This week we returned to the Digital Making Lab for the first time in three weeks. A guest speaker from Shapeways started the class with a brief virtual tour of their production and fulfillment facility. Shapeways leverages the digital making community platform to custom print and ship designs around the world. The printing machines expectedly dwarfed those I have seen in person, yet I was still impressed by their capabilities. These machines can simultaneously print objects from purchase orders.

I hadn’t considered a need for a dyeing section of the facility. From a revenue standpoint however, it makes more sense for Shapeways to print in one color and dye everything afterward. Changing colors using the Ultimaker or the embroidery machine in the FabLab is a hassle. Repeatedly having to do so would reduce Shapeways productivity and profits. This exemplifies how companies in the digital making space manage to foster creativity while staying profitable. More focused on the creative side of digital making in this class, I’m glad our guest speakers have consistently shown business insight in this industry.

The remaining class time was dedicated towards our final project prototypes. My team and I produced a rough sketch of our hydroponic drip system prototype and the necessary materials. Our early discussions were heavily focused on various design points. I drew upon lessons from the Design for America presentation a few weeks ago, specifically narrowing down the problem and asking “How can we” questions. Currently, the team is looking into ways to feasibly integrate a pH sensor. Hydroponic plants frequently perish at low or high pH levels because owners neglect to monitor it. I’ve reached out to a professor in Agricultural Engineering hoping for clearer direction.

I also returned to Brandon at the FabLab for further design input. I wanted to find a material strong enough to support several hanging plants. Instead of PLA plastic, we are leaning towards using laser cut wood. Adding wheels to the three support prongs is another interesting design aspect emerging from this meeting. The ability to move the hydroponics system to sunnier areas of the house would promote growth and further satisfy customers. Lastly, I spoke to Brandon about an air quality measuring device developed at the FabLab called DustDuino. The device could be attached at the top wooden hook in order to measure the air purification progress over time. There is still much work to be done, but the freedom to explore these options certainly makes this project unique.