3D Printed Modular Ant Nests From Small to Large by starcraftjunkie

Last crawled date: 3 years ago

This is not an original idea, there are so many different designs using the same shape, hydration, and connection type that I don't even know who the original designer is. With that said, here is my take on it and adapted it into different sizes and configurations.
I have a bunch of designs from smaller nests all the way up to large ones and systems of medium ones.
Printer tolerances have been built into the models and all prints should work well as I've printed them off many times.
Hydration is served through connections that attach to nests and humidity is done by stuffing cotton and adding enough water to saturate (but not flood, it's not water tight and will flood the nest) in the small reservoirs with the holes on the side. A cover for the cotton might be beneficial.
The acrylic box used is from Dollar Tree for, you guessed it, a dollar. Just a simple drill bit at slow speeds and maybe a Dremel attachment and it should screw between it just fine. Just be careful and make sure your bed is leveled, or else the thread screw will not work. I can't find the box online right off hand as I went in person to a store and bought them. They're in like 3 spots at my local store.
For the top, cut acrylic is really nice and easy to prevent ant escape. My plastic is purchased through dollar tree https://www.dollartree.com/bulk/Plastic-Picture-Frame by using a fully plastic standing picture frame for maximum plastic yield. A must is to use a plastic cutting knife like this https://www.amazon.com/Hyde-Tools-45730-Plastic-Laminate/dp/B000C027ZE/ref=sr_1_21?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1517955733&sr=1-21&keywords=plastic+cutting and a straight edge with clamps (I used cheapo harbor freight ones for like 3 bucks). These are a must, don't try and cut it with a razor blade and no straight edge, you'll hate your life.