1 yr. ago • 98%

A funneling system i made to keep my automatic dog feeders topped off.

My automatic dog feeders work great but only hold enough food for a few days so I designed and printed a funneling system and a resovoir to hold the entire bag so all I have to do is fill the resovoir when I get a new bag. Works great.

Edit: don't know why the photo uploaded sideways. Sorry about that.

36 comments

Now you need a bigger feeder to keep your automatic feeder feeder topped up.

31
- LMAO, i seriously thought about doing some kind of crazy rube goldberg setup for it. I'm still contemplating running a water line to the water dispenser so it's always topped off too.
  
  11
  
  You should. My best friend hates adding water to his keurig machine. So he designed a float and such, mailed me the tank lid and components with a diagram of how they should fit. I designed and built the rack that fits on the lid and mailed it all back to him. Works like a charm.
  
  2
So your are automatically refilling the automatic food dispensers?

15
- Yep feederception.
  
  9
  
  You should make this into a smart appliance , responding to posts on mastodon or lemmy , this way it's fedderated feeder feeding fluffy dudes' food.
  
  2
who feeds the feeder’s feeders?

8
- I hear he's working on a funneling system for that as well.
  
  1
I love it! It looks like a robot with legs. You should put some googly eyes on the bucket 😁

8
- Yes!
  
  3
How do those bowls work for slowing down their chow time? We've got one dog that eats so quickly, he throws it back up sometimes.

5
- We have a puzzle bowl for our dog. Works great!
  
  5
- They're on a timer and I can set how much food is dispensed. I feed them twice a day different amounts for each dog and they know (most of the time) which bowl is theirs and don't touch the other one.
  
  EDIT: I realized you might be talking about the puzzle bowls specifically. The food fills the crevices and it's harder to get the food out so it slows them down some.
  
  4
- Great as long as they don't figure out how to knock the bowl over and eat off of the floor. Went from about 5-10 seconds to around 30-45.
  
  3
  
  You can't see it in the picture, but I have these braces I printed that holds the bowls in place. They can spin but they don't come out.
  
  6
- What's the problem? I assume your dog just eats it's vomit like a good pepper right?
  
  3
  
  You would be correct but he's not the best at cleaning the carpet up after his ejection event.
  
  7
What brand is that water reservoir/bowl? I haven't gotten one yet because I don't like how the ones I'd seen all just look like a cheap plastic box but I really like the look of the one you have.

5
- https://a.co/d/4CqLtKb
  
  It's super nice. You just twist the tank off and fill it from the bottom. And it holds a lot. I refill it around every 2 weeks. Had it for years.
  
  3
How often do you clean it? Seems like that would be more hassle than refilling the feeders lol

4
Awesome, well done. Im sure your dogs are happy to have you as owner.

Not sure what parts are printed, but Im guessing

4
- Thanks so much! That's makes me happy. It's just me and my buddies and they are my world.
  
  So the container at the top and the shelf are bought. I cut a hole in the bottom of the container and printed a funnel to go in there. The tubes and the gray covers to the feeders are printed. I also printed the colored feet under the feeders to lift them, the chute so the food makes it into the bowl, and you can't see it but there's a brace connected to the frames holding the bowls in place.
  
  4
  
  Wow thats huge, it looks even better now
  
  2
Nicely done! One of the most satisfying parts of having a 3D printer is being able to conjure up a solution out of nothingness.

4
But what about the water? I need to see a connection to a water line with a float to turn in when low! Stat!

2
You have inspired me... I only have 1 dog so it should be a bit easier. I even have thr same food container you have, Costco special. It would be nice to just fill the container and forget about it.

2
- It wasn't a huge hassle to fill their feeders, but of course, that's what 3d printing is all about. Not necessarily fixing a problem, but making things more efficient and convenient. And it's super nice to just have my dog food (which is on a subscription to be delivered monthly) show up and just fill the container and I don't have to worry about them being fed because my schedule can be all over the place at time. I even have an automatic sliding door so I can let them out remotely if need be. At home, I just tell Alexa to open the door to let them out.
  
  2
This is awesome!! Nice work!

2
- Thanks so much!
  
  1
This is glorious. I really can't wait to get a 3d printer, love this kind of problem solving

2
- Thanks! Problem solving is honestly my favorite thing to do with my printers. I am constantly looking around the house for things that I can make better with prints.
  
  2
I've got a wopet feeder for my cat and would kill for the STLs for the legs and chute lol (but please ofc don't feel obligated to share them free or otherwise). Same reason as you, so I can have it dump into a puzzle feeder.

Anyway, amazing work, any chance a guy can obtain some of your STL files?

1
- Of course. I'll shoot you a DM when I get back home. If I forget please DM me, lol.
  
  2
  
  Thank you I super appreciate it 😁😁😁
  
  2

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