Open Source Ecology - User contributions [en]

Talk:Angie Co

2009-03-24T19:05:00Z

Dennis: Created page with '"3. What do you think of the idea of playing with the soil mixture, such that we could possibly build in a natural decaying of the wall? This could be interesting for temporary s...'

"3. What do you think of the idea of playing with the soil mixture, such that we could possibly build in a natural decaying of the wall? This could be interesting for temporary structures. Perhaps we could use a combination of some sort of soil / peat mixture, and even embed seeds into it, so that the whole wall could “sprout” at some point, and then slowly turn into a garden which decomposes into the earth? " Nice idea with the seeds!--[[User:Dennis|Dennis]] 19:05, 24 March 2009 (UTC)

Talk:Pyrolysis Oil

2009-03-24T16:52:05Z

Dennis:

The diagrams show vapour/ gases not liquid as a by product... do we need to clarify here?

User talk:Boyd nelson 1

2009-03-24T16:44:54Z

Dennis: Created page with 'I got my MA in ED as well! --~~~~'

I got my MA in ED as well! --[[User:Dennis|Dennis]] 16:44, 24 March 2009 (UTC)

Solar Turbine Prototype at Factor e Farm

2009-03-17T12:26:15Z

Dennis: /* Reflectors */

(Linked from [[Solar_Turbine]] - where we discuss the basics program plus cost predictions)
=Email Group=

Join the [http://groups.google.com/group/solar-turbine Solar Turbine email group]

=Introduction=

We are building a replicable solar thermal concentrator electric power system - on the kW scale. The closest system that we found to our design is:

[[Image:ISE_slats.jpg]]

[http://www.solarpaces.org/Tasks/Task4/task_iv.htm Source]. We should identify and contact the designers.

=System Overview=

Here is a general overview of what I could see happening in the approximate August 15 - September 1 period.

I think we can be happy if we construct and fine tune the simple 16-slat solar collector design. This would include the foundation, collector, receiver, followed by some data acquisition. I think that when we obtain steam production data, we could use those results to motivate some form of collaboration towards sourcing a steam engine.

=Design Drawings=

The site will be prepared by leveling with a tractor and blade. We are building on the conceptual drawings in [[Solar Concentrators]] and [[Solar_Concentrator_Technical_Drawings]]:

#[[Solar Concentrator Foundation]] - CEB posts are presently our first choice, but we may revert to lumber if technical difficulties arise
#[[Concentrator Structure]] - collector tube mounting, slat mounting, connecting posts together
#[[Mirror Slats]] - rotation support bearing, bearing mounts, rod, slats, mechanical fasteners
#[[Tracking]] - sensor, actuator, gearing
#[[Solar Concentrator Tube]] - glazing, insulation and cover, tubing connection, attachment to support structure, alignment mechanism

=Reflectors, Collector, and Data Acquisition=

[[Image:turbine_prototype.jpg]]

Overview. Steam is our preferred choice due to its simplicity. I am not sure whether steam will yield the highest efficiency, but we can optimize this point by going to higher temperatures. Advantage: a sustainable resource. Disadvantage: freezes in winter

=Updated Designs=

Here is an updated proposition from Ben, end of July, 2008:

[[Image:ganged1.jpg]]

[[Image:ganged2.jpg]]

[[Image:ganged3.jpg]]

Marcin proposes the following implementation:

[[Image:ganged_frame.jpg]]

Note the above design has been refined 8.8.08 to $750 prototype cost, drawings forthcoming - Marcin

==Foundation==

A concept drawing is here:

http://openfarmtech.org/index.php?title=Solar_Concentrator_Technical_Drawings

By August 15, we should have the [[LifeTrac]] tractor, [[CEB Press]], and footer auger ready for action. We are planning on building a CEB block foundation, 1x1 foot wide. The process for this involves augering a 2 foot diameter hole 3 feet deep, laying cement-stabilized CEB blocks as a post foundation, and laying gravel around these posts. The posts will stick up about 2 feet above the ground to make a comfortable working surface above the ground, but not so tall that the overall structure begins to suffer from wind loads. The 2 constraints for how low we can go to the ground are (1), splashing from the ground during rain, (2) comfortable height for array building and maintenance.

I foresee using 2x4 or 4x4 treated lumber as bond beams on top of the CEB block pillars.

