Ventilation Grid for Fruit & Vegetable Storage 180x180 mm

Motivation

[ spoilage of fruit and vegetables due to little ventilation ]
Storing vegetables & fruit in a box sometimes cause spoilage where the fruit touches the bottom.
This happens more likely, when missing air ventilation at the bottom of a storage container supports spoilage or mould growth.

[ storage boxes for tomato ripening ]
During a vacation in France I bought fruit in nice stackable wooden boxes, which I now use for ripening tomatoes on a window sill.
As the boxes are stackable, only little space is required.
(for this purpose, also other well ventilated storage boxes can be used)
In case you want to print them yourself, try this:

[ ensure good ventilation of contact region ]
To avoid early fruit spoilage, I wanted to ensure good ventilation of stored items in the contact region at the bottom of the storage containers.

Solution

To enable good ventilation I designed a grid with small spacing to keep the pressure on stored item surfaces low while enabling air ventilation at the same time.
For low stringing while 3D-printing, I chose a meander shape grid pattern to increase continuous extrusion while printing the grid.
The design also  allows printing without brim or supports, which generally results in better surface quality, especially when printing with PETG.
 

Print

Printed with prusament PETG (Pistaccio Green).

  [ ventilation grid 180x180 ]
  1x FruitStorageGrid_180x180_v01.stl (one single part)
     (support:                  not required)
     (brim:                       not required for satin)
     (print orientation:   top face down)
     (colour:                    Pistaccio Green or as you like ;-)
 

Assembly

[ Storage Container Setup ]

[A]
Simply place the grid in the bottom of the container.

[B]
Optionally place a single sheet of kitchen paper in the grid.

[C]
Place a single layer of fruits or vegetables on the grid.
Do not stack too high, as increased pressure by its own weight can damage the protective skin of the stored items.


Store & Enjoy!!!