# Robc's Mechanical Mom Tutorial



## robc (Apr 8, 2010)

I decided to make my own version of the Mechanical Mom. I changed a few things up - mainly the timer. It rotates the sacs 6x per 24 hours instead of the more common 1x per 24 hours. Hopefully this will yield good results. Listed below are a few people I'd like to thank:

TalonAWD - for providing me the link to the humidifier.

xhexdx - for providing pictures of his egg sac chamber.

Nerri - for giving me the motivation to build my own with his awesome post of his Mechanical Mom.

pink1081 (on ATS) - for his information on how to easily hollow out the egg sac chambers.

And last but not least - all of you for watching these very long videos! LOL

[youtube]fqDYBdY0850[/youtube]

[youtube]CBd_tQzxa8I[/youtube]

Part that attaches to timer wheel and also where the rod is screwed into (Part available at bass pro shop). Timer model# Intermatic C8845 4 hour (see link below).

http://www.electricsuppliesonline.com/inc82.html 





















*Hygrotherm controller:*


























*Humidifier:* 








*Pics of the mechanical Mom and other parts:*

Reactions: Like 1


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## imd12nv (Apr 8, 2010)

Thats one amazing machine


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## seanbond (Apr 8, 2010)

is that a time machine?


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## robc (Apr 8, 2010)

seanbond said:


> is that a time machine?


LOL  it almost looks like one


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## TomM (Apr 8, 2010)

seanbond said:


> is that a time machine?


All it needs is a flux capacitor.


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## forrestpengra (Apr 8, 2010)

Out of curiousity couldn't you use a electric BBQ rotisterie (sp?) on a rheostat/timer?

Does that industrial timer continually spin, albeit slowly (6x per day), or does it spin once, then shut off for four hours, then spin again?

Cheers


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## robc (Apr 8, 2010)

forrestpengra said:


> Out of curiousity couldn't you use a electric BBQ rotisterie (sp?) on a rheostat/timer?
> 
> Does that industrial timer continually spin, albeit slowly (6x per day), or does it spin once, then shut off for four hours, then spin again?
> 
> Cheers


It basically has trips wich will shut it off, if you do not use trips it will spin continuous. It also has a 10 year warranty, and is rated at 2,000,000 rotation life...it is very heavy duty. A barbecue rotisterie would probably spin the sac to fast?


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## satanslilhelper (Apr 8, 2010)

I see you've been busy haven't you? That is freakin' awesome man!! C'mon P. metallica sacs!


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## barabootom (Apr 8, 2010)

Nice machine Rob!  You sure like to go heavy duty when you do something.  How much money do you have in that contraption?  If I showed you a pic of mine you'd laugh.


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## robc (Apr 8, 2010)

barabootom said:


> Nice machine Rob!  You sure like to go heavy duty when you do something.  How much money do you have in that contraption?  If I showed you a pic of mine you'd laugh.


I wouldn't laugh, I just like to go heavy duty LOL!!

*Box = $225.00
timer = $146.00
hygrotherm = $80.00
Humidifier = $15.00
Fan = $15.00
Electric box's & hardware = $40.00
misc hardware est = $25.00 *
 there were some shipping charges in those prices above.

total = $750.00 - $800.00 (seems like a lot but I think it was worth it LOL!)

Reactions: Face Palm 1


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## Nerri1029 (Apr 8, 2010)

Looks really good.  I thought mine was on the high side of pricey. LOL

I like the rotation set up.


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## xhexdx (Apr 8, 2010)

robc said:


> (seems like a lot but I think it was worth it LOL!)


Have you tested it yet to confirm its value?


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## mschemmy (Apr 8, 2010)

Box = $225.00
timer = $146.00
hygrotherm = $80.00
Humidifier = $15.00
Fan = $15.00
Electric box's & hardware = $40.00
misc hardware est = $25.00 
A couple hundred P. Metallica's emerging from an egg sac = priceless


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## robc (Apr 8, 2010)

xhexdx said:


> Have you tested it yet to confirm its value?


Not yet, but it was fun just building it.


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## Stopdroproll (Apr 8, 2010)

No wonder you haven't had a video up for a while. How long have you been working on it?


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## robc (Apr 8, 2010)

Stopdroproll said:


> No wonder you haven't had a video up for a while. How long have you been working on it?


