Monthly Archives: April 2017

ANET Upgrades for ANET A8

What is the ANET A8

So this post is starting to get a bunch of traction, and I wanted to expand more on what has worked well for me personally and give some insights on the upgrades. First and foremost, I have used several different 3d printers and for the money, the ANET A8 has performed beyond my expectations.

Updated: 12.6.2019

Nozzles:

http://amzn.to/2BCp8VO – Ivelink 0.4mm MK8 Extruder M6 Stainless Steel Nozzle for 1.75mm Makerbot Ultimaker UM2 E3D (Pack of 5pcs)

https://amzn.to/2PiAVjG – MK8 Brass Wear Resistant Nozzles

Belts:

http://amzn.to/2qp3Mry

GT2 fiberglass reinforced belt. Proper tensioning and strength is super important for accurate high-quality prints.  Some of the inexpensive Chinese Prusa knockoffs have rubber belts that stretch.

This is HUGE, currently one of the better upgrades for your machine.

Sensor:

BL Touch Sesnorhttp://amzn.to/2u5mIgY 

Wow, Wow, Wow. This is the second best (possibly THE best) upgrade I have done to my printer. While there are several different auto bed leveling sensors, I can safely say the BL-touch is fantastic.  It works with any type of bed, so those who have upgraded to a glass bed, it will still function.

While there is a common misconception that the auto-bed level will prevent any more bed leveling it does account for any warpage or small imperfections in the levelness of your bed and will increase your print quality noticeably.

Frame:

This is my favorite upgrade, it noticeably increases stability and adds uncompromised strength and modification options. The popular AM8 Metal extrusion upgrade utilizes 2040 extruded aluminum.

The total cost for this upgrade ran right around $60 USD. The build guide and Build of Materials are available through the link. You will also need an M5 Tap to complete this upgrade. Altogether, totally worth the additional cost.

Printable A8 Upgrades

I have compiled a list of printable parts for the A8 to help with print quality.

  1. x tensioner http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1976767
  2. y tensioner http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2124800
  3. x belt holder http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1666094
  4. y belt holder http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1648888
  5. z-endstop adjuster http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1776429
  6. air nozzle / part cooler (old favorite, still in use) http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2088006
    (my new favorite) http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2110755 )

Additional Items

  1. not printable, but highly recommended: a glass plate or mirror tile from the hardware store. no need for expensive borosilicate.
  2. filament wiper/oiler. http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1692395 (the improvement of the finish was too noticeable, not to add it to this list. use 1-2 drops of olive oil – NO mineral or silicone oil!)
  3. once you see your frame bend under the force of tight GF belts and consider a “frame brace”, this is a much more sensible solution http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2045010
    (or use 8*365mm aluminum tube, wedged between two felt pads

    Video Walkthrough Skynet upgrade with e3d v6

Ohio Ant Nuptial Flight Calendar

I spent months locating, studying and compiling information to identify Ohio Nuptial Flight Periods. After much research, and digging around I have compiled a list of nuptial ant flight periods in Ohio. While this is probably not an exhaustive list, it should make the process a bit easier when attempting to find new queen ants.

Founding Prenolepis imparis Queen with eggs

A Prenolepis imparis founding queen with eggs inside a test tube setup.

Look for nuptial flights right after it rains and a day or two after a rainfall on warm days. Ants tend to fly after rainfall because of the increased humidity and possibly that the soil is easier to dig.

Without further aduex, here is the flight calendar. I can not guarantee any validity of species other than what I found on the web, please feel free to comment and I will keep this chart updated as frequently as possible.

The numbers represent the number of sightings found in the antweb database. The larger the number the more likely that ant will be during a nuptial flight period.