''Advantages'': Low cost foundation, with the only material costs being gravel. CEB blocks are produced on-site from local soils.

''Disadvantages'': More labor intensive than treated lumber post-and-beam foundations, though not more labor intensive than the whole lifecycle of post-and-beam, if labor to produce and transport said lumber is considered.

==discussion of reflectors==

At present, the least expensive, lasting option is glass, but we may consider aluminized mylar for a temporary solution - [http://www.specialty-lights.com/730025.html $55 for 400 sq ft]. Mylar does not last long, but it would suffice to do the testing. Glass breaks easily in hailstorms - so we would want to consider a single or double layer of chicken wire across the whole array.

===Tensioned Reflective Film Reflector Design===

[[Image:wingedreflector.jpg]]

===Reflector materials===

===Plastics===
http://www.greenpowerscience.com/SHOPREFLECTIVEBUY.html
mylar: [http://www.specialty-lights.com/730025.html mylar $55 for 400 sq ft].
===Glass===
====How to Cut Glass====

http://chestofbooks.com/home-improvement/woodworking/Handicraft-For-Boys/How-to-Cut-Glass.html

YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2wt9S7SApo&feature=related

==Mirror Slat Mounting==

(now outdated)

Details of tracking and glazing mounting are proposed:

This is a detail of each of the foundation pillars that support the reflector array. The entire array foundation is 3 by 11 pillars.

[[Image:reflector_detail.jpg]]

==Collector==

Collector consists of 6 tubes made of galvanized, 1" steel pipe. It should have selective reflection coating - $70/gallon from http://solec.com, and be insulated from the back. We should design the collector for testing collector performance with and without and standard glass cover.

===Feedwater System===

Passive drippin of water into the collector tubes during testing will yield data on steam generation at atmospheric pressure. If we want to generate steam at pressure, we need a pumped or valved feedwater system. Here is a valved system concept detail:

[[Image:valve_detail.jpg]]

==Data Acquisition==

Steam generation rate should be measured by condensing the steam into a container filled with a known volume of water.

Temperature and pressure measurements should be taken at both ends of the collector tube. Temperature of the steam should be taken by includin a tee in the steam outlet line. Temperature should also be measured in the liquid reservoir.

=People=

Work will occur at Factor e Farm.

Stewart - visiting from August 18 - September 3.

Elliot - visiting from August 13 to August 23.

Chris and Mel - visiting August 1 for 2-3 days or for what's needed

=Part Sourcing Information=

Below is detailed Bill of Materials. Please submit others:

==Reflectors==

{| border="1" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto"
|+ '''Bill of Materials - Reflector'''
|-
! Item
! Qty
! Cost/item
! Source
|-
| Mirrored Plexi Glass || 1 sq/ft || $4/ft2 || [http://www.eplastics.com/Plastic/Plexiglass_Acrylic_Sheet_Mirrored ePlastics.com]
|-
| row 2, cell 1 || row 2, cell 2 || row 2, cell 3 || row 2, cell 4
|-
| row 2, cell 1
| row 2, cell 2
| row 2, cell 3
| row 2, cell 4
|-
| row 2, cell 1
| row 2, cell 2
| row 2, cell 3
| row 2, cell 4
|}

*mirrored plexi glass - $4/sq.ft - [http://www.eplastics.com/Plastic/Plexiglass_Acrylic_Sheet_Mirrored]
*Reflectech film - $2-3/sq ft in sub-acre coverage quantities - [http://www.reflectechsolar.com/pricing.html]
*Mirror
**'''$291 plus shipping''' - for 360 pieces of 12x10" tile - [http://www.dollaritem.com/Dollar_Store/shoppingcart.asp?xItem=1&SessionID={78DC8371-C6F6-4A98-9EA2-AE5764880BC6}]
**Menards has mirror tile at $1.5/sq ft
*Aluminized Mylar -
**'''HydroponicsUSA'''
***'''$40''' - for thin 1 mil 400 sq ft - [http://www.hydroponicsusa.com/servlet/the-86024/%3EMylar-&-Poly-Reflectors/Detail]
***$20 for 100 sq ft 2 mil - [http://www.hydroponicsusa.com/servlet/the-79306/Mylar-2-mil-48%22/Detail]
***$13 for 100 sq ft 1 mil - [http://www.hydroponicsusa.com/servlet/the-78982/Mylar-1-mil-48%22/Detail]
***$65 for 400 sq ft 2 mil - [http://www.hydroponicsusa.com/servlet/the-80064/Mylar-2-mil-48%22/Detail]
**$30 for 100 sq ft - [http://www.plantlightinghydroponics.com/mylar-mil-50-reflective-film-p-321.html]
**$15 for 40 sq ft 2 mil - [http://www.mirrorsheeting.com/]