For about a month on and off. I am making another also


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## TalonAWD (Apr 9, 2010)

Rob,

Wanted to say that the unit you built looks* Awesome*!!!! Great job! I put mine on hold for a bit due to a much bigger project (74 Chevy Nova) but your unit really motivates me to continue. I did finish my mechanical mom gearbox and it is a flexible unit. What that means is I can set it to any amount of rotation I want (as far as how many times per day).

Thanks for the props! I wish you great success with it.


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## robc (Apr 9, 2010)

TalonAWD said:


> Rob,
> 
> Wanted to say that the unit you built looks* Awesome*!!!! Great job! I put mine on hold for a bit due to a much bigger project (74 Chevy Nova) but your unit really motivates me to continue. I did finish my mechanical mom gearbox and it is a flexible unit. What that means is I can set it to any amount of rotation I want (as far as how many times per day).
> 
> Thanks for the props! I wish you great success with it.


Thank you steve, I know yours will look great to, BTW the fan comes in red also


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## SDiego (Apr 9, 2010)

Excellent work young master. I see our advanced facilities are in order. Everything is in place. It is now time for you to reveal to all arachnophobes your true intentions behind these advanced breeding techniques . . . .



<removed>


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## robc (Apr 9, 2010)

SDiego said:


> Excellent work young master. I see our advanced facilities are in order. Everything is in place. It is now time for you to reveal to all arachnophobes your true intentions behind these advanced breeding techniques . . . .


That is awesome LOL!!!!


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## TalonAWD (Apr 9, 2010)

robc said:


> Thank you steve, I know yours will look great to, BTW the fan comes in red also


LOL. Oh yeah?? RED!!!! Hell yeah!!! I'm getting it!!! LOL


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## robc (Apr 9, 2010)

TalonAWD said:


> LOL. Oh yeah?? RED!!!! Hell yeah!!! I'm getting it!!! LOL


Yours will have lots of red in I know it!!


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## TalonAWD (Apr 9, 2010)

robc said:


> Yours will have lots of red in I know it!!


How do you know...It can't be that obvious....


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## robc (Apr 9, 2010)

TalonAWD said:


> How do you know...It can't be that obvious....


You love red LOL!!!



mschemmy said:


> Box = $225.00
> timer = $146.00
> hygrotherm = $80.00
> Humidifier = $15.00
> ...


LOL!! isn't that true!

Well I did a test on the mechanical Mom, I put it in my living room with ambient humidity (30% or less) and the humidifier raised the humidity to 77% in 1 hour and the temps were able to go to 98 degrees (hotter than you will need) so it will work in a room that is not heated or humidified.


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## TalonAWD (Apr 9, 2010)

robc said:


> Well I did a test on the mechanical Mom, I put it in my living room with ambient humidity (30% or less) and the humidifier raised the humidity to 77% in 1 hour and the temps were able to go to 98 degrees (hotter than you will need) so it will work in a room that is not heated or humidified.


Did you purposely set the Hydrotherm unit to get those results? (77% 98F?)

Heat plays a role in humidity. The higher the temperature, the more water vapor can fit in the air. Lower the temps and humidity goes up. Basically heat expands air so more water vapor is needed to get a higher humidity. Also the light bulb is a heat source that can dry the surrounding air at the same time. So more humidity is lost as temperature rises.


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## robc (Apr 10, 2010)

TalonAWD said:


> Did you purposely set the Hydrotherm unit to get those results? (77% 98F?)
> 
> Heat plays a role in humidity. The higher the temperature, the more water vapor can fit in the air. Lower the temps and humidity goes up. Basically heat expands air so more water vapor is needed to get a higher humidity. Also the light bulb is a heat source that can dry the surrounding air at the same time. So more humidity is lost as temperature rises.


Yeah, I set it to see how hot it would go to, so it got 98 degrees and 77% humidity. I did another test and at 84-87 degrees it can obtain 88-90% humidity....I am setting it to do this in a dry room to see what results. so I set the temps at 87 and the humidity at 88% and it can reach  88-90% humidity stil, mote than adequate. When the machine is in my room without even being on it is  at 85 degrees and 80% humidity, so it will have no problem achieving a few more %/degrees


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## Slappys_g1rl06 (Apr 10, 2010)

That's quite the contraption!  I can't wait to see the results... especially if any p. metallicas are involved!    Have you thought about maybe building these to sell to folks?  Lol, of course, they might need to be streamlined as far as the cost goes... but maybe not for the diehard T-enthusiast!  Just a thought!  Best wishes!!!


