Project proposal

Initial ideas

For my final project I have several ideas I still have to develop and see which one really is the one I am looking to make.

First option: mini-connected farms

I have this idea of creating mini farms/gardens which can connect between each other (physically and virtually) so you can track the different nurturing effects there is when you put plant “X” next to plant “Y” and if they are beneficiating from each another or if they are harming their plant neighbours. In each of these farms you can plant herbs/ small fruit plants/ sprouts/ spirulina farms/… and they can be assembled in infinite possibilities (through puzzle-grip connections) to enable people to grow their own veggies at home. The flexibility of having individual structural devices you can scale up gives the possibility to the user to adapt the farm to the available space they have at home.

Second option: smart sockets:

Everyday I gain more conscious of the amount of energy we “throw” when leaving lights on for no reason at home. This is why I thought of designing a smart socket which will be connected to the light source(s) of the room and track the movement/ use of the room. This information would be received in the socket and it would deliver the info in infographics to the user to raise awareness of our maluse of energy and encourage the users to use it wisely.

Third option: smart composting bin

My mum and me have always wanted to start composting but I kind of wanted to do it my own way and have some kind of intelligent sensors that would make the whole composting process easier. I like this idea because I think if you make the composting process more “guidable” you can encourage people to incorporate it in their homes and produce less waste! Lucía has a similar vision to this composting bin so it would be very cool if we could work together in this project.

Choosing an idea to start developing

FOR NOW I WILL TRY TO DEVELOP MY FIRST OPTION: I have this idea of creating mini farms/gardens which can connect between each other (physically and virtually) so you can track the different nurturing effects there is when you put plant “X” next to plant “Y” and if they are beneficiating from each another or if they are harming their plant neighbours. In each of these farms you can plant herbs/ small fruit plants/ sprouts/ spirulina farms/… and they can be assembled in infinite possibilities (through puzzle-grip connections) to enable people to grow their own veggies at home. The flexibility of having individual structural devices you can scale up gives the possibility to the user to adapt the farm to the available space they have at home.

After doing some research on different plant-growing systems I have decided that I want to design a structure that can work for 2 (or possibly 3) indoor-growing systems: microgardens, spirulina farms and aeroponic farms.

I have recently become very interested in growing my own plants/ herbs/ vegetables at home. I did some research about different ways of doing this and I came across with these very interesting open-source indoor growing systems designed by IKEA. These are developed in a project called The Home of Tomorrow.. One of the initiatives they develop is making available guidelines to show people how they can grow plants, insects and fungi in a sustainable manner at home, even in a small space! The three possible options I am choosing are:

• Microgardens “produce microleaves which are very healthy and have up to 5 times as much nutritional value as mature plants.”

• Spirulina “is an algae and super food extremely rich in nutrients. It is composed in over 60% of proteins and, additionaly, of B-group vitamins, calcium, potassium and iron. Spirulina feeds on carbon dioxide, so its growth purifies the air. It has one more advantage, which is probably most important, it is very simple to grow.”

• Aeroponic farms “Plants in this farm take up nutrients not from water and soil, but from mist. This form of cultivation is very economic. It consumes only 5% of the water that we would use to water a regular farm. Tuber vegetables, like potatoes, are particularly suited for this type of cultivation.”

After reading how the different systems worked I found they all had structural similarities between them so I thought Why not build 1 structure that works for 3 different systems?

This structure would have minor changes for each of the types (i.e. in the case of the spirulina farm it needs an air pump) but the main structure would remain the same for the 3 of them.

The mini-connected-farms can even have sensors (input devices) which deliver (output devices) different types of information about the state of your grows, i.e: amount of air being purified (in the case of spirulina it purifies the air) or maybe alarms to replenish water (hydroponic). For future development this information can even be collected and sent to a phone APP, making the growing process even easier for the user.

WHY AM I DEVELOPING THIS?

• not having to “buy” 3 different types of home-farms but rather developing a structure that can be flexible enough to embrace different indoor growing techniques, different shapes to be assembled in and different spaces to be placed on. Some kind of farm lego.

• the three are very easy growing systems with low maintenance and great benefits

• encourage the cultivation of these super nutritious elements within homes, making the system, production and benefits(within people and the environment) more accessible

• combining aesthetics with functionality to convey consciousness

WHO WOULD USE IT?

• Me

• People that want to add a decorative-conscious design to their homes.

• People that want to grow their own herbs at home

• People interested in DIY plant-indoor-growing projects

Developing more sketches:

I have been thinking about the shape the structure will have and the way the structures will be assembled one to each other. The following sketches I did were tryouts of different shapes for the project:

I have decided to start with a very simple and “boring” structure and try to incorporate a bit of shape-complexity-design as I move on on the design process putting into practice the spiral project management technique.

