3D Printing and Hydroponics

One of the biggest new advances in technology is 3-D printing -- but you might not be hearing about this a whole lot.

When it comes to what people are talking about, you'll hear a lot about new iPhones and other smartphone models, home area networks for your house, the Internet of things, etc. That's because we tend to focus on consumer electronics. But 3-D printing is a kind of dark horse that could become a lot more important in coming years, as people start making more physical products on the spot with these extremely useful machines.

The Lowdown on 3-D Printing

3-D printing combines the powerful business models of computer aided design with an accessible physical printing scale model, to offer a very versatile physical printer. Many of us have already seen in news reports how 3-D printing is changing the firearms industry, with some real concerns about the ability to manufacture gun parts without using metal.

But this is only one of the major ways that 3-D printing is poised to change our lives forever.

3-D Printing and Hydroponics

3-D printing can be applied to hydroponics in some pretty interesting ways.

The basis of these philosophies relies on the ways the gardeners use hydroponics equipment to grow plants.

For example, some core parts of the hydroponics system consists of physical containers -- you have plant pot holders that will actually hold the seeds and grow media. You have a central reservoir, a much larger container of water. And you have your irrigation tubing. These three parts are the structural backbone of nearly any hydroponics project.

What all of these parts have in common is that they can be easily designed with a 3-D printer - that means that in the future, growers may do more on-demand printing of the materials that they need.

This idea can be applied to nearly any industry, but it raises significant questions about what's most beneficial for consumers and end-users. Another thing that 3-D printing has in common with hydroponics is that it brings production closer to the point of use. In hydroponics, these physical setups allow you to grow food very close to where you would eat it. With 3-D printing, people can create physical equipment and goods closer to where they will be used, and this is going to be something very interesting to watch as the 21st century progresses.