Tag Archives: Insert

Peanut Butter Mousetrap design notes

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I treat this blog as part of my lab notebook on printing and designs to help keep me organized.  Having it automatically add tags, adding a time stamp, organizing everything in chronological order, and then making it available for others to learn and comment back are all just a huge bonuses.

Anyhow, here are some of my design notes for this Peanut Butter Mousetrap Insert:

  1. I was going for a minimal design – minimal plastic, printing, and machine time.
  2. I wanted something that would be “ABS warp” resistant.  Even if you end up with a warped flat surface, clamping the insert between the lid and the jar should even it out.
  3. I wanted a resilient design.  Even if the insert is badly warped after clamping down, a flat surface is not critical to its function and it should still work.
  4. I wanted something that could be adapted easily.  I don’t know how to use OpenSCAD, so a parametric design is kinda out the window.  Even so you could print this object at full size and then cut it down to what you need.  1
  1. For the record, I did download OpenSCAD before designing this.  I just wanted to get it out there. [↩]

Peanut Butter Jar Mousetrap Insert

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Peanut Butter Jar Mousetrap Insert

Peanut Butter Jar Mousetrap Insert

Here’s my entry in the Mouse Get! Challenge from Cathal Garvey.  I call it the “Peanut Butter Jar Mousetrap Insert.”

The idea is pretty simple.  Mice probably like peanut butter enough to squeeze into a small opening for a chance to eat it.  If the opening is difficult to wedge back open they might not be able to get back out.

So, buy a jar of peanut butter, eat most of it, leave some peanut butter at the bottom, cut out most of the top from the lid, print the “Peanut Butter Jar Mousetrap Insert“, put the insert with the pointy bits going inside, close the lid, prop it up somewhere so it doesn’t roll away, and wait for your peanut butter covered mouse!