16. Applications and implications¶
Bill and List of Materials¶
| Amount | Material | Price | Link | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nema 17 Stepper Motor | $12.00 | link | In Lab |
| 1 | l298n Motor Driver | $7.00 | link | In Lab |
| 1 | OLED | $6.99 | link | In Lab |
| 1 | DHT20 Temp/Humidity Sensor | $8.60 | link | Got During Inputs Week |
| 1 | EC Probe Sensor | $16.00 | link | |
| 1 | Pico W | $13.00 | link | In Lab |
| 1 | Basil Seeds | $6.00 | link | |
| 1 | RockWool Grow Cubes | $15.00 | link | |
| 1 | LED Grow Lights | $18.99 | link | |
| 1 | T-Aluminum Extrusion | $26.00 | link |
Final Project Questions¶
What will it do?¶
I’ve always been wanting an aesthetic looking garden in my room, so I knew I wanted to do a garden. Originally, I was juts doing soil based with helpful features that would display on an OLED to tell the user certain things. However, I became bored with the idea, for when I looked up some previous inspirations, most people took gardening further. Therefore, I eventually came across this interesting Rotofarm hydroponic rotating garden designed by NASA, in which the plants are paltned in a circle, and interesting effects of gravity make them grow faster. Along with that, it also runs on Hydroponics.
Inspired by this, I decided this was the perfect way to make my project a more fun and unique garden, in which the plants move around in a cirlcle and are kept alive with a hydropnics system. Plants will die if they get overwatered even in hydroponics systems, and they need to have oxygen. I researched multiple ways, such as the ebb and flow action, where a water pump brings water to the plants, and then a drain will bring it out at certain intervals, to keep the plants alive also without killing them.
My final project will ultimately be a Rotating Hydroponics Garden, in which it rotates constantly with plants in a circle. There will be a nutrient-filled reservoir located at the bottom that feeds nutrients to the plants on a set duty cycle as the plants are rotating. This method is a more unique system of hydroponics gardening, in which it circulates the amount of oxygen and nutrients recieved quite literally in a circular motion. Also, the rotation serves the purpose of taking up less space in gardening, along with the idea that the gravitational force on the plants is minimized, increasing the speed and quality of the growth. These are interesting facts I learned while looking at the Rotofarm. Finally, I want ot integrate an OLED display to display basic values such as temperature and humidity, alongside an EC probe that will assist the user in ecognizing the ppm or amount of avaible nutrients left for the plants. If it is too low, it notifies the user. Overall, my project will automatically maintain a hydroponics system for gardening and help the user to adjuuts the envionrment to grow plants to their best.
Who’s done what beforehand?¶
Here are some links to projects I learned about and expanded on based on their ideas.
- Nicholas Niles Modular Gardening
- Teddy Warner Assistive Aquaponics Fishtank
- Albot Dima Grow it Yourself
- Guillaume Teyssie Aquapioneers
And with hydroponics
-
Ari Vuokila Hydroponic automation for pH and Nutrient Control
-
Marcel KellnerHydroponic Growsystem
Though none of these were using a rotating mechanism for the nutrient distribution, these projects let me expand on ideas such as assistive features like letting the user know when to restore the nutrients.
What will you design?¶
I will make and communicate the input and outputs via a pcb board(made by me). I will also design the entire physical gardening features, such as 3D designed cups and base alongside 2D designs that will help make everything come together. I plan on designgin 3d cups for the plant medium, the container for the reservoir, the circular pattern to make it rotating, and design the method in which eveyrthing comes together, including the safe mounting of electronics.
What parts and systems will be made?¶
The mechanical part will be made via a stepper motor providing high torque and easy use of stepping to get a certain duty cycle. The entire mechanical coming together of this will be made via 3D printing and laser cutting alongisde attatchement most likely with press fit and screws for tight stability. The reservoir will be made with the big Shopbot CNC, and will be located at the bottom. I will make this easily removable just in case it needs to be cleaned or filled. Finally, the sensors and the OLED will be integrated and easily accessible so users can be assisted in their gardening skills.
What processes will be used?¶
| Week | Contribution |
|---|---|
| Computer-Aided Design | Design Skills |
| Computer Controlled Cutting | Laser Cutting Skills(Top Part, Casing for Electronics ) |
| Embedded Programming | I will learn how to do basic programming for microcontrollers I might use(RP2040, ATTiny412) |
| 3D Printing and Scanning | Print necessary components(container, Grow Net Cups, etc. ) |
| Electronics Design | Learn to use Kicad and Eagle to make boards |
| Computer Controlled Machining | Reservoir Container |
| Electronics Production | Learn to mill boards with BantamTools |
| Input Devices | temperature/humidity sensor, EC Probe |
| Output Devices | Learn to use all output devices such as Stepper Motor, OLED |
| Networking | Learn skills for communication between all my boards |
Note: Since there are many things to think about, I decided to not include application programming, but in the future, I am planning on coming back to this post Fab Academy and designing a web-based applicaton where people can control the system through wifi wirelessly. That is why I am implementing a Pico W rather than a normal Pico
What questions need to be answered?¶
How exactly will I make the hydroponics system?¶
In the craziness of trying to plan out the actual digital fabrication process of the project, I kept forgetting that the whole point was to grow plants, and I was copletley forgetting to research the actual gardening features. I had a grasp of what hydroponics was, but I didn’t really know where to start. I took this week to do lots of resarch, which enabled me to finalize my plan. I first watched some youtube videos, in which I learned a lot about seed germintation, and how it needs to germinate before being paced in a hydroponics system for optimal growth.
I also learned the importance about using EC to tell the state of the nutrients in the water, since the nutrients are what is making the entire Hydroponics Growth system happen. This website taught me a little bit more. EC Research
What are the materials I will use to actually test the Gardening side of my project?¶
This week, I also reasearched the test material I would bed using, such as the grow medium, the type of nutrient solution I wanted to use, and the setup process, since many people did all different kinds of setups. The videos I linked above also recommended certain items. I watched lots of different videos, and a common medium used was rockwool, which I learned more about here.
I researched some basic beginner seeds, and I found that Basil was a imple and commonly used one for beginners.
How will it be evaluated?¶
My project should be evaluted on the capability of the function of the hydroponics watering system, along with the rotating system. Overall, it should be evaluted on the enviornment itself, and how well the hydroponics watering timing along with the rotating garden system actually work together in terms of being able to maintain the garden. It should also be evaluted on the function of the “assistance”, i.e. all the sensors and their readings to assist the user in knowing information on temperature, humidity, E.C.