Wed 27 Jan 2010
Posted by Marcin
Here are the initial CAD drawings for the CEB press, The Liberator Beta v2.0. 
You can download these drawing interchange format (dxf) files at the Open+Pario project repository. You can view dxf files with QCad, AutoCAD, Lx-Viewer, or many other applications. Note that this is work in progress, and the drawings will be updated as time goes on. New files will appear at the repository as soon as they are available.
Sat 28 Nov 2009
We have our first sale of The Liberator CEB press. Maureen, one of our True Fans, will get her hands on an automated version of The Liberator – The Liberator Beta v2.0. We are expecting 8-12 bricks per minute for this machine. We’ve also discussed collaborating on hands-on CEB construction workshops – which is especially attractive for a machine of this caliber. Thus, Maureen is both a supporter and co-developer of the CEB enterprise.
This marks a historic moment for free enterprise development (see last post for what we mean by free enterprise). To my knowledge, we are demonstrating the first case of free enterprise in the world for high-performance, economically-significant, modern technology. If you know of others, please let us know – and we’ll be quick to collaborate and push forward the frontiers of post-scarcity economics.
(more…)
Wed 4 Nov 2009
Posted by Marcin
So here it is. November 1, 2009 is the day of Product Release.
Factor e Farm announces its first Product Release in the form of The Liberator high-performance, open source, Compressed Eearth Block (CEB) Press – Beta Version 1.0.
Let’s go back a little in history. In the end of December, 2007 – we pressed the first brick – with The Liberator Prototype I. We got the first prototype into full operation by year-end 2008 – and pressed over 5000 bricks to build the workshop addition. In 2009, we were busy completing the CEB Prototype II and supporting equipment like the pulverizer-loader. Add the soil shaker in the last post, and we’ve got product.
You can have a working copy for $3,500 – if you are a True Fan. If you are not, the price is $5,500. See the product specifications.
This is our Thank You to the True Fans – who supported this work in development over this year. For others, this is motivation for subscribing to the 1000 True Fans – 1000 Global Villages campaign – for discounts on future products after the CEB press. Let’s just say – it will be a good return on investment.
At 9 bricks per minute demonstrated production rate using LifeTrac as a power source, this is about 3 times better than we predicted almost 2 years ago. The True Fans price is factor 10 reduction in price for comparable performance. We have a serious piece of equipment on our hands. We are now taking orders.
Who will be the first buyer? (more…)
Thu 29 Oct 2009
Posted by Marcin
Time is ticking before Product Release of The Liberator. Some last minute adjustments are forthcoming, before we release Beta Version 1.0. Here are some scenes from field testing.
First, we carry it over to the work place with the LifeTrac forks. LifeTrac makes for Air CEB, but The Liberator Prototype II weighs 1922 pounds total.
The machine was buried 3 feet down to facilitate soil loading, while the support legs rest on the surface. The soil grate was added.
Second, we use the Soil Pulverizer/Loader for the first time in the CEB workflow to grind a pile of soil. Since rainy weather did not allow for a single day of soil digging for this entire month, this soil is from inside the workshop – we’re lowering the floor.
Then the Soil Pulverizer/Loader dumps the soil into the 6′ wide hopper, which is getting its first use under real working conditions:
Third, we turn on the Power Cube – which you see in the background in the above photos riding on MicroTrac – for the first time in the real CEB application, and press bricks using 10 gallon per minute hydrauilic flow at 2400 PSI.
Compared to the Liberator Prototype I, the bricks are thicker and smoother. Both are features of the finer soil filling the compression chamber – achieved by both the Pulverizer and the grate. The compression chamber fills more completely and leaves no traces of grain boundaries in the pressed brick:
The white spots are gravel chunks, care of our workshop floor.
Our observations so far are: (more…)
Tue 20 Oct 2009
Posted by Marcin
I would like to share today’s letter to our True Fans with the greater world. It provides the latest insights on the Factor e Farm experiment.
