Leaf Cutting Ant Forum

Ok here we go, take two



Again please point out flaws etc and il see if I can fix them, I also have other ideas, to make it fully modular

That's a really interesting idea and beautifully illustrated.

I like the clean, "magnety" aspect to it. If I have one concern it is that it could be susceptible to breaking free if the pipe had a knock or the nest unit was pulled away a bit.

With regards to the pipe being knocked I think it should be ok, as the pipe goes through the glass :

https://gyazo.com/2e3af5d8b865832282a4dc96fabdbf70

But I agree with what you mean by it being pulled away, Il try work that one out

Ruairidh wrote:With regards to the pipe being knocked I think it should be ok, as the pipe goes through the glass :

https://gyazo.com/2e3af5d8b865832282a4dc96fabdbf70

But I agree with what you mean by it being pulled away, Il try work that one out

Aah, I see, I hadn't realised that. I'm loving your illustrations... I think you've got the job as designer/draughtsman. Uncle Bob can be manufacturing.. The rest of us can do Sales/Marketing.... I'll set up a Limited Company in a minute.. We can all have a £1 share each.. What shall we call it ?

How about Uncle Bobs Ant Accessories

this could be a potential solution:

https://gyazo.com/c2daa08e451c85f193f04c41cf15a00d

Im sorry for triple posting but I cant seem to edit my posts after a while. I think I have come up with a quick and easy to assemble, modular LCA setup here we go:

https://gyazo.com/755d535e237b2ff961e1be2681672941

This (in theory) allows you to easily attach and detach pipes without the need for silicone etc. And will also stay together even if knocked or pulled (in theory)

https://gyazo.com/0c47acde7ffdceaf66c431db27e3f4b7

This is a vent that could be attached to a hole not used by a pipe or for a hole dedicated to ventilation, If you didnt want anymore ventilation then the mesh could be swapped out for a piece of glass or clear plastic like acitate and act as a "plug" for the hole.

All these would attach to the outside of a glass nest with holes drilled in them (i was thinking four holes near the bottom of the nest, one on each side for the walkways, and two on either the top or opposite of each other near the top of two sides for the vents) allowing you to pick and choose what holes you will use as well as maybe adjust ventilation?

Again please scrutinise it!

Edit: I think an admin can merge my "spam" posts together

Great ideas.. great design.

I hesitate in saying anything negative because it can come across a bit, well, negative. I'd also add that I am no expert in these matters.

But my two pennies worth would be that from a commercial aspect, even though what you propose is both stylish and functional, you would possibly have a high production cost. All the little intricate bits would need machining. every little extra detail, protusion, recess etc. would cost.

My view would be that this problem has (almost certainly) already been solved and you would be better trying to use a solution that is already in production. Buy in large quantities where possible to keep the price down

I may be wrong on this of course.. as I say, I'm no expert.. far from it.. I'm just really interested in design.

I think a good start point is getting the main tank design. I have some ideas but I'm no draughtsman..

Most "off the peg" solutions I've seen revolve around a series of glass/acrylic pods, heated by a heat mat. But, I think that, given the increased climate management you get with a moat/water-based offering, it is still worth investigating.

I think that the nest units in the tank would need to be "sealed" so that ants couldn't dump in the moat. Feeding station could be external. If the units were sealed then you might not need a moat round the top.

But if it was all sealed then how would you get access to drop in the ants in the first place and to prepare the nest units??

A lot of questions... not many answers I'm afraid. That's where you come in Design like the wind Roddy

Sorry, I'm double posting now.. another thing to try and solve is how to get sensors/cables in and out of the set up without it looking ugly.

This could be fairly straightforward if the nest boxes are sealed because you could drill an access hole in the back of the tank? You could even face it with a false back to cover the cables and have that depicting an amazonian rainforest?

Just thinking out loud really.

Will take a read through this at some point but for now can you tell me what programme you are using to do this?