The world's first 3D-printable hydroponics system intended for medicinal cannabis cultivation was created and recently released by 3Dponics^[1], an international company with offices in Ottawa and San Francisco. This innovation empowers city dwellers and those with limited space to grow their own medical marijuana in a safe, convenient and efficient manner.

This so-called modular garden is intended to function like other drip hydroponics systems^[2], in which water is pumped to the top to dribble a steady aqua supply onto plants. It's a simple three-part product, with a pot, planter and lid that snap in place together like Lego pieces. Further, the parts can be customized by users, are easy to stack and the entire system can be downloaded for free on the 3Dponics website^[3].

Three-dimensional printing — technically referred to as "additive manufacturing" — utilizes processes that manifest a physical object by adding successive layers of material that constitute the given object via computer control. A 3D printable model is crafted by analyzing and collecting digital data of the shape and appearance of the desired object, and that data is converted into a format enabling the printing software to "read" it. The object's required layers of physical materials, such as paper, powder and sheet, are then funneled through a print nozzle allowing the layers to correspond to the original 3D model, and are then fused to create the finished product.

3Dponics has also partnered with major manufacturer General Hydroponics^[4] to develop upgraded parts for their cultivation systems, and are scheduled to be releasing those beginning in August. 

(Photo via 3DPonics.com^[5])

References

1. ^{^} 3Dponics (www.3ders.org)
2. ^{^} drip hydroponics systems (www.hightimes.com)
3. ^{^} website (www.3dponics.com)
4. ^{^} General Hydroponics (generalhydroponics.com)
5. ^{^} 3DPonics.com (instagram.com)