XYZ NODES : new construction system
Dante-Gabryell Monson
Introduction:
XYZ NODES is a new construction system developed by N55, based on an old well known principle of joining timber or steel struts together. XYZ NODES enables persons to design and easily build most of the structures that persons use in their everyday life in a low cost and durable way. Anything from houses and cycles to furniture etc can be made using the XYZ NODES system. With the introduction of the XYZ NODES N55 aims to facilitate local environmentally friendly production of things . The XYZ NODES things are based on the DIY skills and ingenuity of persons themselves instead of being fully dependant on large scale manufacturing and distribution processes. XYZ NODES supports local environmentally and social sustainable production. Designs for building all kinds of things will be developed together with N55 collaborators and published continuously at www.N55.dk.
Construction:
The XYZ NODES is a simple method of building light weight things from durable materials in a low cost way. It enables persons to build things in a way that is similar to construction set toys like lego or Meccano, that are based on the principle of a few different parts repeatedly used to create an overall structure. All needed parts can be produced manually using very basic tools: A drill and a metal saw. Or it can be produced using advanced CNC technology. XYZ NODES is based on rigid connections between aluminium square tubes that do not require welding or similar. Structurally the XYZ NODES connection shares similarities with lashed joints used for example in the traditional wooden frames seen in inuit kayaks. Or rivet constructions such as airplane hulls or old ship hulls. It forms rigid corners that becomes flexible when exposed to forces that would break other joining methods like a welded joint. The XYZ NODES allows rigid frames relying on corner connections to be build that are not necessarily triangulated for greater strength, hereby leaving a free open space inside the frame to be used for other purposes hence for example the XYZ SPACEFRAME VEHICLES mechanics build into the frame. A number of mechanical solutions and special connections have been developed. Please have a look at various solutions here:
Examples of XYZ designs initiated by N55, either already available or on its way are:
XYZ SPACEFRAME VEHICLES ( N55 in collaboration with Till Wolfer)
XYZ OPEN CITY ( N55 in collaboration with Till wolfer)
XYZ HOUSE ( N55 in collaboration with Anne Romme) ( work in progress)
XYZ LAMPS ( N55 in collaboration with Till Wolfer)( not published yet)
XYZ TABLES ( N55 in collaboration with Till wolfer)( not published yet)
XYZ OMNICHAIR ( N55 in collaboration with Lærke Thorst Balslev) ( work in progress)
XYZ WASTEBIN ( N55 in collaboration with Lærke Thorst Balslev)( not published yet)
XYZ KAYAKS ( work in progress)
XYZ PUBLIC SPACE ROVER ( N55 in collaboration with Anne Romme, Sam Kronick, Bill Mckenna and Teis Draiby) ( work in progresst)
Please note that we do not have the capacity to provide construction drawings for all examples of use of XYZ NODES. However we are working on getting as many out there as humanly possible. Most things can easily be copied from a photo because of the simple construction method.
Furthermore some things like the special XYZ SPACEFRAME VEHICLES models, XYZ CARGO TRIKE and the XYZ CARGO BIKE are based on the Open Source system, but has been developed as a product in order to finance further research and new things. In these cases persons are allowed to copy the things for non- commercial use and in compliance with this Creative Commons licence, but we do not facillitate the proces by providing construction drawings as such.
Example of XYZ NODES connection
Dante-Gabryell Monson
From: Eric Hunting <erich...@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, Apr 19, 2014 at 2:20 AM
Subject: Re: [+M] XYZ NODES : new construction system
To: op-...@googlegroups.com
This is basically just Ken Isaacs' TriLap joint based Matrix from the '60s, which we've seen in many variations since and chiefly as Grid Beam. Matrix normally used wood pieces, but also commonly used aluminum--though in those days it was a much more expensive and hard-to-find material for the DIY user. Wood also has the advantage of being solid, the aluminum tubing having a potential to be broken by over-tightening of bolts unless an internal bushing is also used. The interesting difference here is the use of 25mm/1" struts--half the thickness of the original Matrix--with what appears to be a half meter grid and the addition of U channels for LED strip lighting, which seem to work very nicely. They also seem to be using a second end hole for module-to-module connection.
