Wednesday, August 14, 2019

3D Printed Possum Trap Adjustment

Above: The commercial trap with container
Challenge: To add an extra component to a commercial Possum Trap to increase its efficiency's.
Background: This is a possum trap that is deployed on a farm belonging to a student in the classroom.  The Australian Brush Tailed Possum is a horrendous pest in New Zealand causing terrible damage to the New Zealand environment.   A number of our students are actively encouraging pest control and assisting their parents on running of farms.   This trap is a commercial trap with a bar that is sprung when the possum reaches into the trap to take the bait contained on the inside.    The student concerned with this trap wanted to protect the bait which was removed by a possum before the trap was sprung.    He wanted to house the bait inside the trap, which was a combination of Cinnamon and apple, which would attract the possum by the smell, causing the Possum to spring the trap but not to be able to actually get to the bait, allowing the student to replace the bait and re-set the trap.     3D Printing allowed the student to modify the trap by producing a custom component for the bar to complete the project easily.    Testing of the trap once the bait container was added allowed the student to see clearly that the bait would be held in place and the trap mechanism would not be affected.   The trap is now going to be re-set on the students farm to monitor its effectiveness to see if it would complete the project.
Above: Design showing the attachments to the bar
Level of Difficulty: Medium - the piece that was produced to protect the bait needed to be measured carefully as it needed to work in conjunction with existing pieces.    The student also created two connection points so that the container could be attached to the bar.
Size: The box is 80mm high 55mm across and 15mm wide - these dimensions are all relative to the box being fitted to the existing bar. 
Time frame:   Three hours to complete, a basic design project that is more about its practical application than looking good.  Conceivably this could be refined to incorporate storage etc, but the intention is for the smell to still be possible but not allow the animal to access the bait so it does not need to be replaced as often as is currently.    There is potential for refinement but the student just wanted this to work.
What we would do differently/next steps for student: Minimal.   The student is going to deploy this bait container with the trap and test it for its effectiveness, which should be straightforward.  There has been some discussion about creating small holes in the base of the design to see if this would encourage the smelling of the bait, but it will be trailed as is first.

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