Prototype for Outdoor Fruit Fly Catcher

This is the prototype for my 3D-Printing Challenge entry.

Electronics

1. Perfboard
2. Battery
3. LED light
4. Transistor
5. Resistor

Other Materials

1. 3D Printer

After doing some background research, I discovered that flies are naturally born with vision that only allows them to focus on one specific part of an object. Using that to my advantage, I created a hollow, 1-cm thick cylinder as my first prototype, which features a cone-shaped opening at the top for the fruit flies to go in.

To improve my prototype's design, I decided to split the bottom container in half to make removing flies easier. My improved design features a bottom container to store the flies and a lid that can be put in place. The top 10cm of my bottom container is 0.1mm wider than the rest of the cylinder, which allows the lid to go in; the lid also features a slot, which is why it can fit into the bottom base. However, after 3D printing this prototype, I realized that the lid was slightly too loose on the container. I plan to fix this by decreasing the 0.1mm opening to 0.04mm.

To further improve my prototype, I designed a circuit that can detect when the water level in the container was too low. When the battery switch is turned on, the LED is initially turned on because there is no current between the two wires. However, once the sensors are placed in the water, an electric current will be created through the wires, causing the LED to turn off. When the water level drops below a certain amount, the electric current will once again be disconnected, turning the LED back on.

To finish off my prototype, I soldered all of the electronics onto a perfboard, forming a circuit that could be glued onto the container using a layer of silicone sealant glue. Since the lid was slightly loose, I made the gap between the lid and container smaller, which allowed the lid to fit more snugly. For aesthetic purposes, I also used double-sided tape to attach a small 3D-printed box to the lid.