Let’s Print a Cat/Pet Feeding Device (Part 3)

In this third part of the series, we print three panels for the enclosure and the rotary platform. If you missed the first or second part, visit the overview page to access them.

The Files

You will find all required files for the following prints in the GitHub repository:

The Left Side

• File: LR2051-404A.stl
• Material: PETG (Galaxy Black)
• Layer height: 0.2 mm
• Print bed: Powder coated
• Supports: No supports required
• Difficulty: Medium (Warping!)
• Filament: 126g
• Print Duration: ~10h

The Right Side with Funnel

• File: LR2051-405A.stl
• Material: PETG (Galaxy Black)
• Layer height: 0.2 mm
• Print bed: Powder coated
• Supports: No supports required
• Difficulty: Medium (Warping!)
• Filament: 132g
• Print Duration: ~10h

The Funnel End

• File: LR2051-408A.stl
• Material: PETG (Galaxy Black)
• Layer height: 0.2 mm
• Print bed: Powder coated
• Supports: No supports required
• Difficulty: Easy
• Filament: 11g
• Print Duration: ~1h

The Top Side

• File: LR2051-406A.stl
• Material: PETG (Galaxy Black)
• Layer height: 0.2 mm
• Print bed: Powder coated
• Supports: No supports required
• Difficulty: Medium
• Filament: 110g
• Print Duration: ~8h

The Turntable Platform

This is a print with two different filaments.

• File: LR2051-407A.stl
• Materials:
  • up to 0.8mm: PLA Transparent (Fillamentum PLA Crystal Clear)
  • from 1.0mm: PLA Completely Opaque (Prusament Galaxy Black)
• Layer height: 0.2 mm
• Print bed: As smooth as possible.
• Supports: No supports required
• Difficulty: Hard
• Filament: 108g
• Print Duration: ~8h

This is the most difficult print for this project. Please read carefully:

We use PLA as material, because it is stiffer as PETG and it will allow a smoother surface. If you like to embed rotary and/or fill sensors to the project, you need to print using a fully transparent and an opaque material.

Either in your slicer, or manually while printing the transparent filament, increase the nozzle temperature to the maximum the transparent material will allow – to further improve the surface quality and also minimise the enclosed air between the layers.

After the filament change to the opaque one, change the temperature back to get the best precision and quality of the print.

Before wasting an awful lot of filament, cut a small portion of this model and perform some tests.

The transparent layer does not have to be like glass, but if you put a LED under it, it should clearly shine trough. A little bit of diffraction is actually helpful for the fill sensors.

Conclusion

This is the end of the third part. In the next part we will talk about the enclosure panels in the front and back of the device. While all of the previous prints were universal, you might want to do changes on them – depending on the components you want to use.

If you have any questions, missed information, or simply want to provide feedback, feel free to comment below or contact me on Twitter. 😄

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