Tower Dimensions
The height of the mud column will be 180 cm, its total diameter will be 33 cm. The diameter of its inner column is 25 cm.
Substrate Storage Dimensions
Using the correct equation (below) we can calculate the material volume of the column, and thus the storage space required for the substrate, and the amounts of raw ingredients required.
65622.2 cm³ = large cylinder volume: 154015.7 cm³ – small cylinder volume: 88392.8 cm³
65622.2 cm³ = 65.6 litres.
Raw Ingredients Required
Approximately half of the 66 Litres is starch, while the other half is a 50/50 soil and sand mix.
- 33 Litres Starch
- 16.5 Litres Sand
- 16.5 Litres Soil
A carton of milk is 1 litre.
Dimensions of Base Tower
The base tower needs to contain 22 litres of substrate, I’m rounding this up to 25 litres to be on the safe side.
The first segment is concealed inside the base of the tower at the outset, and so is the arduino and motorised mechanisms that create the lift of the telescopic spine. These parts are contained within an inner drum, while the substrate is kept within the outer drum. Either a weighted lid or motorised system over the substrate creates downward pressure and aids the flow into the tower.
The inner drum has a volume of 75428 cm³ or 76 litres.
A series of holes at regular intervals around the circumference of the outer drum allow substrate rods to be inserted.
The rods are made from plumbing tube 55mm diameter and 430mm length. Each rod has a volume of approximately 1 litre. 66 rods are used to build a tower of 180 cm height (66 litres). 22 rods are used in each 60 cm (22 litres) segment.
A height of 60cm is achieved in 12 days if the tower rises 5cm / day. 1.8 rods are used each day.
