CEB Press Automation

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Tue 18 May 2010

Pressing Rate Maxed Out at 16 Bricks Per Minute

Posted by Marcin

Speed trials on our automatic, open source CEB press, The Liberator, are complete. We achieved a maximum brick pressing rate of 16 bricks per minute, or less than 3 seconds per brick. We have run sufficient tests and worked out the bugs in the control scheme, and the results are as optimistic as predicted. After optimization-modifications of the CEB controls and control code, we have gained several bricks per minute in performance – primarily because of running the two hydraulic cylinders contemporaneously, as opposed to sequentially. We predicted this based on initial results from over a week ago. Here we show a half-minute video demonstrating the furious speeds achieved. We are pressing 2.5″x6″x12″ bricks in the first part of the clip, and 3.5″x6″x12″ bricks in the second part – with rates of 16 and 13 bricks per minute, respectively. The power source is LifeTrac at 24 gallons per minute of hydraulic flow:

Read more about these results and control strategy. (more…)

Categories: CEB Press Automation, Compressed Earth Block Press

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Tue 4 May 2010

Initial CEB Field Testing Report – The Liberator Beta v2.0

Posted by Marcin

It was raining for a week straight, and this Thursday, we finally documented initial field operations with our open source CEB press – The Liberator Beta v2.0. We used the soil pulverizer to pulverize the soil, and we used the tooth-bar bucket to load the machine:

The run shown displays a pressing rate of 11 bricks per minute, using LifeTrac on medium-high throttle as the power source. These encouraging results also pointed to the need of certain adjustments for control optimization. These changes should allow us to achieve about 2-5 pressing rate improvement over the above result, and they should also allow for easier adjustment of brick size and of brick compression. (more…)

Categories: CEB Press Automation, Compressed Earth Block Press

[2] Comments

Wed 21 Apr 2010

The Liberator Beta 2.0: Machine Overview

Posted by Marcin

Things are looking up on the fully automatic, open source, CEB press – The Liberator  Beta v2.0.

We finally have the machine ready to run in field tests. The basic operational description is here, from the front:

and from the back:

Some noteworthy features are: (more…)

Categories: Accomplishments, CEB Press Automation, Compressed Earth Block Press, Global Village Construction Set, Solar Village 2010

[15] Comments

Sat 17 Apr 2010

13 Bricks Per Minute… and Counting

Posted by Marcin

Today’s goal was to determine maximum pressing rates attainable with The Liberator, the open source CEB press. We obtained data to verify some of the predicted rates shown in italics in this table.

To boost morale, we started by pressing thin, 2 inch bricks (2″x6″x12″) – as their rate of production is higher than that of 4″ (4″x6″x12″) bricks. The thin bricks are the size of bricks one would press for making CEB floors. We ran the machine dry (without soil) in order to obtain baseline data. Results from runs with soil should be 5-10% lower if our calculations are correct.

This test run yielded 13 bricks per minute with LifeTrac as the power source, for the 2″ tall bricks. See this insanity in this one minute video:

(more…)

Categories: Accomplishments, CEB Press Automation, Compressed Earth Block Press, Construction, Solar Village 2010

[10] Comments

Thu 15 Apr 2010

CEB Automation with Sensors

Posted by Marcin

For the last two months, we’ve been developing and implementing Prototype 2 automatic controls for the open source Compressed Eearth Brick (CEB) press. We had initial results from Prototype 1 controls, without sensors, back in November. This time, the motion is controlled fully by magnetic position sensors, and we added a soil sensor for activating the grate shaker. We’re building on Arduino and RepRap electronics.

The process of adapting, packaging, programming, and debugging the system was one detail after another and took much longer than expected. It requires unskilled labor with a brain – my new term for problemsolving work when one has no prior experience in the art. This is a highly prized skill at Factor e Farm – and also the key to building resilient, post-scarcity communities.

The overview of the automation system is described in this 5 minute video. The CEB machine is half-assembled without the 6-foot wide hopper to show the workings.

The next step is to run the system at the rated hydraulic flow of 28 gallons per minute, to verify the predictions proposed in the initial automation work. It’s time for the rubber to hit the road.

Categories: CEB Press Automation, Compressed Earth Block Press, Global Village Construction Set

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Tue 23 Mar 2010

CEB Press: Building on RepRap and Arduino

Posted by Marcin

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.

Categories: Arduino, Automation, CEB Press Automation, Industrial Swadeshi, Permafacture, RepRap

[9] Comments