Comb Forge - Beeswax foundation machine

Update 2026/08/20 : V2 rollers available

The V2 rollers are now available with an improved cell geometry. Thank you Kahera for your advice ! If you already printed the original version, you only need to print the new rollers (1xRoller_V2_A and 1xRoller_V2_B instead of 2xRoller_V1) — the rest of the machine remains unchanged.

Presentation

The Comb Forge is a 100% 3D printable foundation machine to turn soft beeswax into a sheet stamped with honeycomb pattern. Beekeepers place these sheets into hive frames to guide bees in building straight, uniform combs quickly, which saves the bees energy and helps manage honey production. A machine like the Comb Forge lets the beekeeper reuse the beeswax he already has. Recycle ! Yeah !

The model is designed to process Langstroth size wax sheets (20x42 cm)

PLA is the right filament as it should not harm the bees or "pollute" the wax. Plus, it is sturdy enough to play its role. Also, temperature shouldn't be a problem as long as the wax is not heated too much. I would recommend trying not to exceed 35°C (40°C max !) for wax temperature. However, i did use some aluminum foil for my tests as it provides an easily replaceable contact surface for cleaning and repeated use, and prevents the wax from sticking to the rollers (see photo above and in the comment section).

Not a beekeeper yourself ? no problem, make it for the kids ! they will love to machine play-dough to stamp honeycomb patterns. Or you can remix the rollers and apply any pattern you want to make it a custom embossing machine for modelling clay, craft wax and other soft materials !

Print settings :

• Filament : PLA is just fine as it is non toxic and strong enough (crank the perimeters up if you have a strength issue)

• Nozzle size : 0.4 mm

• Layer height : 0.2 mm

• Perimeters : 5 or more for axles and 3 or more for everything else

• Infill : 50% or more for axles, 20% or more for rollers, and 10% or more for everything else

• Supports : no

• Brim : yes, only for axles, rollers and crank knob ; use 8 mm brims as parts are printing very high

• Orientation : as provided ; rollers, axles and crank knob should print standing, the rest should print flat

  

• Tolerances : if having issues, try to scale the axles up or down by 1% (only within X and Y, not Z). if the gears or the crank remains a little bit too loose, add a little bit of super glue.

Test print file is provided down below to check fittings and have a closer look to the honeycomb pattern.

Assembly