From time to time I have seen some feeders designed to hold an apple for those birds which like them. Here it is the Blackbirds which really go for them when I put some on top of the fruit cage. The, though albeit not too expensive, cost of buying such a feeder has put me off as there is no guarantee the local birds will use one. One day as I was browsing for ideas for 3d printing on Thingiverse I happened on a design for one. It can be seen
HERE. All I had to do was download the .stl files and use Ultimate Cura to produce the gcode file for my 3D printer.
It is in three parts. The main body plus two sections of perch. I didn't have any glue suitable for PLA plastics so I used hot melt glue to hold everything in place. I fixed the apple in place by inserting an oval brad nail from each side.
Only time will tell whether the birds will be attracted to it and enjoy a bit of apple. The only reservation I have about the design is the short length of the perches. They seem to be too short for a Blackbird to balance on. I will print some longer perches if need be.
You are getting a dab hand at this printing malarkey.
ReplyDeleteA few weeks ago I was in a workshop with a 3D metal printer. It requires a sintering oven or some such and did a fair job for prototyping. The chap said it was very slow but quicker to set up than a four or five axis CNC machine. I'll have to remember to see it working.
Adrian: It would be great to see it in action.
DeleteI like it ...will you be selling them?
ReplyDeleteDave: Unfortunately as it's not my original design I think that would be against the rules for using the Thingiverse web site.
DeleteThat looks great! I can't believe you "printed" that! Amazing technology and you seem to be able to use it all! I am way behind you in mastering technology! Well done, John!
ReplyDeleteEllen: Thank you. All praise goes to the Chinese designers of the 3D printer and the people who write the programs to control it.
DeleteThat is a brilliant piece of work. I have a feeling I bought one years ago in a sale. Not sure what happened to it though. You may even attract Waxwings in the winter :)
ReplyDeleteRR: It will be a while to see whether the birds like it. They seem to take a week or two to get used to things whenever I change or add feeders.
Delete