BEE KEEPING IN 3D

If you are like me, you are at least any of the following:

A fan of beekeeping and understand the importance of beekeeping.
Want to keep bees but have learned that it can be costly.
Impatient and do not want to wait for shipping times.
Nowhere near a store that offers beekeeping supplies.
Have basic wood construction skills to the level that you can make the basics like boxes but do not have the tools, patience, skills or confidence for the fine parts of the process of building an entire hive.

In an effort to alleviate a lot of the difficulties associated with beekeeping in rural areas of Newfoundland, I have been reading, collecting and designing possible 3D print models of parts and tools associated with beekeeping. Below you will find 3D printed designs that I have either created or collected. I found that I can produce a lot of the parts and tools required for beekeeping for a couple of dollars each. I have done the math and determined that if you use these tools, you could save around 100 dollars per hive.

Below you will find the product, credit to the designer, whether I created it or not, and whether is has been used/tested yet and extra details.

It being march, and it appears to be nowhere near spring, I cannot say that I have tested any of these projects fully, but please check in regularly for updates

I am offering the files to anyone interested. If you take them, please let me know how it went. Also, if you do not have a printer, and interested, you can contact me and I will assist you in any way possible.

Please keep in mind that we are as new to 3D printing as we are to beekeeping (A busy year of learning indeed). We are in no way professional in either fields, but are willing to help or discuss any.

IF THERE IS SOMETHING YOU WOULD LIKE DESIGNED FOR 3D PRINTING FOR BEEKEEPING, PLEASE LET ME KNOW AT mrcsbeesnl@gmail.com. I am always up for a challenge!

WATER FEEDER

Designer: Mikeymakesit

File: WATER FEEDER

Was It printed: YES

Was it used/tested: YES (used indoors, not outdoors with the bees yet)

Extra details: Will require a large mouth jar. I found a large mouth pickle jar perfect. It does the trick if you need to offer a water source and is great for bees to attach to them and not drown.

QUEEN EXCLUDER/REDUCER

Designer: MrCsbees

File: EXCLUDER LOCKS, EXCLUDER

Was it printed: Yes, and put together.

Was it used/tested: No, not yet.

Extra details: I had to find a way to print something that is this large, so I split the reducer to 9 small sheets (3 sheets by 3 sheets). I then had to design locking mechanisms for each corner of each sheet. This project might be time consuming if you have a slow machine, as it might take a couple of days to print off all of the parts. I used a 0% inlay. You will have to print 9 copies of the actual sheets and you will have to print locks for the corners and edges. You can glue the locking mechanisms, but i feel that since there will be no major weight being placed on the top of the excluder, glue probably will not be required as it is already very snug. I found that I had to use a hammer to tap in the locking mechanisms.

MOUSE GUARD/BEE BARRIER

Designer: MrCsbees

File: MOUSE GUARD

Was it printed: Yes

Was it used/tested: No, not yet.

Extra details: there are two clips that require to be screwed into the sides of the hive. My printer can only print anything as large as 200 mm in length, so I had to print two halves. I have included a locking mechanism. You might want to use some contact glue to the locking mechanism. The nice thing about this design is that you can flip it if you want a mouse guard or if you need to ground the bees for a period of time (locked in, but still allow a airflow.

ENTRANCE SQUARE

Designer: MrCsBees

File: ENTRANCE SQUARE

Was it printed: yes

Was it used/tested: no

Extra Details: A perfect protector for the hole that I usually drill into the upper top of the supers to allow air flow. A screw/nail is required in the middle of the square. You can then spin the square to what type of ventalilation you would like.

FRAME HOLDER (1)

Designer: sebastien lelievre

File: FRAME HOLDER

Was it printed: Yes

Was it used/Tested: no

Extra Details: These are definitely strong enough to hold 3 filled frames. When printing, you may have to have supports. This version definitely appears stronger than the other frame holder posted.

FRAME HOLDER (2)

Designer: llmandrakell

File: Frame Holder

Was it printed: Yes

Was it used/Tested: no

Extra Details: This seems to be a less strong version. It might hold one frame at a time. They are small for travel though as they take little to no space.

GERMAN FEEDER BOX

Designer: MrCsBees

File: FEEDER COVER, FEEDER BOTTOM

Was it printed: Yes

Was is used/tested: No, Not yet.

Extra details: This is one of the items that i really wanted to design. As I stated in my Intro, I can build general items like boxes, but I either do not have the confidence, time, patience or time to do the little details. This model was my first attempt at making a plastic mesh. It requires a box with a bottom. The bottom will require a slotted hole roughly 3/4 of an inch by 3 inches. You will screw the bottom of the feeder into the wood and seal it around the hole. The top of the feeder will sit on top of the bottom.

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