Like the original Matrix, this is using holes along the ends drilled from easy end-measurement (half the strut thickness from the end on center), whereas Grid Beam (Box Beam) sought to improve on Matrix with pre-made holes in a standard grid. (hole spacing in multiples of strut thickness on-center) This improvement has always been something of a trade-off. Pre-drilled holes are convenient, compels standardized part lengths that are always multiples of the thickness, and makes reuse of parts and attachment of accessories much easier because the holes you need are all right there and always line up. Making trusses is also a whole lot easier. But, unless you had a ready supply of the pre-drilled beams, it was always difficult to make them yourself with adequate precision. After all these years, no one ever managed to establish a sustainable production of pre-drilled stock materials. (except for companies making rolled steel signpost struts, which have tended to use too small a hole spacing) Measuring from the ends for the basic joints is easy, but making a series of regularly spaced holes along the length is extremely difficult and time consuming. There's always this cumulative error problem drilling one hole at a time unless you have some kind of jig that can withstand the wear of drilling holes by the hundreds. This is the chief reason why T-slot profile beams overtook Box Beam among Eco-Tech experimenters despite being so much more expensive. T-slot remains expensive for most DIY users, despite efforts to make open hardware forms. I've been trying to find a cheap way to do this hole drilling for many years. Conventionally, it's done using semi-automated multi-spindle drill presses--big costly machines few business can even afford.
So there's much to be said for going the simpler route with just drilling standard holes at the ends and drilling accessory holes on-demand. There's less hassle for the DIY user using conventional stock material and the look is a bit cleaner as you don't have all these exposed unused holes. But the trade-off is that parts are not as reusable unless you make an effort to use very standardized lengths in your designs. Often the accessory holes you make for one use will have no other uses in other configurations. But you can, of course, employ accessory attachment without holes to avoid this issue--using straps, clamps, and the like.
The biggest issue I have with TriLap type construction systems is the variable edge topology, which complicates the attachment of things and has long been something of a problem with housing-scale applications even though the systems scale up readily. Many modular building systems often try to employ a fully in-line joint so that the edge topology of structures is uniform. Industrial electrical enclosure systems are a good example, typically using cast aluminum corner blocks matched to special frame profiles designed for panel mounting;
http://www.frame-tec.com/frame-tec-system-frames.html
Another is display framing systems which use very similar molded plastic corner blocks held together by friction and spring lock pins;
http://www.estoconnectors.com/
http://www.brunnerent.com/Tools/Portfolio/frontend/itemlist.asp?type=2&size=0&lngDisplay=2&strMetaTag
http://www.8020.net/Quick-Frame-1.asp
These have become popular lately for custom crypto-coin mining rigs ( https://openrigs.com/ ), though they've always been good for simple electronics enclosures when you could find the parts.
The advantage of systems like this is that you, potentially have a fully flush edge. All the struts are flush with each other on the face of any shape. With the TriLap joint, some struts are always 'behind' others. So if you made a cube with TriLap joints, either no struts are actually on the true edge of the cube or you can have four parallel on the edge and the other eight struts behind them. So you get these gaps that complicate how you mount things. It's not a big deal for small simple structures that are intended to be open framed. But it becomes a hassle when you want to make something water-tight or use deck or wall panels of uniform size and shape.
But there is an important strength benefit in the TriLap joint. You couldn't build a structure like the one in the N55 photos with those plastic corner connectors even though they use the same tubing size. You would have to add a system of gusset plates to match the strength. Cast aluminum corners would be strong enough, but no one makes such things for general use, or for that matter at any large scale suited to housing. They're only for those industrial electrical enclosure systems and usually priced far too high for the typical DIY user.
Overall, this is a pretty good approach. This kind of construction is well proven and easy to make. It's easy to integrate different materials like wood and plastic and found item accessories with this. It's also freely scalable. I'm wondering, though, if the 25mm tubing is really strong enough for the kinds of tall structures being tried here. Everyone else has been using 1.5"-2" (40mm-50mm) for many years.
Eric Hunting
erich...@gmail.com
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