Designing a 3D Plant Pot Using AutoCAD

Introduction:

While I was designing my own product "Automated Drip Irrigation, Fogging and Micro Nutrient Blending, Diluting and Delivery IoT System" I had a need to design my own structure that can be placed on any rooftops to encourage terrace gardening and self-growth of regular and leafy green vegetables.

Startup companies cannot afford to have designers build such structures required for their product prototypes and this is part one of the series.

In this part, we will learn how to build a simple plant flowering pot (Square in this case) with the following dimensions:

1. Length: 225 mm
2. Width: 225 mm
3. Height: 212 mm
4. Material Thickness 1 mm

1. An MS Windows (or) any other PC /Laptop with a Compatible version of AutoCAD
2. AutoCAD 2019 (Used during the writeup of this article)
3. Basic Knowledge of drawing & dimensions

Please note that all our drawings are in millimeters and the very first activity remains to set up the units of measurement using the "Drawing Utilities & Units" menu.

1. Length: 225 mm
2. Width: 225 mm
3. Height: 212 mm
4. Material Thickness 1 mm

In this step, we will draw two boxes with dimensions:

1. First Box: 265 mm (Length) x 265 mm (Width) x 25 mm (Height)
2. Second Box: 225 mm (Length) x 225 mm (Width) x 25 mm (Height)

***Note: In the images, the heights of the first and second boxes are mentioned as 237 & 236mm. The reader of this article may please correct this during his/her drawings.

The process used is simple. In designing the neck portion, we will use the following commands:

1. BOX
2. VIEW (Preset Views - SW Isometric)
3. MOVE (To Center Align both the boxes)
4. SUBTRACT

The reader of this article is suggested to follow the images shared and complete the step before proceeding any further.

There are two methods in creating a box and both the methods are described in this section.

1. Directly in 3D using VIEW (Preset Views - SW Isometric) & BOX commands
2. From the "2D Wiremesh" view using BOX command directly.

The dimensions of the box that will be created will be: 225 mm (Length) x 225 mm (Width) x 212 mm (Height)

The only difference between both these options is via 3D view one can build the bottom portion in the right direction. Via "2D Wiremesh", the bottom portion built will be aligned towards the top, making the Square pot appear to reverse.

To create a 1 mm thickness wall following are the steps to be considered:

1. Draw a box that is 2 mm less in length and width and 1 mm less in height.
2. Dimensions of outer box: 225 mm (Length) x 225 mm (Width) x 212 mm (Height)
3. DImensions of the inner box: 223 mm (Length) x 223 mm (Width) x 211 mm (Height)
4. Center the box to the one created in the earlier step.
5. In regular 2D Wiremesh View
6. Using 3D Isometric View (In case the alignment seems to be tough, one can make use of the guidelines to
7. SUBTRACT the inner box from the outer box, to create the space for the plants to grow.

The moment all the steps mentioned above are successfully completed, change the view to "Realistic View" to observe the changes and final pot design.

AutoCAD 3D designing is not tough at all unless you know the easier way of creating your own devices.

I have observed that it hardly takes one week for anyone to learn to design what they would want to (Basic drawings only) and experience for a few months will land us with more complicated designs.

I would love to share the knowledge I gained. Please ping me on WhatsApp at +91 9398472594 (or) email me at amruth@smaragdine.work for any queries.

Thanks to all the readers who go to understand the basics of 3D drawing. Request to share your comments & suggestions.

Readers are requested to share the article if this one is useful for others to build their own designs.