Species Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 
                         
Aphaenogaster         4 6 5 14 6 1    
Aphaenogaster fulva               2 1 1    
Aphaenogaster lamellidens         1 1            
Aphaenogaster picea         1     2        
Aphaenogaster rudis             1 3        
Aphaenogaster tennesseensis           2   2 1      
Aphaenogaster sp.         2 1 3 3 1      
                         
                         
Brachymyrmex     2 3 8 5 7 16 11 4    
Brachymyrmex depilis     1 1     2 10 5 3    
                         
                         
Camponotus     30 76 150 113 48 13 9 2    
Camponotus americanus     5 5 4 1   2   1    
Camponotus caryae       1 1              
Camponotus castaneus     4 4 29 29 2          
Camponotus chromaiodes     4 17 9 1 1          
Camponotus nearcticus       4 3 2            
Camponotus novaeboracensis       1 12 10 5 3 1      
Camponotus pennsylvanicus     3 16 25 30 12 4 4      
Camponotus planatus         1 1            
Camponotus subbarbatus       4 5 1   1        
                         
Crematogaster     2 4 1 9 10 13 11 2 1  
Crematogaster cerasi       1   1 1 5 4      
Crematogaster lineolata                   1    
                         
Dolichoderus         1              
Dolichoderus plagiatus         1              
                         
Dorymyrmex 1 10 17 8 7 8 9 3 5 2 2 1
Dorymyrmex insanus 1 9 12 3 1   3 1 4 1 1 1
Dorymyrmex sp.             1          
                         
Forelius         2 1 2 3        
Forelius pruinosus         2 1 1 2        
                         
Formica       12 9 26 37 28 1 3 1  
Formica aserva           1 5          
Formica biophilica           3 1   1      
Formica exsectoides             1          
Formica fusca           2 1 3        
Formica glacialis             3 2        
Formica incerta             4 2        
Formica integra         1              
Formica neogagates               1        
Formica obscuripes       5   1            
Formica obscuriventris           1   1        
Formica pallidefulva         2 9 7 1        
Formica podzolica           1 2 7        
Formica rubicunda             1          
Formica subaenescens               1        
Formica subsericea       1 1 1 7 6        
                         
Hypoponera           2 4 3 1 1 1  
Hypoponera opacior             1     1 1  
                         
Lasius     5 6 15 50 60 78 94 26 8 7
Lasius alienus           6 22   1 1    
Lasius claviger               1 16 12 5 6
Lasius flavus           1 1 4 3      
Lasius interjectus       5 11 26 6 2 6 1    
Lasius latipes           2 8 8 6      
Lasius nearcticus             1 1 2      
Lasius neoniger             2 29 42 2 2 1
Lasius niger           1   1        
                         
Leptogenys           1   1        
Leptogenys elongata           1   1        
                         
Leptothorax           2 4 2 2      
Leptothorax muscorum           1 1 1 1      
                         
Monomorium     1   2 4 2 1        
Monomorium minimum     1   2 2 2 1        
                         
Myrmecina               2 2 1    
Myrmecina americana               2 2 1    
                         
Myrmica       1 2 2 5 12 13 4 1  
Myrmica pinetorum         1   1          
Myrmica punctiventris                 1 1 1  
                         
Nylanderia   1 2 2 11 9 5 2 2 1 1  
Nylanderia faisonensis       1 2              
Nylanderia parvula         2 1            
Nylanderia terricola   1     1 1            
Nylanderia vividula     1 1   6 4 2 2 1 1  
                         
                         
Pheidole     2 6 23 22 21 15 11     1
Pheidole bicarinata           3 4 1        
Pheidole dentata       1 3 2            
Pheidole pilifera           1 6 1        
Pheidole tysoni               1        
                         
Polyergus         2   2 4 3      
Polyergus lucidus             1 2 1      
                         
Ponera     1 4 1   2 5 6 3    
Ponera pennsylvanica     1 4 1   2 4 6 3    
                         
Prenolepis 2 13 44 56 5 1           1
Prenolepis imparis 2 13 44 56 5 1           1
                         
Proceratium 1             2 1      
Proceratium chickasaw               1        
Proceratium silaceum 1             1 1      
                         
Solenopsis 2 3 8 15 40 46 38 22 6 3    
Solenopsis molesta       4 11 16 15 11 3 1    
Solenopsis texana             2          
                         
Stigmatomma               2 1      
Stigmatomma pallipes               2 1      
                         
Strumigenys                 1      
Strumigenys sp.                 1      
                         
Tapinoma       1 7 7 3          
Tapinoma sessile       1 7 7 3          
                         
Temnothorax       2 1 13 9 3        
Temnothorax curvispinosus         1 3 2 1        
                         
Trachymyrmex         1 1 1 1        
Trachymyrmex septentrionalis         1 1 1 1