Self-Resetting Mouse Trap

thingiverse

Remix of the self resetting mouse trap. I used the original for inspiration, but otherwise mostly rebuilt the parts from scratch. Still need to use a straight piece of wire or paperclip as the hinge. Stay tuned, I think I can rework it so it won't need the paper clip, either. (I don't seem to have one, which makes the final test of the assembled unit a little tricky!) Still need a magnet in the back of the plank - no way around this. Need some screws/bolts for counterweight. PLANK ----- I printed the plank in black PLA and left the trap in the sun. It softened and sagged. Use a different color or material, don't place in the sun, or give it a little blue pill. The only place that supports printed in the plank was in the bait cup. That could be a good thing as it might help hold the peanut butter in place. I doubt that the prey would be able to secure a hold to it and avoid falling into the bucket. Removed the discs at the four corners of the plank. Shortened the plank a little to better fit on smaller print beds. Added two supports under the plank to give it better rigidity. I found that the original was prone to sagging. Added bait cup to the end of the plank. Fill this with peanut butter/nutella. Less chance of it falling off. Eliminated coin counterweight slots at rear of plank. Added 4 holes of 2 different sizes at rear of plank to add screws/bolts for counterweight. Also consider adding washers and/or nuts to tune the balance. Eliminated the wire slot and the need to secure the wire to the plank with screws. Replaced with a hole which extends from one side to the other. I printed at 10% infill as to not waste filament. Print the plank upside down on the bed. Another idea for adding counterweight, if you have a 3d pen, you can pile on more filament at the rear of the plank, or use it to attach other stuff. I used a 3d pen to attach a couple of washers in addition to the 2 quarters on the original design. I also used the 3d pen to hold the magnet in place. As you can see in the photo, I used a single screw and a large washer as counterweight. I am going to change the holes for counterweight screws to be 4 different sizes to better accommodate whatever screws you may have laying around. I am also going to rework it so that there is more material printed at the back end. Hopefully this will further reduce the need for counterweight, with the ideal being to eliminate it entirely. Perhaps a greater degree of infill would also help. Please comment as to what you used and how it worked for you. BRACKET ----- I have revised the bracket to print in one piece, so no need for extra screws. No supports were necessary, but it got a tiny bit messy around the part that hooks onto the bucket. Doesn't bother me. RAMP SUPPORT ----- Also created a piece to make positioning a board/ramp easier. This printed with supports for me under where it hooks onto the bracket. They come out easily so no big deal. The ramp support slides onto the back of the bracket and provides a little platform where you can rest a board for the prey to walk up to reach the plank. I saw in a few other comments this was something that was desired. From my own experience, this should help. I often would find my ramp on the ground after it had slid off the rounded side of the bucket. I think this will help a lot. Let me know how this works for you and any other ideas for improvements.