EcoPonic
A budget friendly solution to hydroponics, suitable for beginner and expert plant growers
Where the idea came from
During the summer of 2022, I joined an innovation challenge hosted by the CEAS tribunal. The prompt was to develop a startup or an innovative idea. My partner had the good idea of trying to find a way to make hydroponics cheaper without sacrificing on looks or part quality. We eventually came up with a way to make the seed pods way cheaper, along with creating a tank that will hold the seed pods
The Design Process
Ecoponic maintains a budget friendly price due to its simplified construction. The tank was made first, using a plastic bin from ikea. First we cut the holes in the lid for the seed pods to fit into. Next we created a light stand, also utilizing the lid from the bin at ikea. After attaching the light stand to the tank, we wired up the electronics kit, which controls the light cycle and the oxygenation cycle.
What makes us unique
Ecoponic is unique for a few reasons, including: eco friendly, the option to purchase add on kits, and being stackable. Our seed pods are made out of used coffee pods, giving the coffee pods another use before the landfill. Ecoponic has created add on kits, and these kits allow the customer to upgrade their ecoponic garden to the degree of their liking. Some examples include auto water leveling, plant feeder, live view camera, and more. The last main uniqueness feature would be that ecoponics gardens are stackable, meaning you could stack 2 or 3 up in the corner of your apartment or house to obtain a larger plant yield without sacrificing floor space.
what I have leanred from this experience
Getting to go from an idea to a fully built and working product has taught me more about rapid prototyping and RND in a short time period. We made a few different models of the garden before we had a model we were happy with. I have also gotten the chance to learn about hydroponics. My partner and I plan to continue working on this project and hope to eventually sell our ecoponic kit to plant growers worldwide.
What Would I do Better Next time
Fuselage electronics integration
For the next Design, I plan to try and make the wall thickness 3 or 2 layers. It won't be as strong but I should save a lot of weight and print reduction time from this change. After looking around and seeing that some others print their planes with 2 or 1 layers, i will most likely go with a 2 layer thick wall.
Wing attachment method
After considering the weight and print time of the entire wing, I realize I need to redesign the wing in a minimalist way if I want to lower the weight. Some options are to decrease the wall thickness, reduce the internal support structure of the wing, and be mindful of the thickness of the wing.
Keep lowering total print time
This is something that I saw as being difficult from the beginning. I have to have a way to access the battery compartment so I can add/remove the battery. I should be able to adjust the servos from the outside during a mid-flight session. The plane I designed had a removable wing so I have to be able to attach/detach those servo cables. I need to keep the ESC cool so it doesn't melt the PLA frame. The unit needs to house the receiver module and the cables associated with it.