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## micheldied (Apr 10, 2010)

nice contraption rob!


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## robc (Apr 10, 2010)

micheldied said:


> nice contraption rob!


Thank you!


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## JDeRosa (Apr 11, 2010)

Wow, you don't half ass anything Rob. That is professional looking, like it came out of a factory. Hey, where did you get that enclosure. It's size seems larger than similar ones made by a well advertised cage maker? What are it's dimensions?


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## robc (Apr 11, 2010)

JDeRosa said:


> Wow, you don't half ass anything Rob. That is professional looking, like it came out of a factory. Hey, where did you get that enclosure. It's size seems larger than similar ones made by a well advertised cage maker? What are it's dimensions?


Thank you!! Yaeh it is much bigger, but I would think it would be easier to monitor heat & humidity. Here is the design I made and gave to Adam hundt (tarantulacages.com) and he put it together. The side panels are a must IMHO.

Here is the blue print I gave adam:







Did a few modifications to the mechanical Mom and thought i would share.

[YOUTUBE]pvAG71AzLIk[/YOUTUBE]


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## AbraCadaver (Apr 12, 2010)

That's really neat.. Are you gonna try it if Zilla makes another sac? Wasn't that the problem with the last one, that they all clumped together, cause she didn't turn it?

I really want to make one, but I have no use for it.. Kind of a shame, I love those kinds of projects!


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## robc (Apr 12, 2010)

AbraCadaver said:


> That's really neat.. Are you gonna try it if Zilla makes another sac? Wasn't that the problem with the last one, that they all clumped together, cause she didn't turn it?
> 
> I really want to make one, but I have no use for it.. Kind of a shame, I love those kinds of projects!


I most certainly will, I think the eggs were either infertile or she did not roll it!


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## AbraCadaver (Apr 12, 2010)

Yeah, they looked all clumped together on the vid.. 

As with anything, you have the single most proffesional looking mechanical mom I have ever seen..


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## robc (Apr 12, 2010)

AbraCadaver said:


> Yeah, they looked all clumped together on the vid..
> 
> As with anything, you have the single most proffesional looking mechanical mom I have ever seen..


Thank you I appreciate that!


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## TalonAWD (Apr 12, 2010)

I do have one suggestion. Heat rises and you have the internal Flukers on the top of the enclosure and as well as above the light bulb. I would put it in the center near the egg chambers and add another one in another part of the tank. This would enable you to monitor temp/humidity changes for different parts of the enclosure.  Obviously the probe for the Hygrotherm unit is near the sac so You may want to put the Flukers there also. This will also double check the hygrotherm's accuracy.


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## robc (Apr 12, 2010)

TalonAWD said:


> I do have one suggestion. Heat rises and you have the internal Flukers on the top of the enclosure and as well as above the light bulb. I would put it in the center near the egg chambers and add another one in alother part of the tank. This would enable you to monitor temp/humidity changes for different parts of the enclosure.  Obviously the probe for the Hygrotherm unit is near the sac so You may want to put the Flukers there also. This will also double check the hygrotherm's accuracy.


The hygrotherm is a lot more acurate, I tested it against my commercial grade hydrometer and it wasn't even a degree off, I did put the flukers right next to the hydroT and it changed about 2% so for humidity I would say the flukers is off about 10-15%...but is really accurate as far as temps go. I do plan on putting a flukers near the chamber just for the heck of it LOL!


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## TalonAWD (Apr 12, 2010)

And I totally agree. The setup circulates airflow so no air will become stagnant. Have you placed the fan in an angle?

When I was designing a setup for my tubocharged Talon long ago I was looking for ways to make air flow more efficiently (for more HP). So I studied a bit of fluid dynamics. Air flows like a liquid which means it will flow the path of least resistance. So if you imagine air flow as water, you can visualize where the air will want to travel. This includes bouncing or flowing with walls. If you place the fan at an angle it will bounce off the corner and flow outward in diferent directions. Face it to one wall and it will spread outwards along the wall just like water. Since you have heat on one side and humidity on the other, i would try to simulate a tornado effect to mix the two using the little fan.
Maybe a bit of overkill with calculations but its just a thought.

