Meilensteine Austauschstudenten

Servus! Tere! Hola! Cześć!
We are the international team. Our team consists of 3 members, all exchange students from FH partner universities in different countries.

Boris from Tartu, Estonia - Estonian University of Life Sciences, Institute of Technology, Faculty of Applied Energy Engineering.

Eduard from Zaragoza, Spain - Universidad de Zaragoza

Rafal from Mikolow, Poland - Silesia University of Technology, Mechanical and Technological department.

Our main objective in this project is to design and build the mechanical structure for Herbie - an automatic and mobile hydroponic growhouse.

Our workflow had 4 different stages.

1. Planning the scale and parameters of the growbox
2. Designing a model
3. Ordering of all the parts
4. Assembling and testing

Throughout the project there were many surprises and lessons (: 

First we had discussions with the whole 11 person member group about the theory and the scale of the desired result. We met once in person and after that over MS Teams because of the necessary social distancing regulations regarding the pandemic.

The following parameters were agreed on:

• Size: 2m height, 2m width, 1m depth (later changed to 0,5m)
• 3 layers of plants on shelves - 50 cm space between shelves.
• Windows and doors: transparent plexiglass to be able to see inside.
• Water tank 100-200L
• Connecting water tank to the tray with pipes and fittings
• Trays - ~6cm high trays to hold the plants and water.

Also the group leaders were selected and a rough time-schedule was fixed. All teams and supervisors used Microsoft Planner as a centre for having an overview of upcoming tasks and milestones.

Based on the new design we made a component list consisting of aluminium profiles, attachments, plexiglass plates, hinges, wheels, watertank, trays, fittings, pipes. 

We sent it out to the technician who forwards the order to the procurement office which then sends the order to the company. 

Since the aluminium and plexiglass parts were quite expensive, we decided to not use plexiglass in every part of the back/window/door. Instead we used plexiglass only where it was absolutely necessary to be transparent: front windows, front doors. The rest would be either some nontransparent plastic or coated eurowood.

For the reservoir containing the plants we searched for a ~2m long, 0,5m wide tray but it was impossible to find. As a solution we decided to order a custom made aluminium "Wanne".

The communication bottleneck, lockdown and the ensuing inability to physically go the store, the Christmas holidays and school staff quarantines were all factors which complicated the ordering process. Nevertheless, after about a month of waiting, all the components finally arrived and we managed to start assembling the closet in the beginning of January.

The Assembly was a really though task for us because there had been a few problems with the materials so that we had more work than expected. 

Nevertheless, we were motivated and started the assembly. Check it out in our article about this topic. Click here. 

Overall there were many uncertainties and blunders which we adapted to and solved. There were many lessons learned and the most important ones were how to effectively work in a team and how to come up fast with clever solutions to problems.

Also we learned how to work with a WBS - Work Breakdown Structure and how to adapt with a constantly changing schedule. The long procurement process regarding the command line, the  corona-lockdown and Christmas holidays made the parts ordering process errored and uncertain. Constant check-ups and inquiries were required to make sure if and when the material is coming. Once the shops opened up on the 25h of January it made it a lot easier to acquire necessary tools and materials since the building stores were open to the public and we had the option to walk in the store and pick up what we needed instead of ordering it and then waiting for upto a month for it to arrive.

It was the first time for all of us to work on such a big project. Also we had never worked in such an international team before. We had our differences and we had some troubles finding a common language and work-pattern, but in the end everything worked out great. Our differences helped us come up with different solutions and we managed to communicate successfully and find a work routine that fit all of the members. 

All the necessary steps got achieved and the structure got built. Looking back we would definitely do some things differently, but in the end those errors and adaptations taught us the valuable lessons that will be us of use in the future.

We are looking forward to see how this project grows and hope to try some of the basil,

grown by our very own Hydroponic-System Herbie. 

We wish the next students all the best for this project!