**$44 for 400 sq ft 1 mil - [http://www.mirrorsheeting.com/]
*Mirror holders - steel studs, which can be opened up to the 6" width of the mirrors to be held - are structurally sound and relatively inexpensive
**Menards has 3 5/8"x1 1/2" steel studs, 10 foot long, for $4.50
**Others?
===Other Sources===
*Anomet - [http://www.anomet.com/miro_silver.html?gclid=CKXk-u_ukpUCFSJIagod1yG3PA#]

==Collector==

*Selective solar coating - $70/gallon from [http://www.solec.org/solkotehome.htm#PRODUCT%20SPECIFICATIONS Solec]
*Collector tube:
**16 10 foot sections of 1" galvanized pipe - $16 each, '''$256'''
**8 more of the above for collector tube supports - '''$128'''
*Insulation - [http://www.infraredheaters.com/insulati.htm] - $110

==Controls==
*http://www.hobbyengineering.com/H1918.html

==Other==

*Foundation
**CEB block & 6 tons of gravel - gravel for '''$150'''
**4x4s may be utilized with Ben's updated design - [http://openfarmtech.org/weblog/?p=279]
*Other:
**Bearings for reflector slats - $30 for 100 at [http://www.vxb.com/page/bearings/PROD/100Skate vxb.com], need 160 for total of '''$60'''
**10' of 1/2" Electric Mechanical Tube, galvanized steel - $2.89 at Menards, need 16, total of '''$48'''
**3/8" rod, 6', $10 at McMaster Carr, [http://www.mcmaster.com/ Part # 9120K64], need 26, total of '''$260'''
**107 sq ft of gauge 18 steel sheet, $2/sq ft at 7.11.08 prices - '''$214'''

=Background Reading, Calculations, Tables, Data=

It is extremely useful - in order to gain an appreciation of the power available from solar energy - to go through the basic calculations of power yields from our system, and to compare those yields to the energy obtainable from sustainably-harvested biomass energy. See these notes [http://openfarmtech.org/index.php?title=Comparison_of_Biomass_and_Solar_Energy_Yields here].

Pipe dimensions - [http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/ansi-steel-pipes-d_305.html]

=References=
==Websites==
*[http://www.powerfromthesun.net/ Power from the Sun] - Excellent solar thermal/electric design guide

==Books==
*''A Hand-book of Optics'' on Google Books - [http://books.google.com/books?id=5jMAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA511&lpg=PA511&dq=focus+spherical+reflector&source=web&ots=Jn1tORweyp&sig=cXbq5J0VndJi3eP-NnEPJ_YEHT0&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=7&ct=result#PPA511,M1http://books.google.com/books?id=5jMAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA511&lpg=PA511&dq=focus+spherical+reflector&source=web&ots=Jn1tORweyp&sig=cXbq5J0VndJi3eP-NnEPJ_YEHT0&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=7&ct=result#PPA511,M1]

==Software==
*[http://sel.me.wisc.edu/trnsys/default.htm TRNSYS] - Transient Systems Simulation Program
*[http://sel.me.wisc.edu/trnsys/trnlib/stec/stec.htm STEC] - modules for use in TRNSYS

=Implementation=

We are documenting the building process and our practical learnings from Factor e Farm [http://openfarmtech.org/index.php?title=Solar_Turbine_Implementation here].

=Solar Turbine Convergence 1 Learnings=

As a result of the August convergence at Factor e Farm, here are our learnings. We conclude that we should go with mirrors. We still maintain that a 1-axis tracked linear array has the greatest potential for cost effectiveness- as opposed to 2-axis tracked dish systems or any other variations.

Elliot's summary - [[Linear_Fresnel_Solar_Concentrator]]

[[Category:Solar_Turbine]]

Category:OS2

2009-03-17T12:23:32Z

Dennis: /* Introduction */

=Introduction=

This page is dedicated to organizing all the aspects of the preparation for Open Solar 2 - [[OS2]] - The Second Solar Power Generator Convergence at Factor e Farm, to be held August 1-31, 2009. This is a working conference for building a 3 kW prototype of a solar concentrator electric power system.

