Cricket Collector

thingiverse

This is a compact, vacuum-powered gadget for capturing live reptile food on the fly. As built here, it can snatch around half a dozen small crickets and hold them captive inside the collection tube even as the fan keeps spinning away. Release the trigger to drop them into another container or straight into your pet's enclosure. Non-printable components: * A clear plastic tube measuring 20mm in diameter by 250mm in length * A 5015-style, 5-volt DC brushless radial fan * A standard doorbell switch * A 9-volt battery connector * A 9-volt battery * Screws to secure the fan and switch in place This device was designed with a piece of clear styrene tubing and a doorbell switch I just happened to have lying around. Right now, I'm experimenting with refinements to boost the (negative) static intake pressure of the fan with the goal of creating an even more powerful vacuum effect. I previously tried using an axial-flow fan but had to reject it: its static pressure was woefully inadequate and kept blowing frass and shed cricket skins right back into my face.