For final project I'm going to make a Portable Hydroponics System. This weeks goal is to plan and document the final project integrating the range of units covered.
What will I do?
Here I plan to do a Portable Hydroponics System I which it can be operated by using Hydro App. Hydro App activates the pumps used in the system using Bluetooth. Here one main pump is used to pump the water from main reservoir to the tank and the other is used to pump nutrients from one tank to the other.
Who's done what beforehand?
There are hundreds of projects on Hydroponics system, even there are some Fab Lab projects on it. I've gone through a lot of them and have understood the logic behind it. I'll share a few of them which I liked.
BiG Fab Lab Meetup Group
diynetwork.com
instructables.com
What materials and components will be required?
Vein pump as the main pump.
Centrifugal pump to pump nutrients to the reservoir
PVC Pipes
Plant Pot
Silicon Tube
12mm plywood for hydroponics frame.
4mm plywood for electronics storage.
Electronic boards, one as control board and the other for motor driving.
Bluetooth module for activating the pumps.
Where will they come from?
Some of the parts come from the fab Inventory. I got the vein pump from one of my friends. The materials I purchased from outside are pipes, silicon tube Bluetooth module and plant pots. I also purchased four end closers for closing the pipe on both sides and M-seal to preventing the water leakage. Motor used in the centrifugal pump was available in the lab itself.
How much will it cost?
One of my prime objective was to reduce the total cost of the whole system. I made my design in such a way that I could incorporate maximum of it from the lab itself.
| Qty |
Item |
Cost ($) |
| 2 |
6x4" single sided copper board |
5.72 |
| 2 |
Atmega328p |
5.74 |
| 1 |
Attiny44 |
1.18 |
| 1 |
16 MHZ Crystal |
0.16 |
| 1 |
L293D H-Bridge |
2.92 |
| 8 |
Capacitors |
4.8 |
| 1 |
N-channel MOSFET |
0.38 |
| 10 |
LED (RED,ORANGE,GREEN) |
3.4 |
| 16 |
SMD Resistor(various values) |
0.16 |
| >30 |
Male Header Pins. |
1.2 |
| 1 |
Switch |
0.8 |
| <20 |
Female Header Pins |
10 |
| 1 |
ISP header 6 pin |
1.05 |
| 6 |
Terminal Block. |
2.16 |
| 1 |
12x24 inch 4mm plywood |
43.77 |
| 1 |
DC Motor |
7.29 |
| 2 |
Plastic Wheels |
0.58 |
| 1 |
Bluetooth Module |
4.38 |
| 2m |
Silicon Tube |
2.92 |
| 4 |
Planter Pots |
1.28 |
| |
Total |
176.12 |
All this would would be less than 20USD. This is because here most of the materials are available in the fab inventory.
What parts and systems will be made?
Electronics boards will be made by PCB milling.
The hydroponics body will be made with wood.
Centrifugal pump by 3D printing
Electronics box by laser cutting
What processes will be used?
Electronics boards: Designed using EAGLE, they will be made using the Roland Modela Desktop CNC milling machine, controlled through the fab modules.
Programming and application interface the electronic boards.
The Body: Designed in Fusion360, exported as DXF, will be will be made with plywood using Shopbot
Centrifugal Pump: Designed in Rhino, exported as STL file, Sliced in Cura and 3D printed in Ultimaker 2.
Electronics box: Designed in Rhino, exported as DXF, will be will be made with wood using Trotec laser cutter.
What tasks need to be completed?
Hydroponics body needs to be designed and milled.
Electronic parts storage box is to be designed and laser cut.
3D print the centrifugal pump.
Needs to incorporate motor in networking.
Assembling the whole sytem.
What questions need to be answered?
How does the whole system works?
How much time does it take to cover one whole cycle?
Time period taken by the nutrient pump to pump the nutrients into the main reservoir.
What is the schedule?
As my electronics portion has got almost completed, the remaining is about the hydroponics frame work, electronic component storage and the pump. I need to design those things and also turn out into a product. I think four weeks are enough doing those things. Main challenge is about the pump and its suction. I will document as I work, because there are a lot of subsystems and I won't have the time to finish the project and then document it.
How will it be evaluated?
I consider this project successfully works if the circulation of water is possible in the proper manner and also if I could operate the pumps by using the App that I developed.
Future of the Project
I think the future of this project is IoT based fully automatic hydroponic system that can be operated remotely. Also the parameters should also be made visible. Also to adopt the principles that is used in the greenhouse sytem; that is to provide artificial environment I the system that makes the plant grow much better.
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