MICROGARDEN STRUCTURE:

SPIRULINA STRUCTURE:

AEROPONIC STRUCTURE

Changing my final project idea: How to (Almost) make a Camper Van

In the end I have decided to change my final project. It is none of the above designs. I have recently bought a campervan and want to convert it into a tiny house to travel! With all that I have learnt the past months I have seen a big potential to use these machines to convert it. Because converting a campervan is such a complicated process I have narrowed its development linked to the FabAcademy to just some aspects I explain further with the spiral designs. I will focus the work in:

• the furniture: want to make it as modular as possible (so that other people building campervans can use the file and adapt it to theirs)

• and also make it as smart as possible (tracking the different mechanisms incorporated to this to make life on a campervan as easy and comfortable as possible).

Why am I building this?

• I was going to do this process anyway but with FabAcademy I see I can build it up wtih much more knowledge and resources of what I am doing.

• I can also make my own mechanisms and avoid buying them.

• I will try to explore as many aspects as possible, taking into account time and possibilities.

Who would use my design?

• Me

• Anyone in the process of building their own camper van and looking for more local, diy ways of making it.

• I am intending to make my design modular and parametric so that anyone can adapt the design to their own campervan situation/ space.

Developing spiral design:

The first spiral would consist of making:

• the kitchen module with sink, gas stove and storage.

• a gas sensor that detects propane leakage

• connected to an interface where I can check the state of my campervan

• tiles made with skills learned in moulding and casting week

The second spiral would consist of adding:

• module of desktop and dining table which also has storage

• LED lights

• interface which can control the LED light colour, brightness, etc.

Third spiral would consist of adding:

• water sensors to detect when there is little water in the tanks

• water sensors connected to interface

Fourth spiral would consist of adding:

• the bed with different types of storage and an outdoor dining table

Fifth spiral would consist of adding:

• connecting the battery life to the interface, showing consumption per day and energy collection by solar panels

Project development

Neil said something on the recitation which I really liked which was: “Propose a final project masterpiece that integrates the range of units covered” referring to masterpiece as showing mastery. I understand my path in the Fab Academy as a time to learn different skills, resources, techniques and machines which I will later apply in different future projects, giving the real importance to how good we have learned those skills and not the project itself. Regardless of this for my first spiral I will be designing part of the future kitchen of my van so I better master it!!!

For this week’s assignment I had to answer the following questions:

What will it do?

I will be designing a kitchen module that incorporates:

• a sink with the water jerrycans, water pump and faucet where water runs.

• storage for tableware, pots and pans. I want them to be as fixed as possible to avoid movement when on the road.

• propane canister storage and gas stove to cook food

• structure of the module and countertop

• drawers and sliding doors

I will also design some waterproof and lightweight tiles to avoid wood walls to get wet from cooking and washing.

I will also design a gas sensor that measures the gas in the van and alerts if it gets too high by turning on a red light and a buzzer.

I will also connect the gas sensor to an interface on my phone to regulate all this from an app.

Who’s done what beforehand?

• I know Andrew after Fab Academy he also made his van and in this link he explains how he did the gas installation, etc. So I will look at this for reference. There are also a lot of references online which I am already looking into.

What will you design?

• Kitchen module as seen in the sketch above taking into account lightweight materials, the total weight, openings, doors, secure closing, secure storage, measurements regarding the rest of the van, etc.

• Wall hexagon tiles by creating moulds which I have some tests done from wildcard week.

• Gas sensor with corresponding security box, I have been working in this in my input device and interface programming week already.

• Interface which connects to gas sensor.

What materials and components will be used? Where will come from? How much will they cost?

For kitchen module:

Material	Description	Where will it be used	Where to get it	Units	Price per unit	Total price
Wooden sheets	Plywood sheets	Kitchen module	Fijnhout Amsterdam	?	?	?
Wood treatment	to protect the wood	Kitchen module		?	?	?
Rails for drawers	?	Kitchen module		8	?	?
Magnets	to secure close cabinets and drawers	Kitchen module		7-8	?	?
Door hinge	to open gas canister cabinet and also water module	Kitchen module		4	?	?
Sink Enamel	Secondhand sink	Kitchen module	Facebook Marketplace	1	5.00€	5.00€
Faucet	Extendable faucet	Kitchen module	?	1	?€	?€
Drain hole	Fixed into sink manually	Kitchen module	?	1	?	?
Water pump	20V	Kitchen module	Wagenplatz	1	63.50€	63.50€
Tubes	Tube system connecting tap to jerrycan	Kitchen module	?	?	?	?
Jerrycan	20L cans for cleanwater and greywater	Kitchen module	?	2	?	?
Gas Stove	Dometic HB 2370	Kitchen module	Wagenplatz	1	129.00€	129.00€
Propane gas canister	10kg refillable	Kitchen module		1	?	?
Gas tubes	?	Kitchen module		?	?	?
Gas valves	?	Kitchen module		?	?	?

