44 replies to this topic

[drtrmiller]

Yesterday, I started keeping track of the launch of the new GroTube XL with GlassBox Arena.

 
Completed Steps
 
April 1, 2015: GroTube XL Launches
May 22, 2015: GlassBox Transition Arena release candidates fabricated
May 25, 2015: byFormica staff tested the bottom lids, to which Fluon is applied for escape prevention. The lids work, and successfully contained 2 mm long Pheidole ants. The top lid, which is a physical barrier, will need some revisions for cost savings and improved functionality.
May 26, 2015: GroTube XL / GlassBox Arena soft launch at http://grotube.byformica.com
May 31, 2015: byFormica staff assembled a shippable GlassBox Arena, and refined the assembly process.
June 1, 2015: A machine malfunction resulted in a few days delay
June 4, 2015: Machine repaired. Now manufacturing risers and 5-inch decor inserts.
June 5, 2015: Pilot manufacturing run of risers was completed. First drop/abuse test for GlassBox Arena failed with 7x7x4 inch boxes.  The drop test passed with a 7x7x5 inch box and additional dunnage.  The 8 inch model will require a 10x8x6 inch box.
June 6, 2015: CAD model bug fixes.
June 8, 2015: Test shipment #1 to single customer. Began manufacturing 5x4 inch dioramas.
June 10, 2015: Test shipment #2 to single customer.
June 11, 2015: Test shipment #1 received and feedback evaluated for revisions.
June 12, 2015: SimpliFeed liquid feeder release candidate prototyped. Test shipment #2 received by customer and feedback evaluated for revisions. GlassBox arena sidewall fastening mechanisms introduced as major design improvement.
June 18, 2015: GroTube XL nests shipped to customers.  Coordinated with laser cutter to complete acrylic boxes in one day of manufacturing, to be scheduled.

July 6, 2015: 3D-printed some components for a test fit ahead of cutting.

July 12, 2015: Finalized lid design and ordered needed fasteners and other hardware.

June 13, 2015: Scheduled manufacturing date.  Presented files for public review.
July 17, 2015: Manufactured all laser cut plastics.

July 18 until completion: Build dioramas, manufacture brackets, tap holes, receive knobs for final assembly, pack and ship to Amazon for final fulfillment to customers.

 

Next Steps
 
Times are not meant to be added. Some processes may overlap days, take more or less time than expected, or be made redundant by other advances.
 
All current orders for GTXL + GlassBox Arena are expected to ship in July, after which the product will be expected to be available for immediate fulfillment.

• Manufacture GlassBox Arena dioramas (1 week)
• Final assembly and shipping to customers (3-5 days)

Edited by drtrmiller, July 18 2015 - 4:25 AM.

[drtrmiller]

Today, the pilot manufacturing run of risers was completed.

 

 

 

Some drop/abuse tests were also completed.

 

The first drop/abuse test for GlassBox Arena failed with 7x7x4 inch boxes, due to insufficient dunnage on the top and bottom of the item.

 

The drop test passed with a 7x7x5 inch box and additional dunnage on the top and bottom, held together tightly.

 

The 8 inch model will require a minimum 10x8x6 inch box, and additional dunnage will be required in the box interior to prevent the plaster from shifting and cracking in transit.  It may be necessary to strengthen the plaster inserts with a polymer resin for enhanced durability.  Additional tests will be performed on the larger boxes.

 

Retail stock will ship from Amazon, which should further decrease the likelihood of damage in transit.

 

 

 

Finally, I started adding conditional equations to the GlassBox Foraging Area Style A, today.  The purpose of the conditional equations is to alter certain aspects of the box depending on how long the box is.  For example, a long box will have multiple lid sections, so the entire lid needn't be removed to access a portion of the foraging area.

Edited by drtrmiller, June 5 2015 - 8:56 PM.

[drtrmiller]

Today, I squashed some really annoying bugs in the CAD model that were introduced during a previous revision.  Now I can finally revisit some lid and stability revisions that I'd like to include in the final product.

 

 

 

Mikey @AntsCanada sent me some dimensions for his new Hybrid Nest family of products, and I began to explore how the integration with the GlassBox Arena may work.

[drtrmiller]

Today, I shipped one of the first pre-production units to a customer as a shipping test. Another shipping test will commence tomorrow.

