Nursery Pot Lifter for Cachepots – Hangs the Plant Above Drained Water, Finger Loops, 12 / 15 cm

A one-piece collar that holds a plant's plastic nursery pot inside a decorative pot (cachepot). A ring holds the nursery pot by its rim, or by its tapered body just below the rim. Four petal-shaped arms rise at 55° and rest on the inner edge of the decorative pot's lip, so the collar centres itself. The nursery pot hangs at a set height with free space under it for the water that drains out, and two of the arms end in finger loops: lift the plant straight out, water it in the sink, let it drain and put it back.

Validation status (please read): digitally validated only - fits and strength are calculations on the CAD model. It has not been physically printed or tested, and not tried with a real plant. All pictures are renders of the exported model or diagrams computed from it; the plant, pots, soil, water and furniture are stand-ins - none is a photograph.

Features

• One collar per nursery size covers a 30 mm range of decorative pots.

• Self-centring: the four arms rest on the lip's inner edge like a funnel in a ring.

• The nursery pot is held from the top, so it does not stand on the floor of the decorative pot (when that pot is deep enough - see Where it fits).

• Two finger loops lift the plant straight out. Nothing clips or unclips.

• One part, no supports, about 59 g (12 cm) or 63 g (15 cm) including the brim.

Which file?

Measure across the outside of the nursery pot's rim - the size printed on the pot is only a hint, because rims vary by maker.

Neither size fits a 180 mm bed. 13-14 cm pots (rims of 124-145 mm) fit neither file - build one from the source (python model.py --set rim_d=135; not checked). Do not rescale the STL files: the fit is set by the ring bore and the arm angle.

• cachepot-lift-collar_12cm_PETG.3mf / _15cm_PETG.3mf - ready-to-print PrusaSlicer projects (generic 0.4 mm PETG profile, brim, 4 perimeters and 25 % gyroid already set).

• cachepot-lift-collar_12cm.stl / _15cm.stl - for other slicers; add the brim yourself (5 mm for 12 cm, 2.5 mm for 15 cm).

• model.py - the CadQuery source (Python 3.10+ with cadquery, trimesh, shapely and numpy).

Where it fits

• Round decorative pots with a reasonably level lip, a lip wall up to 12 mm thick and an opening in the range above.

• The inside depth of the decorative pot (lip to inside floor) must be at least 3 cm more than the nursery pot's full height - otherwise the nursery pot reaches the floor and stands in the water again. At exactly 3 cm more, about 1.3 cm (widest pot) to 3.5 cm (narrowest pot) of space stays under a nursery pot that hangs by its rim.

• Round plastic nursery pots with an outward rim lip. Not for square pots, thin pots without a rim lip, or very uneven lips.

• Height: hanging by its rim, the nursery rim sits about 5 mm above the decorative lip in the narrowest pot of the range and about 17 mm below it in the widest. The loops stand about 6-8 cm above the lip.

• A nursery pot hangs by its rim only if the rim sticks out about 4.5 mm or more beyond the pot body. Many nursery pots have a smaller rim lip: they rest on their tapered body in the ring and sit up to about 2.5 cm higher (estimated for an 8° wall taper; straighter-sided pots sit higher still). That is normal use - the gap under the pot only grows.

Print settings

• PETG: the collar carries a constant load for as long as the plant hangs in it, and PLA creeps more under constant load.

• 0.4 mm nozzle, 0.20 mm layers, no supports (every overhang is within 45°; the finger holes are cut on a tilted axis for this).

• As exported: ring flat on the bed, arms rising, already turned 45° to fit the bed. 4 perimeters (the arms print almost solid), 25 % gyroid, an outer brim on the ring because the tall part stands on a narrow ring.

• 12 cm: 5 h 40 min, 58.7 g; 15 cm: 6 h 02 min, 63.1 g (PrusaSlicer 2.9.6 on a deliberately slow generic profile - fast printers need much less).

How to use it

1. Peel off the brim. Set the collar on the decorative pot: the four arms rest on the inner edge of its lip.

2. Lower the plant in its nursery pot down through the ring until it rests.

3. To water: one finger in each loop, lift the plant straight out with both hands, water it in the sink, let it drain and put it back.

4. Empty the water that collects in the decorative pot before it reaches the nursery pot.

Strength (calculated)

Designed for about 1 kg (12 cm) and 2 kg (15 cm) of plant plus wet soil. Beam calculations on the model's arm section give stresses well inside the project's design limits for printed PETG, both hanging and when lifting at twice the design mass on the two loops. This is a calculation, not a measured load.

Limitations

• Not physically printed or tested, and not tried with a real plant.

• Nursery pot rims vary by maker: a rim smaller than about 116 mm (12 cm size) or 146 mm (15 cm size) can slip through the ring.

• Lift with both hands, one finger in each loop - lifting by one loop tilts the plant.

• The arms stay visible on the decorative pot's lip and need about 24 / 27 cm of room across the loops.

• It only keeps the nursery pot out of the drained water - no plant-health claim. Nursery pots over 15 cm need a bigger collar (not offered).

Pictures

Renders of the exported model and diagrams computed from it, not photographs: lifting the plant out by the loops (cover), the collar in place, a cut-open view of how the pot hangs, the fit range, the collar alone and the dimensions. Plants and pots are stand-ins.