Photo inside the open door of an enclosed 3D printer. Attached to the print bed is an angled chute, printed out of fluorescent orange ABS filament. Good times.

I'll never not be amazed at how transformative 3D printing has been for insect collecting & curation.

I can make just about anything (that fits inside the printer) out of virtually nothing (i.e., a spool of inexpensive thermoplastic).

#NaturalHistoryCollections
#MakeItYourOwnDamnSelf

Picture of a black self-healing cutting mat, with a grid of white lines and additional white lines marking 30°, 45°, 60°, and 90° angles. There's a rectangular piece of white Plastazote foam with a series of holes punched out of it. The punched out foam plugs are next to the rectangle and there is a black and sliver punch laying in front of the mat.

Pro tip:
You can use an inexpensive punch to cut out plugs of foam to use in your manipulators.

#NaturalHistoryCollections
#Curation
#MakeItYourOwnDamnSelf

Insect specimen manipulator on a neutral grey background. The piece is mostly metal: the base and upright is aluminum, the specimen holder is brass/copper, the handle is bronze, and there are a couple of black machine bolts holding the bits together. There is some clear plastic tubing over the brass handle and there's a black rubber o-ring on the specimen holder.

Here's my one-off manipulator. I like it because it is the only one in the world made like this...and I think it looks kinda steampunk-ish. 🙂

#NaturalHistoryCollections
#Curation
#MakeItYourOwnDamnSelf

Twenty-four 3D-printed insect specimen manipulators sitting on a neutral grey bench top. The manipulators were made with a variety of filament colors, including yellow, blue, metallic red, metallic purple, lime green, brass, and matte grey. They are arranged in a somewhat pleasing set of concentric circles.

me: Do you have any preferences for color or material?

them: Any color will work for me

Alrighty then.... 😂

#NaturalHistoryCollections
#3DPrinting
#MakeItYourOwnDamnSelf