Drink Can Planter and Drip Feeder

myminifactory

Here is a unique planter made from an old drink can that doubles as a drip feeder for small plants and seedlings. Watch my assembly video, or read my detailed instructions below. Steps for construction: (1) Cut the drink can in half lengthwise, making sure the drinking hole only exists in one of the halves - we'll use the holeless half for the raised reservoir that needs to be watertight. (2) Drill holes: The reservoir half should have one central hole for the water outlet. Drill two holes for drainage in the planter half. You can also spray paint the can halves with your preferred color if you like. (3) Print parts: You'll need three pieces for the planter stand and four for the reservoir stand, which can be printed without supports. I used 0.2 mm layer heights and 17% infill. Print two 'edge frames', one in full frame form and the other in two separate pieces - you may have to print them in multiple parts depending on your printer's capabilities. (4) Assemble: Use super glue to fix the planter stand pieces together, as well as the edge frames if they were printed in multiple parts. Glue the reservoir stand parts 1 and 2 together, and 3 and 4 together - leave the two halves separate for now. (5) Make holes in pipe: The 'pipe' piece prints without any holes to let the water drip out - make small holes in the two bottom outlet cylinders using a fine sharp tool, like a map pin. (6) Secure the pipe with hot glue: Hot glue works well for sealing the pipe onto the bottom of the reservoir, but be careful not to get it messy. I made a mistake and tried to cover it up with some paint! (7) Attach sealing plate: Use hot glue to secure the sealing plate over the hole in the planter half of the can - if it doesn't sit comfortably on the curved surface, try softening the plastic with a hair dryer and moulding it with your hands (if you're using PLA). (8) Fit everything together: Place the cans into the edge frames and push them onto top of the stands. Make sure to feed the pipe through the reservoir stand before gluing the two halves together. Let the brace sit loosely in its slots without glue - this will give you room to move it in place relative to the pipe. Glue the top of the brace to the pipe, then add soil and plants!