Introduction: 3D Printed ABC Planter

Greetings! The 3D ABC planter was designed in Tinkercad. The planter was inspired by and created for children. The form factor is small and the wells are shallow, so in the event an accident would occur, the mess would be minimal.

Step 1: Start Designing and Creating

Login to Tinkercad or create an account to start designing. In the lower left hand corner click on edit grid. Change it to inches.(Not necessary, just preference) In the drop down menu on the right hand side, choose Text and Numbers. Drag the letter A onto the workplane.

Step 2: Stand Up the Letter A

Rotate the view to the left using the box in the upper left hand corner. Click on the letter A and then click on the gray double arrow. You can rotate the letter or type in the number in the field to 90°.

Step 3: Set Dimensions of Letter A

Rotate the view back to the front. Make the length 2" and the depth 2". Then click on the square in the middle and also make the height 2".

Step 4: Repeat Steps for Letter A, for Letter B and Letter C

Drag the letter B into the workplane and also letter C. Make sure to set all of the dimensions the same a letter A. Move the letters around to desired location. Make sure that the letter B intersects with letter A and letter C intersects with letter B. This will ensure that it is one whole unit.

Step 5: Making the Wells

In the drop down menu, click on Basic Shapes. Drag a box onto the workplane. Ensure the shape is a hole and set the dimensions to width .25" depth 1.75" height .375". Drag the hole over the letter A and using the little black cone adjust the height of the hole into the letter A. Repeat the process for letter B and C. Hole B dimensions are width 1.25" depth 1.375" height .25". Hole C dimensions are width 1" depth 1.375" height .25". The hole on letter C sits higher and that's fine, no worries. All the letter will now have holes in them.

Step 6: Print Out the Design

After the design was printed out, there were some filaments pieces that need to be removed. In my excitement I forgot to take a picture. There were some below the letter A, the holes of letter B and the opening in letter C. A hammer and a screwdriver easily removed the pieces and a little sandpaper for the rough edges. Here is the final product and it's only 6" in width.

Step 7: Optional Step: Painting

Since this planter was geared toward children, my children had a blast painting it and helping with soil and plants. The whole experience was well worth it.

Planter Challenge

Participated in the
Planter Challenge