Bird Feeder

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A hanging seed feeder for the garden. The seed tube twists into the tray with a bayonet lock, a cone in the tray spreads the seed out to four feeding windows, and a perch ring gives small birds somewhere to stand. To refill, slide the roof up the hanger and pour. No screws, no glue, and every part prints without supports.

• 4 printed parts

• 18 × 18 × 27 cm assembled (L × W × H)

• ≈ 0.3 kg filament in total

• 180 mm bed size needed for the roof; the tube is 140 mm tall

Parts

Tray: The seed tray: a 12 mm rim, a seed cone in the middle, four bayonet catches for the tube, a perch ring on six spokes, and drainage slots in the floor and at the foot of the rim.

• Size: 176 × 176 × 38 mm

• Print: Upright, no supports. The cone is hollow underneath, at 45°.

• Filament: ≈ 98 g

Seed tube: Holds about half a litre of seed. Four arched feeding windows at the bottom, 20 mm high so the seed that runs out stays inside the tray's rim, a bayonet lug on each leg and a hub at the top for the hanger. Print it in clear or translucent PETG to see how much seed is left.

• Size: 140 × 86 × 86 mm

• Print: Upside down, top rim on the bed. No supports: the hub struts and the lugs are 45°.

• Filament: ≈ 90 g

Roof: A wide roof that keeps the rain out of the seed tube. Its skirt slides over the top of the tube and the flat hanger fills the slot on top, so no rain runs in, it lifts 60 mm for refilling and it can't blow away.

• Size: 180 × 180 × 44 mm

• Print: Upright on its flat underside. No supports; the small round ceiling round the slot bridges.

• Filament: ≈ 140 g

Hanger: Loop, a flat stem and a T-bar that locks under the hub. The weight of the feeder pulls the T-bar into its groove, so it can't turn loose.

• Size: 141 × 36 × 6 mm

• Print: Flat on the bed, no supports. 4 walls make it practically solid.

• Filament: ≈ 13 g

What else you need

• Nothing to buy: no screws and no glue. The parts lock together.

• A cord, a chain or an S-hook to hang it from a branch or a bracket.

• Bird seed: sunflower hearts, mixed seed or millet. Not nyjer: it is fine enough to trickle through the drainage slots.

Print settings

• 0.20 mm layer height

• 4 walls

• 15% gyroid infill

• PETG or ASA for outdoors; ASA lasts longest in strong sun

For a 0.4 mm nozzle. Filament amounts are estimates for these settings.

How to build it

1. Print the parts: Use PETG or ASA: PLA softens in the sun and turns brittle outside. Nothing needs supports. Scrape any elephant's foot off the top rim of the tube and the edges of the slots.

2. Fit the hanger: Set the roof on the tube. Push the T-bar of the hanger down through the slot in the roof and the slot in the hub, give it a quarter turn (the roof turns with it) and pull it up: the T-bar drops into the groove under the hub and locks.

3. Lock on the tray: Lower the tube into the tray with its four legs between the catches, then turn it clockwise (seen from above) about 30° until it clicks past the small ribs and stops.

4. Fill it: Hold the hanger, slide the roof up the stem as far as it goes and pour seed into the tube round the hub. About half a litre fills it. Let the roof down again.

5. Hang it: Hang it by the loop from a branch or a bracket, about 1.5 to 2 metres up, close to cover but out of reach of cats.

6. Keep it clean: Every couple of weeks, turn the tube back and lift it out, tip out old seed and wash the parts in warm soapy water. Let them dry before you refill.

Wet or mouldy seed can make birds ill: the tray drains, but clean the feeder regularly and throw away seed that has got wet. Don't print it in PLA for outdoor use.

More

3D viewer, colour preview and the full guide: https://shapekit.cc/bird-feeder.html

Licence: CC BY-NC 4.0. Print it, remix it and share it with credit to Shapekit. Please don't sell the files or the prints.

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