Dear True Fans and Supporters,
First of all, thank you all for your unwavering support. You have all demonstrated commitment to our work by putting your money and your time into moving us forward. Your support is essential to a baseline level of funding for our work at Factor e Farm.
I’d like to announce a conference call for this Friday, 11 AM GMT -6 (Chicago and Kansas City – USA time). If you’d like to participate, please refer to the conference call procedure and policy – http://openfarmtech.org/index.php?title=Conference_Call_Policy . This will be a weekly call, and it is our second to date.
The topics are several, focusing around the exciting prospects of perhaps the most important day of Factor e Farm to date on Nov, 1, 2009 – product release of the modular, high performance, open source CEB Press – The Liberator. Here are the items for discussion.
Initial product release – a Beta Version 1.0 – will include a manual machine, with a large, tractor-loaded hopper and grate, that can produce between 5-7 bricks per minute. The power source is external and modular, and so it the Arduino-based controller for automatic control. Both are not included in the initial release, but will be offered as modules in further releases. Product Release means formulating the hardware license, and associated enterprise, PR, and marketing strategies. This also provides a chance to refine OSE Specifications – for branding our products in a groundbreaking way. We are prividing thought leadership and practice on the creation of post-scarcity economics. (more…)
Sat 10 Oct 2009
Posted by Marcin
We are starting biweekly OSE Global Conference Calls – beginning Wednesday, October, 14, at 11:00 AM GMT-6 (Central USA time zone). Why? Because we are nearing critical decision forks in this open source project. Read on.
These are exciting times as we near product release for the high-performance, open source, Compressed Earch Brick (CEB) press. Just as a heads up, we’re getting interviewed by Time Magazine next Tuesday, and we have a 2 hour interview with the Venus Project next Monday night, which has quite a global following in the form of the Zeitgeist Movement.
Along the lines of Product Release – we will be releasing CEB Press Beta Version 1.0 – with as much development as we can accomplish by November 1, 2009. (more…)
Fri 9 Oct 2009
Posted by Marcin
I was invited to present at the Free Society Conference and Nordic Summit 2009 (FSCONS) – November 13-15, 2009, in Gothenburg, Sweden. This is an exciting chance to connect to the Swedish open source and Global Villages contacts. Please contact me if you would like to meet or if you have any other interesting contacts worth visiting with on the topics of open source ecology. Here is my abstract – Tranformative Economics via Open Source Product Development – with initial discussion on our CEB press product release.
All sociopolitical systems involve a productive economy as a backbone for their existence. General prosperity of the population depends on how well the fruits of that economy are distributed to its participants. The internet age, wherein information can be shared freely, implies that economically significant information should empower the productivity of unprecedented numbers of people. Strong implications emerge for transcending the present economic system based on scarcity. In particular, open source product development and global sharing of digital design towards digital fabrication are beginning to demonstrate the capacity to provide a human development path competitive with centralized, monopoly production. We are proposing that open source economic development is a viable path towards a transformative economy and advanced civilization. (more…)
Wed 2 Sep 2009
Posted by Marcin
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.
The design has come a long way since our initial work from 2008 and redesign of 2009. The open source torch table has now reached the technical design stage, according to our open source product development method. 
The project is part of our flexible fabrication workshop infrastructure,
which we discussed initially in an earlier post.
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:
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:
Hear Lawrence’s comment on the topic: (more…)
Tue 24 Mar 2009
Posted by Marcin
How does one reinvent corporate R&D by using open source methods? We missed a couple of details in yesterday’s hairy diagram and explanation. Now it should all be clear:
Now a couple of words on the above. (more…)
Mon 23 Mar 2009
Posted by Marcin
I posted the updated technology set in the last post, but how do we actually develop the Global Village Construction Set in a timely fashion? What is the elusive, scalable methodology for open product development? It’s obvious. It’s this;)
If you would really like to understand this very important but messy hairball, give yourself a half hour and read on. (more…)