 

 

 

Also, I started working on a number of 5x4 dioramas.  I won't be able to work on the 8x4 dioramas until I have an 8x4 box to use as a mother mold.  The new woodlands dioramas now feature small preserved mosses, which look very nice "growing" alongside rocks and larger features.

 

 

 

I coordinated some with the manufacturer of the GlassBox parts and may be able to have some units available for shipping late this week or early next week.

[drtrmiller]

The second pre-production unit was shipped today.  Will also be revisiting some improvements to the lid and SimpliFeed system later today.

[drtrmiller]

June 12, 2015: 

• I designed a release candidate for the SimpliFeed liquid feeder system.  The liquid feeder plugs into the back wall, and a mesh provides access to liquid in the attached reservoir.  Because the substrate in the arena dioramas is glued to the surface, there shouldn't be much debris for ants to place on the feeder. 
• Also, I'm experimenting with high viscosity prepared liquid foods that may be a superior alternative to sugar water.

• Test shipment #2 received by customer and feedback will be evaluated for revisions.
• GlassBox arena sidewall fastening mechanisms introduced as major design improvement.

[drtrmiller]

The revisions to the GlassBox arena design have been going swimmingly since coming across an alternative fastening design.

 

Since there will need to be additional shipping tests due to some geometry differences in the new part (to make sure certain fragile joints withstand transit), I'll go ahead and ship all U.S.-bound nests on Monday, so all U.S. customers should at least get their nest next week.

 

The foraging areas will ship separately, just as soon as the final design is ready and the parts have been manufactured and assembled.

 

I'll also include a free vial of ant hooch and another potential liquid food along with each order, as a courtesy for the delay on the foraging areas.

[drtrmiller]

Nests have shipped:

 

It has been a ridiculously hectic past couple of days, but most nests have been shipped to customers.  A small number of nests have also been shipped to Amazon, and should be available for fulfillment with free and Prime shipping, as early as next week.  Some nests were shipped to customers without tubing or pipettes—a separate shipment will arrive containing those items, as well as some free ant food samples.

 

GlassBox manufacturing is imminent:

 

I have coordinated with the laser machining contractor to schedule a day to oversee the manufacturing of tons of these acrylic boxes.  Based on material availability, this will happen sometime as early as next week.

 

I have a pending order for several 4x8 foot sheets of .250 inch acrylic, which is the bottleneck right now, as far as materials are concerned.  The material vendor is having freight shipped from California to Georgia on Friday, which will take at least a week to deliver.  I may be able to use the materials I have on hand to cut all the boxes currently on order, but I will have to finalize the files and check.

 

After the boxes are manufactured, the dioramas will need to be manufactured.  This will only take a few days, and they will ship in the order the orders were received, starting with customers who ordered on launch day, May 20.

Edited by drtrmiller, June 18 2015 - 10:37 AM.

[PTAntFan]

Can't wait to get mine, Terry.  Just in time.  My Francoueri have nanitics.

[drtrmiller]

You shouldn't have any problem moving your ants in when you receive the nest.  When the foraging area ships in 1-2 weeks, it will be ready-to-use out of the box, and you'd simply hook it up to the nest so the ants can start exploring.

 

Because I only have one prototype on hand, I have to rotate my few small colonies for use with a single foraging area, which is rather entertaining, since they are always hungry by the time I rotate them.

 

But then again, the other day, I hooked a SimpliFeed liquid feeder to a hungry nest, and got this result:

 

[dspdrew]

I have a pending order for several 4x8 foot sheets of .250 inch acrylic, which is the bottleneck right now, as far as materials are concerned.

 

That's a lot of acrylic.

[drtrmiller]

I just got an email from my plastic supplier.  They have the material cut and measured, so I will absolutely be able to schedule a day next week to get these boxes manufactured.  It will be an all-day event, as many orders as there are, along with extras for inventory and experimentation.

 

Big thanks to everyone who has supported this project, and for their incredible patience.  Shouldn't be too much longer.

 

Until then, I'd like to show you a big change I made, which improves the rigidity and robustness of the boxes, while still allowing them to be disassembled completely:

 

 

Custom 3D-printed, tapped brackets with countersunk front screws (flush with front surface).  The Fluon bottom lid is expected to feature fasteners, as well, so it will stay on even if you juggle it.  I've already tested this change, and it works amazingly well.

