Building an Enhanced Flight Mill for the Study of Tethered Insect Flight

Summary

This protocol uses three-dimensional (3D) printers and laser cutters found in makerspaces in order to create a more flexible flight mill design. By using this technology, researchers can reduce costs, enhance design flexibility, and generate reproducible work when constructing their flight mills for tethered insect flight studies.

Abstract

Makerspaces have a high potential of enabling researchers to develop new techniques and to work with novel species in ecological research. This protocol demonstrates how to take advantage of the technology found in makerspaces in order to build a more versatile flight mill for a relatively low cost. Given that this study extracted its prototype from flight mills built in the last decade, this protocol focuses more on outlining divergences made from the simple, modern flight mill. Previous studies have already shown how advantageous flight mills are to measuring flight parameters such as speed, distance, or periodicity. Such mills have allowed researchers to associate these parameters with morphological, physiological, or genetic factors. In addition to these advantages, this study discusses the benefits of using the technology in makerspaces, like 3D printers and laser cutters, in order to build a more flexible, sturdy, and collapsible flight mill design. Most notably, the 3D printed components of this design allow the user to test insects of various sizes by making the heights of the mill arm and infrared (IR) sensors adjustable. The 3D prints also enable the user to easily disassemble the machine for quick storage or transportation to the field. Moreover, this study makes greater use of magnets and magnetic paint to tether insects with minimal stress. Lastly, this protocol details a versatile analysis of flight data through computer scripts that efficiently separate and analyze differentiable flight trials within a single recording. Although more labor-intensive, applying the tools available in makerspaces and on online 3D modeling programs facilitates multidisciplinary and process-orientated practices and helps researchers avoid costly, premade products with narrowly adjustable dimensions. By taking advantage of the flexibility and reproducibility of technology in makerspaces, this protocol promotes creative flight mill design and inspires open science.

Introduction

Given how intractable the dispersal of insects is in the field, the flight mill has become a common laboratory tool to address an important ecological phenomenon - how insects move. As a consequence, since the pioneers of the flight mill^1,2,3,4 ushered in six decades of flight mill design and construction, there have been noticeable design shifts as technologies improved and became more integrated into scientific communities. Over time, automated data-collecting software replaced chart recorders, and flight mill arms transitioned from glass ....

Protocol

1. Build the Flight Mill in a Makerspace

1. Laser cut and assemble the acrylic plastic support structure.
   1. Use 8 (304.8 mm x 609.6 mm x 3.175 mm) thick transparent acrylic sheets to construct the acrylic plastic support structure. Ensure that the material is not polycarbonate, which looks similar to acrylic but will melt instead of getting cut under the laser.
   2. Locate the laser cutter in the makerspace. This protocol assumes the makerspace has a laser cutter as referenced in the Table of Materials. For other laser cutters, read the laser cutter settings to determine what line color or thickness is needed to set the f....

Results

Flight data were obtained experimentally during Winter 2020 using field collected J. haematoloma from Florida as the model insects (Bernat, A. V. and Cenzer, M. L. , 2020, unpublished data). Representative flight trials were conducted in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Chicago, as shown below in Figure 6, Figure 7, Figure 8, and Figure 9. The flight mill was set up .......

Discussion

The simple, modern flight mill provides a range of advantages for researchers interested in studying tethered insect flight by delivering a reliable and automated design that tests multiple insects efficiently and cost-effectively^13,31,35. Likewise, there is a strong incentive for researchers to adopt fast-emerging technologies and techniques from industry and other scientific fields as a means to build experimental to.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
180 Ω Resistor	E-Projects	10EP514180R	Carbon film; stiff 24 gauge lead.
19 Gauge Non-Magnetic Hypodermic Steel Tubing	MicroGroup	304H19RW
2.2 kΩ Resistor	Adafruit	2782	Carbon film; stiff 24 gauge lead.
3D Printer	FlashForge	700355100638
3D Printer Filament	FlashForge	700355100638	Diameter 1.75 mm; 1kg/roll.
3D Printing Slicing Software	FlashPrint	4.4.0
Acrylic Plastic Sheets	Blick Art Supplies	28945-1006
Aluminum Foil	Target	253-01-0860
Breadboard Power Supply	HandsOn Tech	MDU1025	Can take 6.5V to 12V input and can produce 3.3V and 5V.
DI-1100 USB Data Logger	DATAQ Instruments	DI-1100	Has 4 differential armored analog inputs.
Electrical Wires	Striveday	B077HWS5XV	24 gauge solid wire.
Entomological Pins	BioQuip	1208S2	Size 2; diameter 0.45 mm.
Filtered 20 uL Pipette Tip	Fisher Scientific	21-402-550
Hot Glue Gun with Hot Glue	Joann Fabrics	17366956
IR Sensor	Adafruit	2167	This is the 3 mm IR version; works up to 25 cm.
Large Clear Vinyl Tubing	Home Depot	T10007008	Inner diameter 3/8 in; outer diameter 1/2 in; length 20 ft.
Large Magnets	Bunting	EP654	Low-friction N42 neodymium; diameter 0.394 in; length 0.157 in; holding force 4.9 lb.
Laser Cutter	Universal Laser Systems	PLS6.75
M5 Hex Nut	Home Depot	204274112	Thread pitch 0.8 mm; screw length 20 mm; diameter 5 mm.
M5 Long Iron Screws	Home Depot	204283784	Philips pan head; thread pitch 0.8 mm; screw length 20 mm; diameter 5 mm.
M5 Short Iron Screws	Home Depot	203540129	Philips pan head; thread pitch 0.8 mm; screw length 10 mm; diameter 5 mm.
Neoprene Rubber Sheet	Grainger	60DC16	Length 12 in; width 12 in; depth 1/8in.
Online 3D Modeling Software	Autodesk	2019_10_14	Tinkercad.com offers a free account.
Power Adaptor	Adafruit	63	9 VDC 1000mA regulated switching; input voltage DC 3.3V 5V.
Small Clear Vinyl Tubing	Home Depot	T10007005	Inner diameter 1/4 in; outer diameter 3/8 in; 20 ft long.
Small Magnets	Bunting	N42P120060	Low-friction N42 neodymium; diameter 0.120 in; length 0.060 in; holding force 0.5 lb.
Solderless MB-102 Breadboard	Adafruit	239	830 tie points; length 17 cm; width 5.5 cm; input voltage, DC 3.3 V 5 V.
Sophisticated Finishes Iron Metallic Surfacer	Blick Art Supplies	27105-2584
Wire Cutters	Target	84-031W