Herb / Seeds Drying Rack

Updates

• 29-10-2025: Initial upload.

Usage

If you have fast-growing herb plants, such as oregano, it's essential to keep them in check to prevent them from overgrowing your growing area. This involves storing the cuttings for later use. The best way to ensure the herbs last for a long time is by drying them. This design helps with that by keeping the collected leaves together while they passively dry. It can easily be expanded and modified with larger or smaller ventilation holes.

Parts

The design consists of five parts, three of which are essential: the foot, the mat, and the mat cover. The optional parts are the foot grip and the end cap.

Foot

The foot is the first part of the drying rack tower. I recommend using a height modifier to increase the fill density to 50% for the height between 0.0 and 5.0 mm. This will make the whole drying rack more bottom-heavy, making it less likely to tip over. At the bottom are slots which hold the foot grip. This is an optional part if you want the rack to have more grip and be less likely to slip and slide.

Foot Grip (optional)

This part is meant to be printed out of a grippy material such as TPU. It slots into the bottom part of the foot. Depending on how flexible the material is, the part should snap into place and will be very hard to remove.

Mat

This part holds the herb leaves and can be modified in the slicer to alter the hole size and hole type. For both the mat and the mat cover, the same modifier shape is used to control the hole sizing and type, so that you can try out different styles of mats for all kinds of herbs. 

I recommend trying out different fill densities and patterns on a basic cylinder shape (0.8 mm height) with no top and bottom layers.

The default settings for a 0.4mm nozzle are: 

• fill angle : 0
• fill density : 30%
• fill pattern : Honeycomb
• bottom layers : 0
• perimeters : 1
• top layers : 0

Four clips secure the cover mat above the map. These clips can be lightly compressed to loosen the cover mat.

If you want to create an interesting flower pattern with the holes, you can use honeycomb infill for both the mat and the cover mat. Rotate one mat by 90 degrees to align some holes with those below, while others remain misaligned.

This effect can also be achieved using a single mat. In PrusaSlicer, height modifiers can't be applied to shape modifiers. So you need to copy the mat infill block and adjust its height to 0.4 mm to cover half of the mat's thickness. Next, move the other shape modifier up by 0.4 mm and set the fill angle to 90 degrees.

Mat Cover

This part is basically the mat, but with the standoff removed and holes for the clips. The cover is used to keep all the herb leaves secure and prevents access for bugs. 

End Cap (optional)

Another optional part which screws down at the last mat. Although not completely necessary, it protects the mat threads if the rack falls by accident and adds a lovely aesthetic.

Filaments

For my print, I used the following materials:

• PETG Prusament Urban Grey (Foot, Mat, Mat Cover & End Cap)
• TPC-45 (Foot Grip)

Printing  Difficulty: II

I: Novice printing knowledge

• Basic understanding of 3D printing principles and processes.
• Familiarity with operating a 3D printer.
• Able to follow step-by-step instructions for printing simple designs.
• Limited experience in troubleshooting common printing issues.

II: Intermediate understanding

• Proficient in 3D printing principles and processes.
• Comfortable with various 3D printer settings and parameters.
• Capable of handling more complex designs and making necessary adjustments.
• Able to troubleshoot common printing issues and optimise print quality.

III: Experienced

• Extensive knowledge and expertise in 3D printing.
• Proficient in advanced printing techniques, such as multi-material or multi-colour printing.
• Skilled in fine-tuning printer settings for optimal results.
• Capable of handling complex and intricate designs.
• Experienced in troubleshooting and resolving various printing challenges.