SMART CLAY - Ceramic & 3D Printing technology for green care.
The Smart Clay project presented by the FITSTIC Foundation and realized by the students of the ITS Higher Technical Course for the development, sustainability, and Design of the ceramic product, entitled to "Tonito Emiliani" (author of one of the most important manuals of ceramic technology). The course, unique in Italy, organized by the FITSTIC Foundation in Faenza (Ravenna), has promoted since 2013 the job placement of young talents and professionals in the ceramic industry, art, and design crafts.
The project was carried out in the context of the ITS4.0 promoted by the MIUR and Cà Foscari University. ITS 4.0 is a new educational-professional program that approaches schools and businesses on the 4.0 issues. The project involves the application of the innovative "Design Thinking" methodology. Thanks to the use of rapid prototyping technologies and tools, Design Thinking enables working teams to create innovative products that meet people's needs.

Smart Clay is an innovative ceramic design project, developed by a team of 8 students attending the second year of the ITS Tonito Emiliani course in Faenza (Ravenna) Italy. The project focuses on a natural clay pot with a self-watering structure, allowing the management of water for a correct irrigation of the plant. The project objectives are:
- User satisfaction to grow a plant without too much effort and specific skills;
- Developing a self-watering pot able to manage the amount of water for long periods;
- Creating a collection of pots by exploiting the versatility and scalability of the new 3D printing technologies;
- Creating a design object with shapes and textures with 3D printing and fine artistic decorations.

The prototype was made using traditional ceramic methods and reworked with Additive Manufacturing technologies that allow the creation of three-dimensional objects through special 3D jet printers. Thanks to the 3D Ceramic we can obtain an object with innovative shapes and textures, difficult to achieve with traditional mold and forming methods.
Moreover, the Vignoli company, an Italian artistic ceramics manufacturer, applied to the pot a prestigious decoration creating a design object for furnishing living and working spaces.
The structure of the final prototype consists of two sections: an glazed ceramic pot, which has the function of containing water and an unglazed inner pot, where the plant is placed. Therefore, the pot is a double-body structure with a self-watering system exploiting the characteristics of the clay (in particular porosity) to keep the soil adequately moist for long periods.
For this type of pot, we recommend the choice of plants "for indoor" and suitable for hydroponics and which can withstand humidity variations (potos, dracena, ferns, ficus, peperomia, sansevieria, pilea, singonio, tradescanzia).
The partner companies involved in the project are:
- WASP (Massalombarda, Italy), a leading company in the field of 3D printing. WASP produces and sells 3D printers and realizes projects in the field of architecture, crafts, food, home and environment. Thanks to WASP the prototype was developed with a specific 3D printer for ceramic mixtures, working both on aesthetics and on self-watering functionality.
- CertiMaC (Faenza, Italy) was involved in the selection of ceramic material. Certimac deals with research, certification and testing of materials,
- Bottega Ceramica Vignoli (Faenza, Italy) realized the final prototype. Vignoli produces ceramic ornamental pieces, everyday objects, complements for street furniture, in limited series and customized lines.