Posted:03/09/2013 8:00PM
A 3D printable Food and Water Dish for a Bird Cage that was made in OpenSCAD
From time to time, I share some of the 3D models I create with Thingiverse.com and this is one of those models.
Let's face it, birds love to file their beak by chewing things and my pet bird could put a termite to shame in sheer destructive prowess! I have seen books turned into pulp, beak stones obliterated, and perches chewed into mulch... Yet recently (to my misfortune) my bird has acquired a taste for the exotic and she (presumably) has decided that the odd shaped food and water dish (a item that nobody sales a replacement for) was looking scrumptious!!
Thus, while she works on destroying her current dish, I decided to try and make my own replacement dish (in light of the inevitable) and figured I would share my results.
When it comes to food you can never be too careful!
Please read about the type of plastic you are going to use in a food application and see if that plastic is harmful to eat or drink from.
Likewise, based upon the information I myself have found online, it appears that ABS plastic is the normal plastic used for most food applications and is generally considered safe to eat or drink from; however, there are several grades of ABS plastic available and some of those grades are safe for food or drink while others are not.
Furthermore, 3D printers have a tendency to leave small microscopic gaps and pits that can allow bacteria to grow inside the printed model that cannot be easily sterilized, thus a food safe sealant for the food safe plastic utilized is recommended to avoid this problem.
Note, if you intend to use this item to replace an actual bird dish (since birds do enjoy tearing things up) you should be aware that printed models can sometimes have stringy and sharp microscopic filaments covering the model surface after printing; so a lot of time should be spent cleaning up the material (via sanding or heat brazing) to ensure that the plastic has into a solid smooth surface. While sandblasting and a nice hot rinse might be useful in achieving such goal, I myself have not attempted to use such methods and such attributes should be considered prior to utilizing.
Enjoy!
By Mike Mclain