Custom beneficial insect release stations, aggregate spreaders, dispensing components, and field mounting systems. Miami Makes helps growers, nurseries, and biological-control distributors develop equipment around the organism, carrier material, crop layout, and working routine.
Your project, in practical terms
From requirement to finished part.
Example requests show how design, fabrication, and delivery can fit together around your needs.
Can you design an attachment for distributing beneficial insects carried in loose aggregate?
Miami Makes can develop a custom hopper, metering gate, outlet, and equipment adapter around the carrier and your deployment method. Options include indexed adjustments, removable throats, cleanout access, and clamped or keyed connections to the host equipment. Material selection and geometry consider moisture, sunlight, handling, and cleaning. We can fabricate an initial assembly for discharge and biological-performance trials, revise the design from those results, and ship the approved units throughout the United States.
Where we start. Send carrier characteristics, desired dose or discharge range, refill frequency, host-equipment dimensions, and handling constraints for the organism. We help develop CAD and calibration fixtures; distribution consistency and organism viability must be evaluated with the intended carrier, organism, and operating settings.
Explore materials, dimensions, and details for each application. Dimensions below describe example configurations, not fixed limits or guaranteed specifications. We develop the final construction around your requirements.
Protect and position parasitoid cards while preserving insect emergence, ventilation, and routine replacement. Custom stations can accommodate different card formats, deployment intervals, and crop environments.
Materials & fabrication
UV-stabilized PETG, ASA, or other suitable polymers selected for sunlight, irrigation, cleaning, and contact with the release material. Protective louvers, rain shields, and drainage can be integrated into printed geometry; replaceable holders can separate the consumable interface from the permanent mount.
Dimensions & construction
Single-card or multi-position housings can support staggered deployment and tool-free card rotation. Develop channel width, retaining features, shield overhang, and mounting geometry around the actual card and support. Allow for wet-card expansion, finger access, and removal without disturbing adjacent cards.
What determines the choice
Balance rain and spray shielding with ventilation and unobstructed emergence. Review card swelling when wet, opening size, temperature inside the housing, servicing frequency, wind loading, and exact spray chemicals. Weather protection must not create a hot or poorly ventilated microenvironment.
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Beneficial insect aggregate spreaders
Distribute beneficial insects carried in vermiculite, bran, or another specified loose carrier using a purpose-designed dispensing attachment. Air-assisted and Venturi-based arrangements can be developed around the carrier, release method, and operator’s equipment.
Materials & fabrication
Printed PETG or other application-selected polymers can form curved injection paths, expanded mixing chambers, and hopper transitions. Replaceable metering parts and machined contact surfaces can address wear or finish requirements. Diverted airflow or mechanical agitation can be evaluated to reduce carrier bridging.
Dimensions & construction
Hopper volume, throat size, metering opening, chamber geometry, and outlet direction are developed together. Options include indexed flow adjustments, removable hoppers, cleanout access, keyed couplings, and twist-lock or clamped mounts matched to the host equipment. Loaded weight and balance are considered alongside refill frequency.
What determines the choice
Evaluate carrier particle size, bulk density, moisture, segregation, static, hopper level, airflow, and outlet direction. Measure discharge at defined settings using the actual carrier and organism formulation, then check distribution and survival. Carrier volume per minute alone does not establish organism dose or field coverage.
Hold release sachets, cards, or small emergence containers at a defined position in a crop. Custom holders can accommodate trellises, stakes, benches, hanging baskets, and nursery containers.
Materials & fabrication
Printed ASA or selected UV-stabilized polymers can form clips, roofs, and holders; a separate flexible insert can grip a support without making the entire holder flexible. Material selection considers irrigation, sunlight, handling, and the release supplier’s contact restrictions.
Dimensions & construction
Develop the pocket and clearances from the supplied sachet or container, including seams, attachment tabs, and expansion after wetting. Starting wall concepts of 2–3 mm can incorporate hooks, releasable clips, orientation stops, and drainage without enclosing the emergence opening.
What determines the choice
Prevent crushing, flooding, blocked exit paths, and contact with persistent wet surfaces. Mounting height and location follow crop and release-program requirements. Check installation with gloves, removal for servicing, accidental detachment, and whether the holder can be cleaned between deployments.
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Blower, pole & nursery equipment adapters
Connect a specialized agricultural tool to equipment already used by the operator. Interfaces can join a dispenser to a blower or attach a release station to a stake, pipe, rail, or bench.
Materials & fabrication
Printed nylon, ASA, PETG, or selected reinforced polymers for shaped adapters; machined aluminum or acetal for interfaces needing a different wear or stiffness response. Replaceable gripping pads and purchased fasteners can be integrated.
Dimensions & construction
Options include split clamps, keyed sockets, bayonet or twist-lock couplings, latches, and tether points. Fit follows measured outlet geometry or actual support diameter; nominal pipe size is not the same as outside diameter. Coupling wall thickness and engagement length follow the load and available space. M5–M8 heat-set inserts or comparable imperial sizes can provide reusable screw connections in suitable thermoplastic clamp bodies; size the bosses and clamp lugs around the required tightening force.
