Factor E Farm Blog

We have finally started construction after spending most of the year developing equipment. We finished the CEB press on Tuesday. The open source Tractor, CEB press, Power Cube, and Soil Pulverizer are now in action. The main obstacle of soil handling has been declared solved.

CEB Construction Time from Marcin Jakubowski on Vimeo.

We began building the columns for the modular construction system as described in a previous post.

We have until November 14 before we cut off our building experiments due to weather. We have an open invitation to anyone who wants to help. We will be out there until Nov. 14. By then, we aim to complete 2-4 modular sections, 16×16 feet each. We have the concrete pads already prepared. Whatever we don’t finish we will take up in spring starting April 1, 2011 – towards a complete workshop as in the former post.

We still need materials for the remailing 3 truss sections and 4 roof sections. We reported that the trusses total $250 per section ($750 total). Sheet metal roofing is $300 per section, for about 400 square feet including 3 foot overhangs ($1200 total). This covers over 1000 square feet of floor space, and the entire workshop will be three times this size – to allow comfortable production of 4 CEB presses or tractors at one time. The workshop is intended to help fund the revolution, under the assumption that we get our ducks in a row with marketing.

The interesting part is that we aim to demonstrate that it takes only 3 full days per 16×16 foot section with only 2 people working, including roof and columns, but no infill walls. We aim to get to this point as a result of the next 9 days of practice. We’re shaking down all the parts of the method, and so far the soil pulverizing workflow is solved. Our optimization includes installing the automatic controls for the CEB press by Sunday. Chip in:

We have finally started construction after spending most of the year developing equipment. We finished the CEB press on Tuesday. The open source Tractor, CEB press, Power Cube, and Soil Pulverizer are now in action. The main obstacle of soil handling has been declared solved. CEB Construction Time from Marcin Jakubowski on Vimeo. We began building ...

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For those of you who are interested in replicating LifeTrac II – the second prototype of OSE’s open source tractor – here is the fabrication documentation that we have so far. This is meant to be used by dedicated co-developer-builders, who can contribute to improving the design. We still have to build Prototype III, and we are planning on the Full Product Release of LifeTrac on May 1, 2011. This would be after we complete Prototype I of the CNC torch table , which we will use as part of our digital fabrication optimization to cut parts for the tractor – thereby saving many hours of time per build. Right now, we need a design for an open source stepper motor controller suitable for the CNC torch table, as an open source version of the controller does not yet exist. As far as other open source fabrication optimization that we are contributing to RepLab, the Open Source Fab Lab – we are now using our open source 150 ton hole puncher and heavy duty hydraulic drill press quite successfully as part of every-day operations. These are all contributions to a low-cost tooling infrastructure for a serious open source, flexible/digital fabrication workshop. We look forward to the day that we could build all of these from scratch – by starting with scrap metal and an induction furnace.

For the tractor, start with the 3D design drawing in Blender, which is not just a pretty 3D image – but an exact model of the build that can be used exactly as is. The fabrication procedure of the tractor is documented on the wiki.

Two years ago we proposed the quick attach plate lever mechanism for the Quick Attach plate on the tractor, which we never implemented on LifeTrac I for lack of time. Instead, we just used pins to lock an implement in place, as seen in the last link. Now we have the working lever, which is much quicker to engage, and is worth replicating as a useful, open source mechanism. See the fabrication procedure for the quick attach plate and latching lever:

Quick Attach Plate Fabrication from Marcin Jakubowski on Vimeo.

The design drawing is downloadable at our design repository:

There is one known bug at this time – we need to shorten the wheel base by about 12-18 inches – to make turning easier. Other than this, watch the tractor rumble:

LifeTrac II from Marcin Jakubowski on Vimeo.

We are finishing the Power Cube II and Soil Pulverizer II, and we’ll report on these next.

For those of you who are interested in replicating LifeTrac II - the second prototype of OSE's open source tractor - here is the fabrication documentation that we have so far. This is meant to be used by dedicated co-developer-builders, who can contribute to improving the design. We still have to build Prototype III, ...

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On September 14, we finished the loader arms for LifeTrac II – completing the second prototype of the open source tractor:

LifeTrac Prototype II Completed from Marcin Jakubowski on Vimeo.

We have not been able to post sooner because we have been away at the Steam Automobile Club of America Meeting. We will cover the exciting developments that emerged over the next 2 or 3 blog posts – since there is lots worth sharing.

In the meantime, we’re back to further preparations for building this season. We will fabricate a second Power Cube – an improved second prototype – so that LifeTrac II will have 35 horsepower of drive in total. At the same time, we are beginning on the second prototype of the soil pulverizer for CEB construction.

It is worth noting that the quick attach mechanism on the LifeTrac quick attach plate – which was shown briefly in the video above – has been completed successfully. It has been proposed first about 2 years ago, and we have finally built it. You can download the design for the quick attach plate here, as well as the LifeTrac and Power Cube drawings in Blender.

On September 14, we finished the loader arms for LifeTrac II - completing the second prototype of the open source tractor: LifeTrac Prototype II Completed from Marcin Jakubowski on Vimeo. We have not been able to post sooner because we have been away at the Steam Automobile Club of America Meeting. We will cover the exciting ...

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After the initial test drive two weeks ago – we have built and tested wheel tracks for LifeTrac Prototype II, the hydrauilically-driven, open source tractor. Now LifeTrac is able to handle extremely rough terrain – which would otherwise halt other wheeled vehicles, including LifeTrac I. LifeTrac II can go over sizable humps and holes in the ground, and riding LifeTrac II is a spectacular experience. Here we show the build, installation, and testing of the tracks on rough terrain:

Extreme Traction from Marcin Jakubowski on Vimeo.

