14 DAY TRIAL // Even though the gift giving day has come and gone, perhaps you can still find the time to give one or two. Especially if you're one of those people who follow the old calendars. If you know someone who owns a fish tank, we might have the perfect thing.
Fish need to eat like every other living thing in the world. There are two ways to go about this: actively and passively.
Which is to say, you can be one of those people who periodically feed their fish themselves, or you can use an automatic feeder.
It doesn't even need to be run by any electronics, unlike filtration systems. If you design it well enough, it can have gravity do the heavy work. However, sometimes electronics are required.
The 3D printed automatic pet feeder for fish
Automatic pet feeders aren't really such a big shock. They've been on sale for cats, dogs and hamsters for years by this point.
However, when it comes to fish, it's not that easy to implement the concept, what with water pressure actively working against the weight of the food. It doesn't help that fish food tends to float, being lighter than water.
The people at Helios Labs managed to come up with plans to 3D print one anyway though. Based in Bangkok, Thailand, the company specializes in graphics, interior design, and product design. They also produce a news publication, BIT Magazine.
Helios Labs found itself in the need of something that could feed fish over the holidays, while they were away.
Their invention turned out to be pretty small, but nevertheless capable of feeding their aquatic pets with little difficulty for up to one month.
Commander Shepard won't have to worry about his fish dying of hunger between missions anymore. Kind of makes you wonder why the humans of the Mass Effect universe lacked an automated system like this. But we digress.
Arduino software and a modified 9g micro servo had to be installed after the main body was 3D printed from green plastic (yours doesn't have to be green of course).
The servo controls the desired levels of food, which will be released at prearranged feeding times, like the early afternoon or late evening.
The servo can detach and quiet between feeding times. This was required due to it remaining constantly on and jittering between feeding times because of “creep.”
Availability
Currently, the fish feeder is still a prototype, with the designs (made in Sketchup8) still in need of some refinements. Retail-ready models shouldn't be long in arriving though.