Yes and I do beleive you when you say the flukers are inaccurate because they are


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## robc (Apr 12, 2010)

TalonAWD said:


> And I totally agree. The setup circulates airflow so no air will become stagnant. Have you placed the fan in an angle?
> 
> When I was designing a setup for my tubocharged Talon long ago I was looking for ways to make air flow more efficiently (for more HP). So I studied a bit of fluid dynamics. Air flows like a liquid which means it will flow the path of least resistance. So if you imagine air flow as water, you can visualize where the air will want to travel. This includes bouncing or flowing with walls. If you place the fan at an angle it will bounce off the corner and flow outward in diferent directions. Face it to one wall and it will spread outwards along the wall just like water. Since you have heat on one side and humidity on the other, i would try to simulate a tornado effect to mix the two using the little fan.
> Maybe a bit of overkill with calculations but its just a thought.


That is exactly what I did, it hits one wall and fans out, you just proved I placed right LOL!! Your calculations are NOT overkill they are invaluable IMHO!


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## TalonAWD (Apr 12, 2010)

Heres an example of what I'm trying to protray.


[YOUTUBE]3lytm0aI-jo&feature=related[/YOUTUBE]


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## robc (Apr 12, 2010)

TalonAWD said:


> Heres an example of what I'm trying to protray.
> 
> 
> [YOUTUBE]3lytm0aI-jo&feature=related[/YOUTUBE]


My fan is mounted on velcro so I can position it anyway I want, sop you suggest more of a angle?? Keep in mind that spray bar is moving some air to!


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## TalonAWD (Apr 12, 2010)

robc said:


> My fan is mounted on velcro so I can position it anyway I want, sop you suggest more of a angle?? Keep in mind that spray bar is moving some air to!


What you could do is tape little pieces of string in different parts mainly where you want the air to flow and when you mount the fan look to see if the string moves. This will let you see visually where the air flow is going. The other way would be usiing dry ice because it will have a smoke to see.

Like I said. It can be overkill. When I did all of this it was for something valid...More HP by increasing airflow by reducing drag. Similar to what auto makers do with the body of the car.

And yes the spray bar has to be accounted for and that is a valid point


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## robc (Apr 12, 2010)

TalonAWD said:


> What you could do is tape little pieces of string in different parts mainly where you want the air to flow and when you mount the fan look to see if the string moves. This will let you see visually where the air flow is going. The other way would be usiing dry ice because it will have a smoke to see.
> 
> Like I said. It can be overkill. When I did all of this it was for something valid...More HP by increasing airflow by reducing drag. Similar to what auto makers do with the body of the car.
> 
> And yes the spray bar has to be accounted for and that is a valid point


I may try this Steve! It may also be possible the fan does mess with the hydrometer/thermometer, but the fan is essential. I may also close off 75% of the other vent, since this set-up does not need a lot a ventalation due to the amount of air flow.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Moonbug (Nov 26, 2012)

Hey RobC,

I see your last post on the mechanical mom was 2010.  I was wondering if you still use this model or have you made any other changes to it?

By the way you are so awesome for sharing so much information on your tarantulas with us.  I love watching all your YouTube videos.  I have learn so much form them!

Reactions: Like 1


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## RobynTRR (Nov 27, 2012)

Missed this the first time around, very cool.


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## jas0jas (May 19, 2019)

robc said:


> I decided to make my own version of the Mechanical Mom. I changed a few things up - mainly the timer. It rotates the sacs 6x per 24 hours instead of the more common 1x per 24 hours. Hopefully this will yield good results. Listed below are a few people I'd like to thank:
> 
> TalonAWD - for providing me the link to the humidifier.
> 
> ...


hi sir, when ts have ang eggsac how many days will remove the eggsac from the mother and put in the mechanical mom????

Reactions: Funny 1


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## Arachnophoric (May 19, 2019)

jas0jas said:


> hi sir, when ts have ang eggsac how many days will remove the eggsac from the mother and put in the mechanical mom????


Barking up the wrong tree buddy, Rob hasn't been active on here in a long while.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## cold blood (May 19, 2019)

jas0jas said:


> hi sir, when ts have ang eggsac how many days will remove the eggsac from the mother and put in the mechanical mom????


This type of contraption is for sacs that you want to pull immediately. Most of us find it easier just to let mom take care of it for 20 to 30 days and put it in a simple incubator.

Reactions: Like 1


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