Thomas Becker just signed up as a True Fan, after finding out about our work through John Robb’s blog, Global Guerillas. He is the “owner” of Lastwear – an open source clothing company based in Seattle, USA. The Last in Lastwear refers to lasting – just as Life in LifeTrac refers to lifetime design. Lastwear is currently in the process of converting all of their patterns to a digital format so that they can be released for download from their site. I look forward to the time when the resilient community infrastructure base will include the production of clothing beyond sweatshops, and we already have some leads in this direction at Factor e Farm. Growing the fiber can be done with the LifeTrac infrastrucure, processing the fiber will be done with related equipment (to be developed), and the last step is sewing from open source design patterns such as those to be available globally from Lastwear. This is important – as everybody wears clothes – just like everybody uses a tractor, directly or indirectly, if they eat food. There is no question about the potential economic impact of open source clothing – on sweat shops in particular.
The CEB automation for the Liberator Beta 2.0 open source CEB press builds on other open source projects. We are using: (1), power drivers from the RepRap project for driving the solenoid valves; (2), Arduino as the controller-brain for the brick-pressing logic; and (3), a Ubuntu 8.04 Linux laptop for programming the logic. The advantage of this approach is that utilizing existing modules builds on mountains of prior work and documentation. In the limit of an open source economy – one would in principle be able to take well-documented and available parts, components, and modules to become a Maker of all the surrounding world. This is a deep part of autonomy and of evolution to freedom.
Here is a video on how the different modules are used in the prototype 2 electronics for the CEB press. You can buy the Arduino and the driver from Makerbot Industries. We use Hall effect sensors to detect the position of the hydraulic cylinders.
These electronics are then packaged in a waterproof electrical box:
The drivers are red, and the Arduino is attached below the green breakout board. The design is transparent and modular, and allows for easy access and disconnection of components for trouble-shooting. We will test this in the field shortly, so that our first CEB press product can move out the door.
We’re now in production of the open source, Compressed Earth Block (CEB) press. Here we document the fabrication ergonomics for the first steps in the build. This is for those of you considering replication.
It took 11.5 hours to cut the steel for The Liberator Beta v2.0 CEB press according to this cut list. This involved punching some of the holes, shearing, and bending – care of the local fab shop.
It took 2 hours to build the grate. Here is the grate with spacers between rebar prior to welding:
So far, the total is 15.5 hours of fabrication. If we had a hole puncher, we could probably save ourselves 2 hours of outsourced labor. So here’s our design of the hole puncher, to be built – as part of an ironworker machine:
The dxf files are here, so you can download them and continue the design if you want to get involved. This is an invitation to collaboration, starting with the wiki. First part of the ironworker is a hole puncher, and second step is metal shears for up to 12 inch wide metal, 1″ thick. The shears could save us a few more hours of outsourced labor.
There are holes on the u-channel that don’t lend themselves to hole punching, so these will be drilled using the FeF Multimachine in-the-making.
If we had RepTab, the open source torch table up and running already – we could cut the 1/8″ sheet in about 5 minutes at the rated cutting speed of our 60 amp plasma cutter. So here’s a case for spending 2 dedicated weeks to get RepTab shaken down into full running condition.
In the meantime, William has been learning MIG welding in preparation for his arrival in May. Here’s a video:
He is also learning QCad, so we’ll hit the ground running on design and build of a new civilization.
We are now officially using Open+Pario as our project management and design repository for Open Source Ecology. The most active project at present is the CEB press, and we are beginning project management of the Open Source Induction Furnace. Anybody can view any of the projects – including design files, technical discussions, etc. The content is entirely transparent and open to the greater community.
If you want to get involved in any of the projects, you can sign up as a Project Member by registering and joining a given project. (more…)
Kevin Carson, Research Asociate at the Center for a Stateless Society, just published a book called The Homebrew Industrial Revolution: A Low Overhead Manifesto. This is a progressive review of industrial history, culminating in the present option of post-scarcity economics. Open Source Ecology is featured as one of the Case Studies in the Coordination of Networked Fabrication and Open Design in the Appendix of Chapter 5. If you are interested in a comprehensive overview and of the technological ecology that we’re pursuing at Factor e Farm, this is a worthwhile read. It’s an insightful and quite accurate third-party analysis of our work, and the chapter provides a more in-depth understanding of the relationship between access to cheap, modern tools and collaborative design repositories – and how these combine for radical democratization of industry. Thumbs up for this important work. It is one of the cultural creative writings of the times, aimed at breaking through society’s limited consciousness on technology and production as a means of evolving to freedom. Read more about it on Kevin’s blog.
Lawrence has finalized the open source torch table design, after 11 days at Factor e Farm. Today, we are preparing the workshop space and he’s putting together the frame. Our goal is to complete the prototype in the stated 30 day period.
We now have the completed and documented design for an open source, GPL license or compatible, CNC torch table. You can download the Blender design file, which is dimensionally correct and contains the entire design. This design is now up for review, so please comment if you have experience with building CNC machines, or if you can direct other qualified individuals to this work.