The main points are to refine the design of the system and prepare all the materials for integration.

The points to develop prior to OS2 are:

#Demonstrate a working reflector slat. This includes (including cost milestones for materials):
##Structure for holding mirrors ($6 per slat, without mirrors)
##Mirror sourcing
##Mirror attachment strategy ($1 per slat)
##Control electronics, motor, feedback sensor, and control logic ($5 per slat)
#Develop an explicit design for the collector tube ($500)
##Source materials
#Develop valving system for collector tube feedwater entry ($150)
#Develop digital fabrication of steam engine ($100)
#Modernize said steam engine with electronic steam injection ($50 for valve and controls)
#Develop a matching electrical generator ($150)
#Integrate additional steam cycle components - cooling, pumping, preheating, superheating ($150)

See [[OS2 Development Points]] for details.

=Teams=

Development teams for the above are as follows:

#[[OS2 Reflector Team]]
#[[OS2 Collector Tube Team]]
#[[OS2 Collector Feedwater Team]]
#[[OS2 Steam Engine Team]]
#[[OS2 Electronic Steam Injection Team]]
#[[OS2 Generator Team]]
#[[OS2 Steam Cycle Team]]
#[[OS2 Marketing Team]]

Prior to the Convergence, we need to have the components to be tested.

[[OS2]] will include the synthesis of the system into a working whole, as we will watch the steam engine spin and power being generated from the generator head.

Solar Concentrator Tube

2009-03-17T12:21:43Z

Dennis: /* Attachement to Frame */

=Solar Receiver=

This is further work on the solar concentrator tube (a section of the [[Solar Turbine]] project), as begun in the [http://openfarmtech.org/index.php?title=Solar_Concentrators#Design_v1.0 initial design].

A good reference on solar concentrators is found in [http://www.powerfromthesun.net/chapter5/Chapter5Word.htm Power From the Sun].

Here is a proposed design, consisting of 1", schedule 40 galvanized pipe, and [http://www.infraredheaters.com/insulati.htm ceramic fiber insulation].
Basic specifications:
#6" wide by 40 feet long
#1" schedule 40 plumbing pipe, 5 pieces
#Double glazing, window glass
#Ceramic insulation
#Case is 1/16 or 1/8" steel
#Approximately 8 feet above reflectors
#Fixed position
#Pressure relief valve on turbine end
#Steam deliverly via 2 valves and mixing chamber
#Reflector solar intercept - 40 square meters (approx. 40 kW of thermal energy)
#Theoretical conversion from solar radiation to usable steam - 50%
#Theoretical steam generation rate - 5 lbs of steam per minute at 140 psi and 350 F
#Theoretical power output - 4 kW at overall 10% system efficiency (assumes 20% efficient steam power plant)
#Theoretical electrical output - 3.6 kW
#~$1600 material cost for 40 kW solar concentrator system (without power plant)

==Cross Section==

[[Image:concentrator_tube.jpg]]

==Top View==

==Joints Between Sections==

The collector is made of four 10' sections. They need to be connected while allowing for minimal heat loss and attachment to the solar collector frame.

==Attachment to Frame==

==Selective Surface Coatings==

Given the 6000W power loss from blackbody radiation of our collector at 200C, it is desirable to use low emissivity coatings. [http://www.solec.org/solkotehome.htm#PRODUCT%20DESCRIPTION%20and%20FEATURES Solkote] appears to have absorption around 90% and emissivity aroung 25%. This would reduce the blackbody radiation to 1500 W.

[http://www.thermafin.com/coat_tech.shtml Thermafin] has a product with absorption around 95% and emissivity at around 10% at 100C, though emissivity around our 200C of interest is not stated.

==Pipe Strength==

1 inch schedule 40 metal pipe, as proposed, is rated for 1800 psi at 750F - [http://www.sorinc.com/usefulInfo_pipeSize.stm]

[[Category:Solar_Turbine]]

MicroTrac

2009-03-17T09:30:46Z

Dennis: /* Tools */

[[Image:MicroTrac1.jpg|thumb]]
[[Image:MicroTrac2.jpg|thumb]]
[[Image:MicroTrac3.jpg|thumb]]

MicroTrac is a small scale, walk-behind version of [[LifeTrac]]

=Industry Standards=
*The [http://www.abbysguide.com/ope/reviews/39-0-1.html BCS Tiller] is the main competition.

