piece of tile, and the usual water reservoir at the bottom. There are still some issues to be ironed out, but I am happy with the results so far.

 

[dspdrew]

Looks nice. What is the final nest made of?

[noebl1]

Wow, these look great!  These have a really nice/clean professional look to them.

 

EDIT:  Question -  After some recent posts, I've been looking at some of the bisque tiles as well.  Any way to pour the mold so you can cast it over the tile, so you don't have to mount it after?

Edited by noebl1, January 30 2018 - 4:20 AM.

[Del]

Wow, these look great!  These have a really nice/clean professional look to them.

 

EDIT:  Question -  After some recent posts, I've been looking at some of the bisque tiles as well.  Any way to pour the mold so you can cast it over the tile, so you don't have to mount it after?

I did this originally earlier in the thread. I had to use a one-part mould and it means you can't remove it for cleaning which could be an issue

 

Looks nice. What is the final nest made of?

I'm using an epoxy resin. Still looking for one that sets white though

[noebl1]

 

Wow, these look great!  These have a really nice/clean professional look to them.

 

EDIT:  Question -  After some recent posts, I've been looking at some of the bisque tiles as well.  Any way to pour the mold so you can cast it over the tile, so you don't have to mount it after?

I did this originally earlier in the thread. I had to use a one-part mould and it means you can't remove it for cleaning which could be an issue

 

 

I apologize, I did miss that

[nurbs]

Great thread Del. Keep it coming!

[dspdrew]

Looks nice. What is the final nest made of?

I'm using an epoxy resin. Still looking for one that sets white though

 

 

Why not just use a colorant?

[sgheaton]

Fantastic! Right up with that "Lab-View" look. 

[Del]

 

Looks nice. What is the final nest made of?

I'm using an epoxy resin. Still looking for one that sets white though

 

 

Why not just use a colorant?

 

I do, the resin I have cures clear. Its just that if I don't use enough the end result is slightly translucent and the detail does not show up properly. In the last two photos I posted the leftmost nest does not have enough pigment and has a soapstone-like effect. If I add enough pigment to make it fully opaque the resin cures much more slowly, around 5-7 days. This is not impossible to work around, but there is the risk of deformation when I remove the still-soft casts from the mould. It would be easier to start from a white-set resin and tint it slightly with grey pigment.