I designed this rechargeable parrot shower for my two birds. The original idea was simple: many parrots enjoy bathing, but a normal water bowl is easy to spill, and manual misting is not always convenient. I wanted to make a small shower that could sit inside the cage, run from the Rechargeable Power Kit, and be easy to clean after use.

The final design is built around four main ideas:

• a quick-release power module, water tank, and printed filter for easier cleaning
• a magnetic-drive centrifugal pump, so the motor stays outside the water area
• use a ready-made transparent plastic sheet, as this will yield much better results than printing a transparent model.
• modular shower heads, so different water patterns can be swapped later

The hardest part was the pump. I first tested small centrifugal pump prototypes, but the early versions did not provide enough head height. I also tried a peristaltic pump, but with the kit motor it had too little torque and the water output was small and uneven. After several rounds, I returned to the centrifugal pump idea and improved the pump body, added a better volute shape, enlarged the impeller slightly, and integrated the water channel with the printed body to reduce leakage and pressure loss.

Noise was another important challenge. Since this is meant for birds, it should not sound too harsh inside the cage. I tested TPU parts and found that using TPU only for the gear ring gave the best result: the noise dropped a lot, while the water output stayed almost unchanged. Printing more drivetrain parts in TPU reduced performance too much, so I kept the softer material only where it helped most.

The current version has passed full assembly and real-use testing. In one endurance test it ran for more than 250 minutes on a full charge before the continuous water flow gradually became dripping. Actual runtime may vary depending on print quality, lubricant, friction, and battery condition. I also added a filter after noticing that a small piece of debris could block one shower hole during testing.

This project went through more iteration than I expected: pump efficiency, gear ratio, water sealing, magnetic coupling distance, noise, clogging, and shower hole spacing all needed adjustment. The latest shower head uses fewer, slightly larger holes than an earlier version, because dense water streams could merge together.

I hope this design is useful for other bird owners and also interesting for anyone exploring small printed pumps and magnetic-drive mechanisms.

Model link: https://makerworld.com/zh/models/2934071-budgie-shower-spa-mini-bird-bath-fountain#profileId-3285052