=Tools=
*Tiller

*Mower

*Chipper
-Laimet conical screw design. Makes nice big, uniform sized chips.

=Engine=
The engine will be a modular removable unit consisting of engine, fuel tank, hydraulic pump, hydraulic reservoir, and frame. The frame will be the hydraulic reservoir, made out of 4x4" square tube.

[[Image:Hydgearpump.jpg|thumb|pump]]

==Specifications==
Engine should be a 12-20 hp 1 cylinder diesel engine, with air cooling. The engine will run the hydraulic pump.

==Sourcing==
**[http://desc.shop.ebay.com/items/Generators__diesel-hp-cylinder_W0QQLHQ5fTitleDescZ1QQLHQ5fPriceZ50Q2eQ2e2Q2c000Q40cQQQ5ftrkparmsZ66Q253A2Q257C65Q253A15Q257C39Q253A1QQ_dmdZ1QQ_dmptZBIQ5fGeneratorsQQ_in_kwZ1QQ_ipgZ50QQ_mPrRngCbxZ1QQ_okwZdieselQ20hpQ20cylinderQQ_sacatZ106437QQ_scZ1QQ_sopZ15QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14?_fpos=64469&_fcid=1&gbr=1 from here]
*[http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Onan-2-Cylinder-Diesel-Engine-14-HP-DJEAMMS4496A_W0QQitemZ330310425172QQcmdZViewItem 14 hp 2 cylinder engine no starter $975]
*[http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Aurora-6000-Watt-Diesel-Generator_W0QQitemZ380106916786QQcmdZViewItemQQptZBI_Generators?hash=item380106916786&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A15|39%3A1|240%3A1318 11 hp 1 cylinder generator $899.00]
*[http://cgi.ebay.com/Heavy-Duty-Silent-Diesel-Generator_W0QQitemZ380106472733QQcmdZViewItemQQptZBI_Generators?hash=item380106472733&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A15|39%3A1|240%3A1318 13 hp 1 cylinder silent $1300]
*[http://cgi.ebay.com/Industrial-8-250-Watt-Electric-Start-Generator_W0QQitemZ330311074168QQcmdZViewItemQQptZBI_Generators?hash=item330311074168&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A15|39%3A1|240%3A1318 13 hp $695 GAS]
*[http://cgi.ebay.com/23HP-Water-Cooled-Diesel-Engine-with-radiator_W0QQitemZ180331677925QQcmdZViewItemQQptZBI_Farm_Supplies?hash=item180331677925&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A1|39%3A1|240%3A1318 23 hp water cooled diesel engine with radiator $1000 - $1349]
*[http://cgi.ebay.com/WHITE-FIELD-BOSS-2-62-DIESEL-UTILITY-TRACTOR-ONE-OWNER_W0QQitemZ370165894383QQcmdZViewItemQQptZTractors?hash=item370165894383&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A1|39%3A1|240%3A1308 62 hp 4 cylinder tractor $1828 ]
*[http://cgi.ebay.com/BELARUS-505M-FARM-TRACTOR-NO-RESERVE-FIXER-UPPER_W0QQitemZ250380038290QQcmdZViewItemQQptZTractors?hash=item250380038290&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A1|39%3A1|240%3A1318 65 hp 4 cylinder tractor $710]
*[http://cgi.ebay.com/DEUTZ-DIESEL-POWER-UNIT-ENGINE-MOTOR-F3L-1011-40HP-3cly_W0QQitemZ300296916733QQcmdZViewItemQQptZBI_Farm_Supplies?hash=item300296916733&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A1|39%3A1|240%3A1318 40 hp 3 cylinder $1500 - $2300 ]
*[http://cgi.ebay.com/John-Deere-830-Diesel-Tractor_W0QQitemZ170306687641QQcmdZViewItemQQptZTractors?hash=item170306687641&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A1|39%3A1|240%3A1318 35 hp 3 cylinder tractor $1185]
*[http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Volkswagen-Beetle-New-GLS-TDI-2000-VW-BEETLE-GLS-TDI-DIESEL-1-OWN-5SP-SNRF-NO-RESERVE_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ66Q3a2Q7c65Q3a1Q7c39Q3a1Q7c240Q3a1318QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem120385960498QQitemZ120385960498QQptZUSQ5fCarsQ5fTrucks 90 hp 4 cylinder diesel 2000 vw beetle $2000]
*[http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-11-hp-air-cooled-diesel-engine-12v-electric-starter_W0QQitemZ330306984305QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_2?hash=item330306984305&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A1|39%3A1|240%3A1318 11 hp 1 cylinder $400]

