Problem Statement

Self-Watering Planter

Jaryn Hurd

The purpose of this project is to design a product to correct the issue of people killing

their houseplants by forgetting to water them. If a plant could water itself, its life would be

greatly extended. This is where a self-watering planter will come into play. The concept is to

have one larger pot which would contain the reservoir of water. A second pot with a funnel shape

at the bottom and holes surrounding the bottom as well to allow for roots and water to be able to

meet.

The most efficient way to construct the self-watering planter is using a 3D printer. The

planter can be designed using SolidWorks. The two parts must not be connected to one another,

therefor they will have to be designed and printed in two parts. The file will have to be saved as a

STL file in order to be compatible for the 3D printer. Once the two parts are printed, water can

be added to the reservoir. The second funnel shaped pot can be placed inside the bottom pot,

filled with soil, and the plant can be planted. Once the roots grow down to the holes in the

funnel, they will reach the reservoir and take in the amount of water they need. The bottom pot is

simply a reservoir. The top pot is shaped in such a way to allow the plant to grow down towards

the water, allowing the roots to make contact and drink the water as needed. By adding holes in

the funnel, gravity and natural growth of plants will make this product the most efficient.

With this approach, a plant will only need to be refilled with water once every 2 weeks,

rather than once every 2-3 days. This gives the plant’s owner more time to remember to water

the plant, expanding its lifespan and taking pressure off of the owner.