We’ve recently covered some of the new features of 3DPrinter OS, soon to be released. We also covered the Kickstarter campaign of 3Dponics by 3D Printer Labs, a “3D-printable hydroponics system for growing tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, lettuce, microgreens, herbs, strawberries and even flowers in the comfort of your own home.” These two startups are collaborating to celebrate the upcoming launch of 3DPrinterOS. When you sign up for 3DPrinterOS, you will find every file of the open-source DIY 3D printable hydroponics system. Project users can access, print and share all of the digital files and instructions required to build the system.
3Dponics Founder and CEO Michael Golubev commented, saying, “3DPrinterOS integrating our project files is hugely positive. Soon, tons of people will have 3D printers inside their homes, so it’s crucial these people have access to meaningful, sustainable projects — ones that benefit themselves, the public, and the environment. The way we see it is, eventually, anyone using a 3D printer, whether it’s a Makerbot, Ultimaker or Leapfrog, will have the ability to access 3Dponics via 3DPrinterOS, and that’s what we want. It’s an open source project: the more people who know about it and build it, the better.”
If you live in an urban area, space is generally an issue. Eating well is an issue. There are a million unhealthy temptations on every corner. The soil quality of most tiny backyard lots is less than desirable because of water and air pollution. If you have a 3D printer, maybe you are a bit disillusioned. You haven’t perfected your 3D modeling skills to make anything beyond an odd looking penguin. There are a number of useful projects that people have completed for you to print. 3Dponics is one of them. By saving you space, the 3D-printable hydroponics system that allows users to grow their own food, follow a healthy lifestyle, support local agriculture and give a minor boost to the oxygen level of the air. According to my source, “the 3Dponics team spent the past two years developing the system before launching it on Kickstarter in July 2014. After being successfully funded and receiving tons of support from all over the world, the team is currently building an online community, where urban farmers can meet, help each other out, share ideas, collaborate, and post pictures and videos of their hydroponics systems.”
3DPrinterOS allows users to print the 3Dponics system directly from the 3DPrinterOS interface.
Of course John Dogru, the CEO of 3DPrinterOS is excited about this collaboration. “We’re huge fans of the 3Dponics project and we wanted to give users access to files right away that can be printed to make a difference in their homes and across the world.”
As we covered before, 3DPrinterOS is a standalone operating system that connects to some of the most popular 3D printers. 3DPrinterOS offers Mac/Windows/Linux and Raspberry Pi access to the 3Dponics project. Their list of supported printers keeps growing, and will now include instant access to printing great projects such as the 3Dponics project. If you wanted to split up the components with a few friends who have 3D printers (maybe you are waiting for more badly needed filament to arrive in the mail), 3DPrinterOS will allow owners of multiple 3D printers to queue up and print the entire 3Dponics project on their various printers in a single process.
