Hydroponics Farm| Sterling Gray

When I joined Root Ai it was only 2 weeks after they had moved into a larger warehouse space
Needed to quickly and efficiently erect a tomato test farm to mimic conditions found at industrial warehouses
Tomato seedlings were budding needed to be transplanted within 3 weeks into the farm
Design requirements included
- Maximizing vertical growing space
- Adjustable height lighting fixture as plants grow
- Reliable deep water culture re-circulation system

The timeline of this project was the biggest challenge and drove the majority of design decisions
Design choices such as vendor selection, COTS selection were driven by availability for our timeline
- Meant no custom parts and no welded components
- Chose to use Unistrut as main structural component
Had to quickly research and learn about basic requirements and theory behind deep water culture hydroponics
When setting up the automated nutrient system ran into challenges initializing the re-circulation loop
- Did not initially have enough net positive suction head (NPSH) on motor and filter configuration
- Needed to calculate and redesign the plumbing architecture
Once the plants were finally transplanted the steel support cables holding the plants snapped as they grew to full height
Had to change the mounting conditions and restring steel cables with a thicker diameter wire

Today the tomato plants are still thriving
The automated nutrient system has made it much easier to care for the plants increasing the productivity of all team members
The in-house test farm has made testing and prototyping much easier leading to faster iterations on design work

Showcases CAD skills with large assembly modeling
Practical hands-on building skills
Able to quickly and efficiently build a BOM and gather needed materials
Highlights initiative and ability to meet a tight deadline
Balanced and managed the many different requirements needed to keep tomato plants alive

STERLING GRAY