Mary , Mary , quite adverse , how does your garden grow?Thanks to a 2013 project by students at Slovenia ’s University of Maribor , Mary might well respond , “ by way of a 3 - D printer . ” The alter CNC ( computerized numerical control ) machine called PrintGREEN would certainly simplify the process needed to make Mary ’s garden grow bysimply printing it outfor her — no spade or trowels necessary .
The team of art Education Department student behind the PrintGREEN project ( Maja Petek , Tina Zidanšek , Urška Skaza , Danica Rženičnik , and Simon Tržan ) came up with their unconventional invention during an Intermedia Arts row , uniting the disparate field of operation of fine art and applied science with an environmentally conscious angle . Rather than print text onto paper , PrintGREEN dispenses dirt , water , and dope germ onto a felt - cut through sponge surface . Instead of being sky into the recycling bin , PrintGREEN ’s output becomes aliving sculpture .
There are plenty of originative applications for PrintGREEN ’s technology . The CNC technology is sophisticated enough to trace recognizable shapes , from silhouettes of human font to a smashing typographic presentation at the 2014 3D Printshow London . The precise position of thepiped - out mudis telling enough , but the coolest part is when the first shoot of grass get going to shoot . The printer is n’t set to unconditional surfaces , either ; its ability to publish along the z - bloc means it can produce truly three - dimensional sculpture , cautiously stacking layer of soil into the shape of planters so that the gage has somewhere to call home .
printGREENfromSimon TržanonVimeo .
The squad behind PrintGREEN has n’t yet denote any plans to surmount up their project , nor have they speculated on the possibility of its practical app to any U.S. other than opinion - provoking demonstrations . In a sense , the project remains more art than engineering , a wonder more than a utilitarian innovation .
