Applications and Implications

Class Week 12

Individual Assignment

The task for this week was to define the scope of the final project and propose a project that integrates the range of units covered:

  • What will it do?
  • Who has done what beforehand?
  • What materials and components will be required?
  • Where will they come from?
  • How much will it cost?
  • What parts and systems will be made?
  • What processes will be used?
  • What tasks need to be completed?
  • What questions need to be answered?
  • What is the schedule?

    • The outgoing project idea was to design and produce a small-sized aeroponic system, electronically controlled by different sensors, that provide measuring data, as e.g. temperature, humidity or light. The goal is to achieve a maximum automatization possible, on one side, and on the other side, to observate the plants growing by measuring it's ambiental conditions with different electronic sensors. All data provided by the sensors can be processed adequatly and being used for further research purposes, e.g. by changing the water irrigation, ambiental circumstances or the plants.

    Why making an other aeroponic sytem?

    Urban gardening, local food production, saving water, needs for research, ...

    Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) very wide field to investigate.

    Wikipedia/Aeroponics

    Instead of building a grow tower with plastic or simiular material, I decided to make it with clay. Here I also was inspired by former works from the IAAC and FabLab Barcelona.

    They worked with different types of clay and built specific shapes, that were be printed with a KUKA robot: Open Thesis Fabrication

    The imperviousness of clay can only be achieved by fireing it in a kiln.

    Material and Construction

    1. How to construct the aeroponic modul? How many parts i should divide it? Where do I locate each item?

    2. How and where can I fire the clay? (The clay must be fired to achieve its impermeability and solidity)

    3. Which type of clay would be the best to produce the modul? Especially the water tank can be difficult, because it is a component.

    4. Which technique should I use to produce the modul? 3D printing with the KUKA robot or with molding and casting? Do I need support in case of 3D printing?

    Water Supply

    1. Which technique should I use? Spray or sprinkle or just letting drop down? High or low pressure?

    2. What kind of water pump? Should it be inside or outside of the tank? How to solve the power supply? Maybe solar energy?

    3. Should the water be filtered to keep it clean? What kind of filter (see also above: nutrition)

    Plants and Nutrition

    1. Which plants I will grow? Which nutrition do they need? How do I nutriate them technically?

    2. How and how often do I have to clean the aeroponic modul? (This also concerns the question of how to construct it!)

    3. Are there ways to mineralize and filter the water at the same time?

    4. Should the water be filtered to keep it clean? What kind of filter (only filtering or also mineralizing?)

    Electronic sensors examples

    Nice to Have