Mini Greenhouse

prusaprinters

<p>This print is a set of clips for upcycling an empty PET bottle into a small greenhouse. A large bottle is probably needed, I use 8L water bottles rather than 1.5L soda bottles, hence the need for four clips.</p><p>The print has been designed to use little plastic and no (few) extra parts - what is the point of upcycling 10 grams of plastic bottle, if you also need 500 grams of print, and a trip in the car to the hardware store for nuts, bolts, and odd parts?</p><p>When that is said, I started out with a glue-on model, which is fine if you have some thick glue (I used No More Nails) or even silicone lying around, but PET is very hard to glue, and upcycling with lots of chemistry is maybe slightly pointless? I included the model if you want it, and because several of my photos use it.</p><p>The least resource-intensive model is the melt-on, which uses a clip over the edge of the bottle halves. It may be enough in itself, especially in a toddler-free environment, which mine isn't. To make the attachment permanent, I melt together the two sides of the clip and the bottle. That in turn introduces small pieces of aluminium foil, but it is the best I can come up with.</p><h3>Printing</h3><p>You will need a top, a bottom, and a clip for each attachment point. The number of attachment points will depend on the size of the bottle, my 8L bottles need 4 points.&nbsp;</p><p>Print in PETG, the slight flexibility is super for the clip-on version. Printing in PLA may very well result in the parts shattering and cutting your fingers. ASA is overkill.</p><h3>Assembly</h3><h4>Preparing the bottle</h4><p>Cut the bottle to be used in two, with as straight a cut as possible. I cut low on the bottle, but only because there is a shoulder making a straight cut easy on an otherwise very profiled bottle.&nbsp;</p><p>After cutting, touch and rotate the newly cut edges on a hot surface of sorts, e.g. an old frying pan. It should be warm enough for the edges to curl, but not hot enough to melt the plastic. This stabilises the halfes, gives the clips a purchase, and hides sharp edges and imperfect cuts!</p><h4>Attaching connectors</h4><p>Notice that there are two different connectors, mirror images of each other. To avoid problems when attaching the bottle halves, use only one type on the bottom, and the other only on the top.</p><p>Attach connectors to the bottom first, and then to the top, aligning the top connectors with the bottom connectors.</p><p>Gluing on connectors is easy, just make sure that the glue has dried on the bottom before doing the top.</p><p>Melting connectors on is a little harder, but faster as no glue needs to set, and much more stable as glue does not stick well to bottles:</p><ol><li>Slip the connector over the edge of the bottle, it should catch nicely around the curved edge</li><li>Protect the tip of an old, COLD soldering iron with some aluminium foil. Aluminium foil conducts heat into fingertips with surprising ease!</li><li>Turn on the soldering iron and melt together clip and bottle by pressing it through the marked area on the clip. When done right, the plastic sticks to the aluminium foil rather than the soldering iron</li></ol><h4>Assembling the greenhouse</h4><p>Pour water and put your plant in the bottom. Place the top on top. Use the little clips to connect attachment points</p><h4>Expansion</h4><p>Use one bottle cut in halves, and another with the top and bottom cut off, to make an extra tall greenhouse.</p><h3>MOSQUITO WARNING</h3><p>The still water in the bottom will attract mosquitoes when the season starts. Take steps to break the life cycle of the mosquitoes, e.g. regularly change the water so that mosquito larvae are poured into the lawn/drain and die.</p><p><strong>IF YOU LIVE IN AN AREA WITH MALARIA OR OTHER MOSQUITO BORNE DISEASE DO NOT USE THIS PRINT</strong></p><p>&nbsp;</p>