The addition of tracks makes LifeTrac well-suited for navigating through many of the erosion ditches and rough terrain of Factor e Farm. This is a great relief on practical grounds, as we are now well under way to gaining control over our landscape. Also, there is clear indication that the full traction is a lead into building bulldozers for earthworks. (more…)

After the initial test drive two weeks ago - we have built and tested wheel tracks for LifeTrac Prototype II, the hydrauilically-driven, open source tractor. Now LifeTrac is able to handle extremely rough terrain - which would otherwise halt other wheeled vehicles, including LifeTrac I. LifeTrac II can go over sizable humps and holes ...

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We have recently shown the initial test drive of LifeTrac Prototype II. The 3D model in Blender corresponds exactly to the machine built – the point being that the models in Blender are useful as actual design drawings from which others can replicate a build. The design may be scaled – meaning that the same components may be used on a machine of a different size. This implies that a MicroTrac may be based on the same design. See our previous work on MicroTrac – which is based on one driving wheel.

We are proposing MicroTrac Prototype II to be a small version of LifeTrac, as opposed to the one-wheel drive version. Stability and traction issues need to be resolved on the one-wheel design, so a good solution may be to do another simple box with wheels, like LifeTrac Prototype II. If we use the same or similar components, that means that parts will be interchangeable between the two machines – consistent with our principles of radical modularity.

This is our MicroTrac Challenge – for you to design the best, smallest implementation for MicroTrac Prototype II, built around the components of LifeTrac Prototype II. If you have no skill or experience in building a working tractor, this could be your start in your career as a design-builder of open source tractors. We have a design that works – and it may be modified easily – so our Blender drawing may constitute an Open Source Tractor Construction Set. (more…)

We have recently shown the initial test drive of LifeTrac Prototype II. The 3D model in Blender corresponds exactly to the machine built - the point being that the models in Blender are useful as actual design drawings from which others can replicate a build. The design may be scaled - meaning that the ...

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This is a rendering of Prototype II of the open source, design-for-disassembly tractor, LifeTrac. You can download the source in Blender format.

This is the reality of the completed frame, with the wheels and wheel motors, minus the PowerCube engine unit.

(download photo shoot in hi res here)

Now hang the 18 horsepower PowerCube I on the rear of the frame, and take it for the first test drive.

LifeTrac II Test Drive from Marcin Jakubowski on Vimeo.

This insane freak purrs like a cat and rips the ground. Major success. (more…)

This is a rendering of Prototype II of the open source, design-for-disassembly tractor, LifeTrac. You can download the source in Blender format. This is the reality of the completed frame, with the wheels and wheel motors, minus the PowerCube engine unit. (download photo shoot in hi res here) Now hang the 18 horsepower PowerCube I on the ...

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We are making good progress on LifeTrac – Prototype II of the open source tractor. We have managed to fund its completion via crowd funding. We’ve got just about all the parts in, including hydraulic components. We will use Power Cube Protype I as the initial power source. After completing the frame, the next tasks are wheel mounting, as well as installation of the hydraulics and of the Power Cube. Here is the progress on various wheel mounting and loader arm mounting components. This is another beautiful production by Sean:

We are making good progress on LifeTrac - Prototype II of the open source tractor. We have managed to fund its completion via crowd funding. We've got just about all the parts in, including hydraulic components. We will use Power Cube Protype I as the initial power source. After completing the frame, the next ...

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Here are some additional details from Sean’s video documentation work regarding the frame of the open source tractor – LifeTrac – Prototype II. William discusses some of the details on the frame, which was introduced in a previous post. From Sean’s videos so far, I like this one the most so far for its aesthetic qualities. You can read more about LifeTrac Prototype I here.

Here are some additional details from Sean's video documentation work regarding the frame of the open source tractor - LifeTrac - Prototype II. William discusses some of the details on the frame, which was introduced in a previous post. From Sean's videos so far, I like this one the most so far for its ...

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William has been here for 2 months already, and here’s his second Dedicated Project Visit report. Don’t miss this video if you want to see 3D models and a time-lapse video of LifeTrac II – the second prototype of the open source tractor – coming together. You can read about our first prototype here.

The Bill of Materials for the frame, plus most of the hydraulics, are up on the wiki development page, as is the frame fabrication procedure. Regarding the hydraulics, we are building upon the past experience from LifeTrac I, and simplifying the design significantly. See the LifeTrac prototype II wiki Category page for other supporting information, and the Open+Pario repository for the Blender 3D files and .dxf files for loader height analysis. Here are a couple more videos explaining the hydraulics: (more…)

William has been here for 2 months already, and here's his second Dedicated Project Visit report. Don't miss this video if you want to see 3D models and a time-lapse video of LifeTrac II - the second prototype of the open source tractor - coming together. You can read about our first prototype ...

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These last few days we have been wotking on the second open source tractor protytype - LifeTrac II – on Blender.  Here is the progress so far.

The concept involves:

• front end loader and a back-end loader – doubles attachment flexibility
• 4 wheel drive with direct coupling of hydraulic motors to the wheel shafts
• modular Power Cube power source – 2 can be attached at the rear, 1 at the front
• Driver sits inside – frame functions as roll cage

(more…)

These last few days we have been wotking on the second open source tractor protytype - LifeTrac II - on Blender.  Here is the progress so far. The concept involves: front end loader and a back-end loader - doubles attachment flexibility 4 wheel drive with direct coupling of hydraulic motors to the wheel shafts modular Power Cube ...

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