Modular Reusable Planter (Sustainability)

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  Female end of rail system

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  Male end of rail system

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  Final Product

Inspiration:

While thinking during the initial planning process, I knew I wanted to make something modular and efficient. Then suddenly I remembered my mom's planters at home an how they turn all mushy and soggy as well as the fact that she has to constantly buy packs of new planters. Traditional planters also have no aesthetic appeal, something a lot of people in urban planting care about. On top of that many people want to grow plants but lack space or resources like apartments, and traditional planters are often single-use or and simple. I wanted to design something modular, reusable, and customizable that reduces waste while making gardening more sustainable and engaging.

What it does:

This modular reusable planter is a configurable planting system. Each unit can slide into each other and with a satisfying click and snap of magnets, giving users a satisfying tactile feeling to attaching their planters. The planters also have water channels at the bottom that evenly distributes water through all connected planters, meaning you only need to water one planter and the water will distribute evenly adding an ease of life feature. This design allows users to grow more with less space and material, while reusing the same core units.

How we built it:

Designed the planter in Onshape, focusing on, A modular base container with smooth filleted edges Sliding snap-fit rails for strong, satisfying connections Precision tolerances for 3D printing and repeatability Optional magnet slots for better user feel and mounting features for stability

Challenges we ran into:

The biggest challenge I ran into was trying to cut out my female end of the rail-system that connects planters together, the part that's cut out of the planter cube. The problem with it was the edge above the flat face it filleted, and you can't directly extrude out of a fillet edge, so I was trouble shooting for an hour or two, but once I was able to figure out how to sketch in order to overcome that, everything started running like clockwork.

Accomplishments that we're proud of:

Creating a fully modular system instead of a single static reusable planter Designing clean sliding snap connections with a tactile click and magnetic click Building a model that is both functional and visually polished Iterating through real engineering problems like tolerances and fit

What we learned:

How to use CAD tools like extrude, mirror, fillet, and remove effectively The significance of optimization manufacturing (3D printing constraints) How small tolerances can drastically affect fit and usability The value of iteration and testing in engineering design How modular design can improve sustainability and user experience.

What's next for Modular Reusable Planter:

Integrating stacking + wall mounting functionality Improve "locking" mechanisms for even better stability Create a full ecosystem of attachable accessories Make the product even more polished like a real product.

Built With

• onshape