Factor e Farm update
Marcin Jakubowski
Open manufacturing is in the making with community-supported manufacturing.
We're getting our program to the next level - with the earth block
press as the first
viable product.
Read more for the update:
We have further progress on the open source tractor and compressed
earth block (CEB) press project - plus documentation of our biodiesel
production system. We are proposing an enhanced crowdsource research
program for open engineering as well:
http://openfarmtech.org/weblog/?p=329
We are finanally deploying crowdsource donations at our wiki - read
more about why and support us at:
http://openfarmtech.org/index.php?title=Open_Source_Ecology:Site_support
Our program calls for finding 2 more people for the CEB building phase
of our experiment - for October and November - for a total of 4
dedicated participants, as indicated in the budget on the blog. If you
know any people - or want to partake in constructing the world's first
replicable post-industrial village- let us know. We could accomodate
more than 4 - four is the minimum.
If any of you are interested in open engineering and your ass in the grass,
here's your chance. It's not glorious work, with grime all over your body.
But that's what happens when open source fab meets practice.
The secret weapon at this stage? The Hexayurt for temporary housing.
With these developments, we are
getting back on the track of community-supported manufacturing - with
CEB press facility & digital fabrication deployment. We are
accelerating our program with the crowdsource funding and research
initiatives - stay tuned for details.
Please spread this message as appropriate. Let's see if we can break some
new ground with the crowdsourced development method for open engineering -
unfolding in front of our eyes.
Marcin
--
----
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion,
butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance
accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders,
give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new
problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight
efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
-- Robert A. Heinlein
Vinay Gupta
Hahahahah
I like the Hexayurt being a module of the Open Farm Tech story. Very
fitting, well done!
Vinay
--
Vinay Gupta
Free Science and Engineering in the Global Public Interest
http://hexayurt.com - free/open next generation human sheltering
http://hexayurt.com/plan - the whole systems, big picture vision
Gizmo Project VOIP : (USA) 775-743-1851
Skype/Gizmo/Gtalk : hexayurt
Icelandic Cell : (+354) 869-4605
"If it doesn't fit, force it."
Eric Hunting
Speaking of which, have you seen these novel little cottages made from
concrete pipe?
Obviously, not suited to the same roles as the Hexayurt, but a
possibility as a more permanent structure for a regular cycling of
support workers. I seem to recall a similar thing was done for the
students at Arcosanti. Some of these precast concrete pipe segments
have integral insulation. I've long thought these look like a lot of
fun and have pondered how many other uses there might be for them.
Such precast pipe and culverts are commonly used for making
underground/under-road walkways linking buildings and can be pretty
wide. The catch, of course, with these and other precast structures is
transportation given their weight -and companies who think that every
proposed use that's new or beyond the usual is 'crazy'. (I once
studied the use of large precast culverts as a basis of simple earth-
bermed housing but here in the US their transportation beyond a few
miles from their production facility was many times the cost of the
culvert sections themselves. Precast has long been sold to the civil
engineering and industrial construction markets on its economy, but
here the only savings seems to be time)
Eric Hunting
erich...@gmail.com
Patrick Anderson
Certainly it would be lighter and so less to transport...
Eric Hunting
from an Australian antarctic research organization that had been
experimenting with new shelter concepts and found a company
rotomolding large water storage tanks that was willing modify one into
a seamless shell shelter complete with integral PE foam insulation.
They found them light and easy to setup and could even tow them by
boat as they would readily float. They've since been refining the
design over subsequent expeditions. Chief problems with them was
ventilation, a tendency for condensation and mold growth in interior
retrofit parts, and the small size.
http://www.aad.gov.au/default.asp?casid=26596
N55 also experimented with this concept using an unusual flat-sided
style of off-the-shelf PE tank that seems unique to Denmark as a
portable rigid shelter.
http://www.n55.dk/MANUALS/SNAIL_SHELL_SYSTEM/SSS.html
I've long found this intriguing. The translucency of the plastic makes
for a nicely light-filled environment from what the photos suggest.
Some textiles would make it quite a comfortable little hideaway. This
picture in particular always cracks me up;
http://www.n55.dk/MANUALS/SNAIL_SHELL_SYSTEM/SSSquintus.jpg
But it has a very tiny manway hatch that I think would be problematic
for most people.
Eric Hunting
erich...@gmail.com