Frame: Vacuum Formed Scale: A Plastic/Aluminum Hybrid

OVERVIEW:
The vacuum formed scale utilizes a rectangular plastic hive rail with a reinforced aluminum undercarriage. The general concept behind this scale was to produce an affordable light-weight scale that was able to accommodate both ten frame and eight frame Langstroth beehives. An additional aluminum undercarriage was added as extra reinforcement was needed to support the weight of the cantilevered load cells.

PRODUCTION:
Production of this scale started out by creating a very accurate wooden mold that was able to be used in a commercial vacuum forming machine. The plastic used was 1/4" thick and possesses UV resistant properties that could handle the exposure to weather elements. After the plastic form was produced additional work was done to remove the unneeded flashings. Holes were drilled and aluminum bars were cut to size and added to properly secure the load cells.

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  Test drilling for wooden mold creation

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  Creation and drilling of wooden mold

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  Plastic vacuum formed hive rails arrive

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  Plastic vacuum formed hive rail

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  Removal of excess/unneeded plastic

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  Creation of aluminum undercarriage bars

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  Aluminum undercarriage bars complete

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  Installation of aluminum bars and load cells

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  Picture of the finished product - Undercarriage

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  Picture of the finished product - Topside

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  Testing of load application - Distributed

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  Testing of load application - Focused

Parts List
Below is a list of parts that will produce a system that is very close to what is at the HawaUbee Apiary. Keep in mind that this system is way above and beyond a typical system it is also completely off the wired grid, utilizing solar power and a hotspot for wireless internet connection. This cost does not include tools, labor, Hivetool Development Kit, and actual scale construction. The hotspot is a 5GB/month plan and roughly costs $50 per month. To see a breakdown click on the PartsList - HawaUbee.xlsx link that is below this image.

File:PartsList - HawaUbee.xlsx

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