What determines the choice
Account for blower thrust, vibration, torque, accidental impacts, hopper weight, and tool removal. Check whether the attachment changes airflow or cooling. Confirm exact models and interface revisions rather than promising compatibility across a battery platform or brand.
Store and feed carrier material consistently into a release or distribution mechanism. Custom parts can address bridging, awkward refilling, inaccessible residue, and inconsistent adjustment.
Materials & fabrication
Printed PETG or other suitable polymers can form hopper funnels and flow passages; machined acetal, HDPE, or metal can provide replaceable gate and wear components. Candidate clear inspection windows use a compatible sheet material and cleaning method.
Dimensions & construction
Develop around capacities such as 0.5, 1, or 2 L, selected for refill frequency and operator handling. Adjustable gates, indexed settings, removable throat inserts, seals, lids, and cleanout access are dimensioned to the carrier’s particle distribution and required feed range.
What determines the choice
Measure flow across hopper fill levels and expected humidity. Avoid assuming that vermiculite, bran, and other carriers flow alike. Agitation and air assistance must be evaluated for segregation, dust, static, and damage to organisms. Calibrate each carrier formulation rather than transferring settings from a different material.
Create repeatable setups for measuring discharge, comparing settings, checking distribution, and handling release containers during packing or field preparation.
Materials & fabrication
CNC-routed HDPE or acetal trays, printed container nests, and aluminum support frames can be combined with purchased scales, collection vessels, and test instruments. Smooth, removable contact parts can simplify inspection and cleaning.
Dimensions & construction
Examples include indexed blower supports, collection-tray arrays, timed-discharge catch vessels, bottle-filling nests, and adjustable nozzle-height stands. Pocket pitch, vessel capacity, and fixture height follow the test method; reference marks identify orientation, distance, and setting.
What determines the choice
Separate total carrier output from organism count, viability, and spatial distribution. Define repeats, sampling method, ambient conditions, collection recovery, and cleaning between batches. A fixture can support a repeatable comparison, but biological acceptance criteria come from the release program and organism supplier.
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Irrigation & tubing supports
Position irrigation lines or distribution tubing around crops and infrastructure.
Match actual tubing diameter, clips, stake or rail interfaces, bend radius, and removal access.
What determines the choice
Check sunlight, water, fertilizer exposure, growth clearance, and installation force. Avoid crushing tubing or concentrating stress at fittings.
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Nursery bench accessories
Adapt benches to a particular crop, container, or handling routine.
Materials & fabrication
Routed HDPE, suitable printed polymers, aluminum brackets, and purchased hardware.
Dimensions & construction
Develop dividers, stops, pot-location guides, removable supports, and mounting clips from the bench geometry.
What determines the choice
Review filled-container weight, drainage, sanitation, UV, and worker access. Accessories should not create persistent wet or debris-trapping areas.
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Field monitoring-device mounts
Position sensors, cameras, and monitoring devices near the crop or process.
Materials & fabrication
ASA, nylon, selected UV-stabilized polymers, and aluminum with appropriate hardware.
Dimensions & construction
Define pole clamps, angle adjustment, cable routing, sensing clearance, and service access from the actual device.
What determines the choice
Consider sun exposure, irrigation, wind, vibration, antenna performance, and vegetation growth. The mount must not obstruct the sensing path or trap moisture.
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Agricultural sampling tools
Collect or organize repeat samples using an application-specific physical tool.
Materials & fabrication
Machined compatible plastics or metal, printed bodies for suitable uses, and replaceable contact parts.
Dimensions & construction
Define sample volume or opening, reach, handles, container interfaces, depth stops, and identification.
What determines the choice
Review contamination, cleaning, sampling bias, soil or plant contact, and operator handling. A tool’s geometry must support the intended sampling protocol.
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Release-material preparation fixtures
Hold containers and components during biological-release preparation or packing.
Materials & fabrication
Machined HDPE or acetal trays, suitable printed nests, and compatible contact liners.
Dimensions & construction
Include bottle-location pockets, funnel supports, lid or sachet holders, label references, and easy cleanout.
What determines the choice
Check organism handling, carrier segregation, moisture, cross-contamination, and cleaning residues. Keep mechanical consistency distinct from biological dose verification.
Design is part of the engagement
Help defining it. Help making it.
We can develop the release or dispensing mechanism around the organism delivery format, crop environment, and operator’s equipment. Physical trials can address installation, refilling, carrier flow, handling, and maintenance before producing a field evaluation batch or a repeat run.
Design and documentation can stand alone, continue through our fabrication work, or support production by a specialist facility.
Release card, sachet, or carrier samples; organism and carrier information; crop layout; equipment model and interface measurements; desired output or servicing routine; exposure and cleaning conditions; and initial quantity.
Send what you have. We can help identify and develop the missing information.
Custom flow paths that connect equipment, move loose material, or direct air where the application needs it. Miami Makes develops transitions, pickups, hoppers, and outlets around your equipment and operating conditions.
Make existing equipment fit a specific installation or restore a component that is difficult to source. Miami Makes can develop a new part or reconstruct geometry from a sample and its mating interfaces.
Trays and carriers designed around the parts, batch size, and handling steps in your operation. We help organize work, preserve orientation, and make parts easier to load, move, inspect, and retrieve.