Edited by drtrmiller, June 26 2015 - 9:31 AM.

[drtrmiller]

For Public Comment:
 
 
Since the last update, I have 3D-printed box pieces for internal testing.  The assembly and fitness tests passed, but I must keep in mind that the parts did not have the same material properties or dimensions as the final parts which are laser cut.
 
Also, I have made a release candidate for the lid system, which is comprised of the bottom lid, lined with fluon, attached to the top of the foraging area with easy-to-disassemble thumb screws (not pictured), and a middle lid which acts as a physical barrier.  The middle lid drops into the bottom lid hole and fits with zero-gap.  The middle lid also features a mesh vent, which should work better than slits cut into the 3 mm acrylic.
 
Assembled view:

Click image for full size

 

Exploded view:

Click image for full size

 

 

Challenges & Solutions:
 
Designing a robust, durable, and yet clear and beautiful box that will outlive the life of any ant colony was the number one priority.  In keeping with these goals, a number of changes were made compared to the prototypes a few members received.
 

• 3D-printed, tapped brackets were custom designed to fasten all sides together tightly.  The front panel features countersunk screws for a sleek, beautiful look.
   
• The bottom, Fluon-lined lid was modified not to sit within pegs, as the pegs needed some clearance in order not to fit too tightly, which allowed very small ants to possible escape.  The lid is now securely fastened to the top of the side walls with thumb screws, which facilitate easy removal.
   
• The top, physical barrier lid which worked with the now-removed pegs, was completely redesigned.  The lid now drops into the middle hole and consists of two layers of plastic with mesh in the middle, a knob, and screws with tapped holes to hold everything together.  There is zero gap with the lid, which means that ants of all sizes may be perfectly contained.
   
• Because the .250 inch acrylic varies in thickness, and the backsplash panels must be manufactured ahead of knowing this thickness, I eliminated the need for the backsplash panels to fit into the .250 inch material.  Instead, it sits flush with the clear acrylic in back and is securely fastened using the same socket cap screws.

Edited by drtrmiller, July 13 2015 - 8:56 PM.

[Ants4fun]

I like the no gap lid. I have had to worry about my Ponera p. getting out with other lids.

[drtrmiller]

July 17 Statistics:
 

• Hours awake: 24
• Hours worked + driving: 18
• Cups of coffee: 1
• Miles driven: 250
• Material Cut: 8,640 sq inch
• New pieces to assemble: 1,440
• Sandwiches eaten: 1
• New holes to tap: 512

I went to manufacture the first pilot run of boxes yesterday.  From what I can tell, all went according to plan.  More details below:

 

Final box size names, dimensions, and estimated MSRP are as follows (LxWxH):

 

 

• Short - 4.7 x 4.3 x 2.4 inches - - - - - - - - - - $45.00
• Standard - 5.9 x 4.3 x 2.9 inches - - - - - - - - $65.00
• Long - 7.9 x 4.3 x 3.5 inches - - - - - - - - - - $105.00

All with free shipping from Amazon.com

 

Additional sizes to come:

• Extra Long
• Tall
• Extra Tall
• Wide
• Wide and Long

 

 

More details:

 

The good news is, it didn't cost over what I anticipated.  The bad news is, the cost was about what I anticipated.  This means that I likely won't be able to reduce the price of these until I can find a contract manufacturer for the laser cutting that will charge me significantly less—or buy a machine myself ($7-15K).

 

Final arrangements are being made, details being worked out, over a thousand parts being assembled by hand, so they can be shipped to you in the coming days.

 

This project has been a huge undertaking, 9 months in the making, and would not have been possible if not for users like you who have patiently backed byFormica with your dollars and feedback throughout the whole arduous process.  Thank you.

Edited by drtrmiller, July 18 2015 - 3:54 PM.

[Lamarr]

So, GlassBox Arena will be on Amazon very soon?

[drtrmiller]

Yes, that is the plan.

[drtrmiller]

I'm going to post frequent photo updates here.

 

This is one of the first boxes I've put together, but haven't finished (need more knobs to finish lids, needs diorama, some other things):

 

[Lamarr]

Looks nice. Is this the long variant of GlassBox?

[drtrmiller]

Yes.  I'll show the other sizes shortly.