Coral Seed Canister

myminifactory

Inspired by H3D's project reef, my brother's sea aquarium, and the research I conducted for this project, I designed this canister. It holds four coral plugs in its pyramid-shaped base, which are shielded by the top part without impeding access to fresh water and food. These coral fragments are commonly used by aquarium enthusiasts to cultivate and grow coral. My objective is that this canister can be mass-produced by 3D hobbyists worldwide, collaborating with coral farmers to restore global reefs. The PLA material will break down over time, and I hope that by then the coral will be robust enough to anchor itself or have already sprouted buds or reproduced sexually. I printed this at a layer height of 0.15 mm, and the covers do not require support; however, the base part does need it. I highly recommend adjusting your retraction settings to minimize stringing. Print both parts with 100% infill so the canister sinks to the bottom of the reef for restoration. The research that guided my design is based on: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-17555-z#Fig1 I do not claim credit for their work; instead, I modified and adjusted this canister after one of their designs.