Fossil Sifter

Design Summary and Printing Notes: I repurposed Tyler Spurgeon's brilliant 3d printer enclosure to function as the frame for my fossil sifter. The design is extremely robust and is resistant to bending and torsion, and his method of linking the pieces together with easy to find hardware made it the perfect platform for my sifter. This sifter is approximately 12"x12" with a sifting area of 8"x8". Be sure to check with your local governments/parks authority to see what size sifters are allowed. Some areas in the United States restrict the size of sifters to protect the local environment from over sifting. Additionally, there is a recess originally intended for an acrylic panel that I remodeled slightly so I could attach ¼" wire mesh to the bottom using the same screws used to assemble the frame. A couple notes for printing and assembly: When using it, I found that if you print with enough walls/floors/ceilings, it will float in the water which is a huge plus. I used 5 walls, 3 floors, and 3 ceilings. However, I noticed that the bottom of my sifter had a small puncture from the rocks. I used 15% infill, so either increase the infill or increase the number of floors. Although you could absolutely use PLA, just know that it will likely be more brittle. I haven't tested it. PETG is what I recommend since you will be constantly exposing this to hard rocks and jagged surfaces. One thing I did notice after initial assembly was that the parts of the frame did shift around a bit. As a cautionary measure, I super glued all the seams where the parts connect to increase strength. ASSEMBLY: What you will need for this exact build: 4x Sifter_Corner 4x Sifter Side 6in 16x Screws to assemble the frame 16x Screws to attach the wire mesh/screen The screws used are Teks Sharp Point Lath Screws ¾" #8.