Franzis Bat Detector Case

Last crawled date: 4 years, 2 months ago

Bat Detector Case
This is a custom compact case for the Bat Detector Kit by Franzis, which makes the ultrasonic sounds that bats make audible so you can spot them in the wild. You can get the kit here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/3645652760/https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/3645652760/https://www.amazon.de/dp/3645652760/
The original kit uses the cardboard box it comes in as the case, which felt a bit clunky and cheap to me, so i designed a neat case that can fit all the components neatly and more compactly and on top of all even looks awesome!
Assembly
The original kit comes with assembly instructions in English and German. Just put the components into this new case and use the wiring provided with the kit to connect them to each other. You have to put in the speaker before the control board and the battery because it is held in place by them. See the labels on the inside and the attached images for orientation of the components.
How to print
The labeling and bats on the front are optional. Here's how i printed my case:

First i printed the labels (labels.stl) as one layer (make sure to adjust the model scale to only be one layer in your slicer in white PLA with 0.2mm layer height. If you just want the contours, like i did, set your slicer to 1 shell/perimeter and no solid infill. Also, if you usually print your first layer with 200% extrusion width (as slic3r prusa edition/prusaslicer does), you might want to change that to 100% like i did. If you don't have perfect layer adhesion, this step will be a nightmare, but it was worth it for me. I recommend using "exclude region" in octoprint or similar tools so you can print failed regions of the print again.


Right afterwards i printed the front case (front.stl) on top of it using black PLA with 0.2mm layer height, but the first layer at 0.35mm layer height, with basically default settings in slic3r prusa edition/prusa slicer. The print is optimized to not need supports. If you print with a higher layer height you might run into problems with the speaker holder.

The back plate was printed with the same settings as the front case.
If you center all files on your build plate, the labels and the front case will be perfectly aligned.
If you prefer the labels and bats on the front to be cutouts instead, you can do that. I found that to look extremely bad, but the the file for that (front-cutout.stl) is there.
Additionally, i provided versions of the front case and back plate without rounding, should you prefer that.
Have fun spotting bats with your new stylish bat detector!
The bat silhuettes on the front are public domain and taken from KissCC0: https://www.kisscc0.com/clipart/bat-silhouette-drawing-download-assortment-of-bats-rkiqtn/