Kusari Doi - Japanese Rain Chain - Functional Remx

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Attribution: This is an original design posted in 2020 by “Zippitybamba” on Thingiverse.

I really liked the aesthetic, but it had a major design flaw that made it impossible to use in real life. After assembling a few links together, the weight of the elements below would flex (or break) the smaller elements, causing the whole chain to fall apart or break.

So I remixed virtually all of the elements while staying true to the original design, which was already amazing.

• Main body: The file provided was corrupted and the geometry was broken. The file provided here is repaired.
• Mid section: Scaled in Z; stronger.
• Upper and lower sections: These are the critical elements that always broke in my first build before the structural remix. Scaled in Z, added a bar to avoid critical flex under load, and added a force-lock mechanism.

To print:

• Make all the link sections as solid as possible (wall loops set to 10+).
• The main body part needs to be as light as possible. This is critical for a long chain, as the weight will add up quickly.
• Material: Use a UV-resistant material. I used PETG, but I now believe ASA or ABS would have been a better choice and would have limited flexing even more.

To mount:

• Just a small precision, the mid link section is actually optional. If you want a denser looking chain you can skip it.

Long story short: you want the upper and lower elements as strong as possible.

After the remix, I was able to chain about 16 elements together without any issues.

Hope it helps!