Seeds Drying Container

prusaprinters

<h3>Motivation</h3><p>I grow hot peppers as a hobby which also include saving seeds for the next season or for giving away to any one that likes to grow hot peppers.</p><p>Now, preparing the seeds for drying can be tedious and even painful if you do not take the corresponding care, therefore I decided to design a small container, that allows me to collect, wash and dry the seeds with minimum risk of getting affected by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsaicin">capsaicin</a> in your hands or in the air when washing the seeds.</p><p>The idea is to have a container that behaves as a small shovel when open, and as a strainer container allowing water and air to flow easily (For washing the seeds and then dry them)</p><h3>The Model</h3><p>The model is composed by 4 parts:</p><ul><li><strong>The base</strong>, that serves as a small shovel for lifting the seeds after they were separated from the hot peppers pulp.</li><li><strong>A cover</strong>, that fits over the base by closing the base in such way that the seeds will not fall out. The cover locks when it is fully closed using a small snap in joint.</li><li><strong>A label</strong>, that holds the name of variety of the seeds, it can be printed easily so many labels can be used with the same base/cover. The Label serves also as a security cover that prevents the cover from opening due to its snap in joint.</li><li><strong>A lock</strong>, for preventing the label to slide out, as you know, labeling is important so your seeds will not mix :)</li></ul><h3>Printing the model</h3><p>There are many ways you can print this model, I strongly advice to use the provided Prusa Slicer Project files.</p><p>I have provided the following:</p><ul><li>Prusa Slicer Project files: (All-in-one printing or for printing the parts separately)</li><li>GCODE for the Prusa Mini+ Printer (If you have a Prusa Mini+ with eSun filament, you may pick this one)</li><li>STL files. (You may print directly, but for the base and cover, you need to use infill modifiers as explained below)</li></ul><p>In addition I'm providing individual label tags you may print if you like my naming convention. (58 files are provided here, read below)</p><p>I used <strong>PLA</strong> (eSUN PLA+) filament, works perfect for me because I do not need high temperatures. Printed at 0.2 layer height with a 0.4 nozzle.</p><h5>Printing all-in-one:</h5><p>You can use the provided Prusa Slicer project for printing all the pieces in a single printing run, here you will not need to run any tuning other than selecting the correct filament profile and selecting the printer you have.</p><h5>Printing the Base and cover from STL files:</h5><p>The base and cover require an infill modifier for creating the strainer net. &nbsp;If you load the corresponding Prusa Slicer project file, you can proceed and slice the model directly, but if you load the STL files directly, you need also to create an infill modifier loading the infill STL piece that will be used for changing the infill, layer and perimeters parameters.</p><p>The infill, layer and perimeters parameters required are:</p><ul><li>Fill density: 38% (You can also select 40%)</li><li>Fill pattern: Grid</li><li>Bottom solid layers: 0</li><li>Layer Perimeters: 0</li><li>Top solid layers: 0</li></ul><p>The following figure shows the infill, layer and perimeters parameters (marked in yellow)</p><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:85.39%;"><img src="https://media.printables.com/media/prints/281801/rich_content/8af29a0f-4b91-4cd3-afc7-71397237f0b1/palita-all-in-one-prusaslicer-250-based-on-slic3rtintin.png#%7B%22uuid%22%3A%2209cfcab4-64c5-4f6b-8e37-e96619579457%22%2C%22w%22%3A1357%2C%22h%22%3A1000%7D"></figure><p>&nbsp;</p><h5>Printing the labels:</h5><p>There is a “Labels” sub directory with all the labels I use with the name notation I use.</p><p>The Prusa project file includes the “empty” label (without text), that you can use as template for loading any label, just replace the loaded label with the one that suits you.</p><p>I print the labels with two colors, when I change the color at layer#12 (Marked in yellow below).</p><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:83.86%;"><img src="https://media.printables.com/media/prints/281801/rich_content/950d51a0-c267-47cc-8a5c-ba58aa55ade8/palita-labell-prusaslicer-250-based-on-slic3rtintin.png#%7B%22uuid%22%3A%22e7949c10-c2eb-463d-a578-e999eec9be57%22%2C%22w%22%3A1377%2C%22h%22%3A929%7D"></figure><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Again, <strong>if you want a specific label text, drop me a note and I will create the STL for you</strong>.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h5>Printing the lock:</h5><p>Printing the lock is just straight forward, you can use the STL provided or the Prusa Slicer project as well.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>Ensemble the Seeds Drying Container</h3><p>Ensemble the model is not difficult, it is composed by 4 parts.</p><h5>Joining the base with its cover</h5><figure class="image image-style-align-center image_resized" style="width:88.73%;"><img src="https://media.printables.com/media/prints/281801/rich_content/29125b1c-d7bd-4ca0-8f83-562599f2087e/palita-closing-the-container.png#%7B%22uuid%22%3A%22c22759e9-62a9-4763-b507-3dab373fc0be%22%2C%22w%22%3A1665%2C%22h%22%3A1317%7D"></figure><p>ŒŒ‚ƒ„The figure above shows how to close the base using the cover. You may need to apply some force at the end of the sliding operation because a small cantilever snap joint needs to snap in.</p><h5>Sliding the Label Tag:</h5><figure class="image image-style-align-center image_resized" style="width:99.85%;"><img src="https://media.printables.com/media/prints/281801/rich_content/8a9d830f-3b21-4517-85ef-e582d6cfcfd6/palita-placing-the-label-tag.png#%7B%22uuid%22%3A%2263eb2cf6-de3d-4d08-ae4b-e32bd8f88fb5%22%2C%22w%22%3A1889%2C%22h%22%3A660%7D"></figure><p>When sliding the label, take notice that the straight border is towards the front, and that the middle slot will be towards the back of the container. This slot serves for placing the lock (next step).</p><p>The label tag is important because it secures the cover (prevents the cantilever snap joint to easily release).. but the label with time can slide, therefore the next step is important.</p><h5>Locking the container</h5><figure class="image"><img src="https://media.printables.com/media/prints/281801/rich_content/fc76caa4-6737-4050-bff8-ba617b41d1fb/palita-locking-the-container.png#%7B%22uuid%22%3A%221f932172-ef4b-4a01-897f-7a71e8c4a707%22%2C%22w%22%3A1896%2C%22h%22%3A730%7D"></figure><p>This step adds a security lock, so the label tag will not slide and the cover will for sure not open.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>My Workflow for drying seeds</h3><p>My drying seeds workflow is as follows:</p><ol><li>Separate the seeds from the hot peppers, I strongly advice to use gloves for not getting &nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsaicin">capsaicin</a> in your hands.</li><li>Put the seeds in the base of this container ("The Shovel").</li><li>Take care only to fill ¼ of the base, that is leave a lot of room for air to flow.</li><li>Close the container with the cover, place the label and its security lock.</li><li>Using a big cup with soapy water, dip the container for 30 seconds in the soapy solution.</li><li>Wash the container under a tap with flowing water, this will clean the soap.</li><li>Hang the container in a shadowed place for few days.</li><li>Take out the seeds and place them in a dark dry place until they are used, you may pack them in small plastic bags with a small paper towel for preventing moisture inside the bag.</li></ol><p>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Hope it was not TL;DR</strong></p><h3>Last Words</h3><ul><li>I hope you like this model and if you like it, please give it a like, it will make my day and will allow me to get a Prusa mug.</li><li>Don't hesitate to post your makes including comments that can improve the model.</li><li>You are kindly invited to follow me to get updated every time I upload a new model.</li></ul><p>And the most important: Happy printing &amp; Greetings from the Galilee.</p><p>&nbsp;</p>