For kitchen tiles:

Material	Description	Where will it be used	Where to get it	Units	Price per unit	Total price
Epoxy	Bio-based epoxy	Kitchen tiles	Entropy Resins is an option.	?	?	?
Micro - plastics	to create tiles from them	Kitchen tiles	Precious Plastic stations	2	10.00€/kilo	20.00€

For gas sensor and interface:

Material	Description	Where will it be used	Where to get it	Units	Price per unit	Total price
Copper board	to mill	Gas sensor	Fab Lab Waag	1	?	?
Gas Sensor MQ-2	to detect propane	Gas sensor	Fab Lab Waag	1	?	?
Buzzer	to alert from high gas concentration	Gas sensor	Fab Lab Waag	1	?	?
UPDI connections male	to add buzzer and resistor to circuit	Gas sensor	Fab Lab Waag	2	?	?
UPDI connections female	to connect UPDI	Gas sensor	Fab Lab Waag	1	?	?
FTDI connections female	to connect FTDI	Gas sensor	Fab Lab Waag	1	?	?
LED	red	Gas sensor	Fab Lab Waag	1	?	?
Resitor	300Ω	Gas sensor	Fab Lab Waag	1	?	?
Capacitor		Gas sensor	Fab Lab Waag	1	?	?
ATtiny chip	ATtiny412	Gas sensor	Fab Lab Waag	1	?	?
ESP32?	wifi/bluetooth component to connect to interface	Gas sensor	Fab Lab Waag	1	?	?
Acrylic	to create a box to secure the gas sensor	Gas sensor	Fab Lab Waag	1	?	?

What parts and systems will be made?

• From the kitchen module I will design and create the structure of the 3 cabinets taking into account the incorporation of the different components after: water pump, sink, jerrycans, water system, gas stove, openings, gas canister. I have read the gas installation has to be done by a professional.

• I will also make the tiles myself with moulds and different materials. Still not sure if I would use epoxy or if I would make tiles from just plastic using the different machines from the precious plastic org at one of their stations.

• I will do the gas sensor myself and also connecting it to the interface using App Inventor probably.

What processes will be used?

• For the kitchen modules I will first design them parametric using Fusion 360. I will do some tests with the laser cutter specially to test the openings. I will then cut the final pieces with the CNC and sand it manually (this will take a long time :) )

• For the tiles I will use moulding and casting techniques.

• For the gas sensor I will use electronics design, production and interface programming.

What questions need to be answered?

• Is the design parametric?

• Do the kitchen modules work with the rest of the components which I will not make?

• Are the materials used lightweight, waterproof, and suitable to use on a moving space?

• Is everything I have done suitable to run a legal check?

How will it be evaluated? how do you tell if you succeeded or failed? VERY important!!!!

• If it works: drawers and cabinets open correctly

• If it fits in the space I have it planned within the van.

• If when connected to power source everything works fine: water pump, water running, nothing filters out, all the components fit in perfectly.

Your project should incorporate 2D and 3D design, additive and subtractive fabrication processes, electronics design and production, embedded microcontroller interfacing and programming, system integration and packaging It does!

Where possible, you should make rather than buy the parts of your project It does, I will try to also buy as much second hand as possible too.

I have also worked out how the rest of the modules will work to see how they would fit with the kitchen module of spiral 1:

PUT THIS ON WEEK 16!!!!

How to MAKE DRAWERS https://www.anikasdiylife.com/how-to-build-a-drawer/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=pinterest&utm_campaign=tailwind_tribes&utm_content=tribes&utm_term=441115756_14920420_350069 Look into push button system closure for drawers instead of magnets

To check anything from electronics: https://www.avrfreaks.net/forum

To check gas installation: https://wildebeestdiaries.wordpress.com/

Motor: https://www.wagenplatz.es/epages/84910322.sf/es_ES/?ObjectPath=/Shops/84910322/Products/3T915125 https://www.wagenplatz.es/epages/84910322.sf/es_ES/?ObjectPath=/Shops/84910322/Products/3T914510 fiamma https://www.wagenplatz.es/epages/84910322.sf/es_ES/?ObjectPath=/Shops/84910322/Products/3T916049 https://www.wagenplatz.es/epages/84910322.sf/es_ES/?ObjectPath=/Shops/84910322/Products/RFLCARB filtro

grifo: https://www.amazon.nl/-/en/dp/B0863LRB8Z/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=zwarte+uitschuifbare+kraan&qid=1622145365&sr=8-3

john guest fittings: https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_odkw=John+Guest+push+fit+fittings&_dmd=2&_oac=1&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=John+Guest+push+fit+water+fittings&_sacat=0

john guest pipe https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_odkw=shurflo+pump+filter&_dmd=2&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=John+Guest+LLDPE+Pipe&_sacat=0

cajon ropa sucia

tutorial for water system

https://www.parkedinparadise.com/water-system/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gieUNuZan4&ab_channel=GregVirgoe poner foto anadir tips para attach this to the cabinet

WATCH: How to Silence your Water Pump for RV or Van Build https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70JARdK_zLA&ab_channel=LeviAllen https://vandogtraveller.com/campervan-water-system/

Proveedores https://www.gimeg.nl/nl-nl/search?q=shurflo&Perfion__Merk=Shurflo&count=23 wagenplatxz esperando email

---

Last update: May 28, 2021