We challenge, once again, anybody to propose any further simplification that does not reduce performance. The design uses stock steel throughout, with consistency of parts in the x, y, and z directions. The only fabrication requirement is bolting, after all the steel is cut. This lends itself well to selling CNC torch table kits at competitive cost, especially because the torch table is designed to be self-replicating. With a plasma torch head, one can cut out all the metal parts required to build another torch table!
In this sense, RepRap is our brother, and in fact, we will join the happy family of Arduino controller and RepRap motor drivers to reduce the electronics costs of future torch tables by about 75% below the present $460. The dream of open source fabrication infrastructure is coming alive – at Factor e Farm.
We have a complete bill of materials (BOM). Complete sourcing information is provided in the BOM. The summary BOM is shown here for reference, including parts we bought and outstanding parts:
The torch table features designed into the Prototype 1 build include:
Full industrial duty torch table, capable of cutting up to 4×8 foot slabs of 1″ steel
Cost of DIY production is 5-10 times lower than purchasing commercial equivalents
Fully consistent with GVCS pattern language for open source technology infrastructure
Self-replicability of torch table, and direct link to optimized CEB press and tractor fabrication
Ready adaptability to router or other cutting heads
Control via laptop is so far proving effective
These are the technical merits. We must add on the organizational milestones. Lawrence is presently succeeding in doubling Factor e Farm’s technical development capacity under his Dedicated Project Visit (DPV) – by demonstrating capacity to succeed in his stated goals. This has encouraging implications for scaling the project in general – as Lawrence is well on his way to demonstrating the power of well-thought out DPVs in terms of their ability to move design and build efforts forward. Personally, I am inspired – because we’re seeing that aligned effort can accomplish a great deal.
The above should be compelling reason for supporting our first torch table prototype build – as a part of a greater process towards optimized, open source product release. We’re equipped with a robust design, initial review is complete, we invite any further comments, and we are ready to move. Our outstanding costs are $800 for the Everlast plasma cutter , and under $600 for remaining gantry parts – for a total outstanding cost of $1358 including shipping. See BOM above. And then, ChipIn:
Today marks the 3rd anniversity of settling the land.
We came with a hundred chickens, a goat, Massey Ferguson tractor with loader, Chevy suburban, trailer, Lister one-cylinder diesel running on waste oil for electricity, and a lot of dreams and desires. (more…)
Power Cube is our open source, self-contained, modular, interchangeable, hydraulic power unit for all kinds of power eguipment. It has an 18 hp gasoline engine coupled to a hydraulic pump, and it will later be be powered by a flexible-fuel steam engine. Power Cube will be used to power MicroTrac (under construction) and it is the power source for the forthcoming CEB Press Prototype 2 adventures. It is designed as a general power unit for all devices at Factor e Farm, from the CEB press, power take-off (PTO) generator, heavy-duty workshop tools, even to the LifeTrac tractor itself. Power Cube will have a quick attachment, so it can be mounted readily on the quick attach plate of LifeTrac. As such, it can serve as a backup power source if the LifeTrac engine goes out. See the construction of Power Cube, and demonstration of it powering the PTO generator:
The noteworthy features are modularity, hydraulic quick-couplers, lifetime design, and design-for-disassembly. Any device can be plugged in readily through the quick couplers. It can be maintained easily because of its transparency of design, ready access to parts, and design for disassembly. It is a major step towards realizing the true, life-size Erector Set or Lego Set of heavy-duty, industrial machinery in the style of Industrial Swadeshi. Via open source, it is now becoming accessible to everybody. With the addition of local biofuel (pyrolysis oil) and steam engines, we await the time where local production is a reality.
As we go about finishing the CEB workshop addition, we are setting up our open source torch table development in the greenhouse. It’s been a long time since we started this development – but building the open source tractor and other details took priority over the torch table.
We discussed the computer-controlled torch table in a prior post about our digital fabrication facility for producing The Liberator – theopen source, high performance CEB press. After almost one year of CEB infrastructure development and testing – we are back to the fabrication aspect – as we get ready to produce Prototype 2 of The Liberator.
We are farmer scientists - working to develop a world class research center for decentralization technologies using open source permaculture and technology to work together for providing basic needs and self replicating the entire operation at the cost of scrap metal. We seek societal transformation through interconnected self-sufficient villages and homes. This is a stepping stone to transcending survival and evolving to freedom. Factor e Farm is the land-based facility where we put this theory, Open Source Ecology, into practice. More
In “The Unplugged,” Vinay Gupta wrote of a movement of people “buying out at the bottom” by using “Buckminster Fuller’s means to promote Gandhi’s ends.” This is the largest and most advanced single project I’m aware of for putting that philosophy into practice. — Kevin Carson, Mutualist Blog
Today, we are preparing the workshop space and he’s putting together the 
The project is part of our flexible fabrication workshop infrastructure,
which we discussed initially in an 
It can be maintained easily because of its transparency of design, ready access to parts, and design for disassembly. It is a major step towards realizing the true, life-size Erector Set or Lego Set of heavy-duty, industrial machinery in the style of 
