I have used fusion 360 to modelize almost everything for my project. I have also use Illustrator or inskape for the logo and others 2d stuffs
I was thinking of a modular concept for the beginning so I have starded with a cubic form.
My first module, It was supposed to be stackable and the holes were there to drain the water slowly so no damage to the plants below. The asymmetry was to put a set of door.
The bottom module was easier to make. It was designed simply to hold the dirt and residual water (with a bowl in it) coming from the upper floor. I was also looking for a way to stack the different modules and the roof. I have tried the "tabs" (the small "spikes" on top of the design) and was quite happy about it.
For the roof, I have started with a flat one but I didn't like the aesthetic so I shift to a "pointy" roof and was quite happy with it. (this is roof V7 to give you an idea :) )
These 3 designs are also parametric and easily alterable for size, position and numbers of tabs, material thickness, the number of holes for the bottom plate, the size of the file, the number of module you want in the middle ...
All these parameters + the facts that I use tabs to stack my design means a lot of trouble sometimes. The tabs need numerous constrains in order to give a nice effect and be parametric and some innocent changes have utterly destroyed my design :)
Usage and interactions
I have the base of my design and I have tried to confront it to several scenarios to see what to keep, what to throw away and what to adapt.
The way the user will interact with the Green House was my main concern : how to access the plants, take care of them, clean the enclosure, etc... The way to open the Green House is a good example :
The different design for the door and the mechanism I have tried before choosing one, more info on the electronic and protoyping part!
The fact that it's stackable and can change dimension also influence the thinking about the electronic part : dimension, position, wires, etc...
The final design
The main modifications for the last iteration were the tabs (positon, numbers and the way they slide together), the size (It was to costly as a prototype to make several stackable module or bigger thant the one I have made) and the modification for the electronic and moving parts.
The middle module with the modification for the door and the mechanism
The roof, It was tricky to find a way to slide the top of it but with few trials and erros, It work pretty fine
The bottom was the easiest part, just the tabs but that was a concern for the whole design
The full set of the Green House, you can see the housing the door mechanism. All elements are stable on their own but maybe the tabs on the bottom are not optimal