**[http://desc.shop.ebay.com/items/__diesel-engine-hp-cylinder?LH_TitleDesc=1&LH_Price=50..2%2C000%40c&_trkparms=66%253A2%257C65%253A1%257C39%253A1&_dmd=1&_fsct=&_in_kw=1&_ipg=50&_mPrRngCbx=1&_oexkw=&_okw=diesel%20engine%20hp%20cylinder&_sop=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_pgn=4 more from here ]

*[http://cgi.ebay.com/13-7-HP-INDUSTRIAL-DIESEL-ENGINE-PERKINS-402C-05_W0QQitemZ380104518370QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item380104518370&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A1|39%3A1|240%3A1318 13.7 hp 2 cylinder $666 ]
*[http://www.uspowerco.com/inventory_item.php?id=272 Perkins 402C 13.7hp 2 cylinder Same as above, asked for quote 3/5/09 talked to jeff]

=Wheels=
[[Image:Wheelmotors.jpg|thumb|motor]]

*one set of drive wheels in the middle balanced with the engine so the Microtrac can be rotated easily, with a motor on the side
*doubled up for traction
*have support wheels on the back sides so it doesn't tip easily
*drive wheels the same as lifetrac, 30" high 10" wide

[[Category:MicroTrac]]
[[Category:LifeTrac]]
[[Category:Hydraulics]]
[[Category:OSA]]

Evolve to freedom

2009-03-17T09:18:47Z

Dennis:

==So, you want more freedom?==

Does a 2 hour work day sound good to you? Are you tired of pushing
paper or making money for somebody else, so you only have weekends and
rare moments to spare?

What if you could eliminate all bureaucracy in your life, your costly
car mechanic, your housing costs, your personal financial contribution
to war? Here's a formula. Be self-sufficient. Make enough money to
live the finest life, but still not enough to pay for your oppression.

==How?!==
Gather a few of your friends, get yourself a 5 acre suburban plot,
install your [[Torch Table|Personal Fabricator Lab (Fab Lab)]], [[OSA|plant your orchard]], and [[Modular Housing Units|build a house with
greenhouse]].

[[Modular Greenhouse Units|Advanced greenhouse]], [[OSA|orchard]], a couple lactating animals, fishpond,
chickens, and you've got 100% food need covered. Add a [[microcombine]],
and you've got some grains.

Personal Fab Lab, with computer and open source software and blueprints, and you fabricate your own [[car]], [[LifeTrac]] tractor, and other tech toys you like. Now they are fully under your control.

The [[solar turbine]] feeds energy to your new stronghold of peace, with a few days storage if the sun doesn't shine. The sun sends you no bills. But you might have to plant a fuel crop, or go to a local restaurant for waste oil, on extremely cold days.

Go down to your local junkyard, get scrap aluminum, [[Foundry|cast it]], and you have your feedstocks for the Fab Lab, at the cost of materials.

But you don't have enough money for an advanced Fab Lab? A 3D printer ([[RepRap]]) can be made for $400, powered by an [[OLPC]] computer. A [[Multimachine]] open source drill-mill-lathe costs a few hundred in parts. Come to us and propagate for yourself a 300 tree orchard in a weekend workshop, free to friends.

Need a place to live? A high production [http://openfarmtech.org/index.php?title=CEB_press compressed earth block press]
yields basic shelter form onsite dirt – or a legacy mansion if you
like. It's the most advanced building method known to humankind, if
ecology is considered.

Your junkyard closed out of aluminum because society eliminated all
waste by design-for-disassembly techniques? Then you need to extract
aluminum from your onsite clays, in a furnace fueled by compressed gas
produced from waste wood chips. Forget about conflicts for once rare resources.
==Dreamy but doable==
Well, it's not really as easy as that. You will need a team of 12 or
more skilled people who want to live right, visionary mindset
included. After all, you want to build new villages and civilizations,
right?

For the rest of your life, do what you really want. Perhaps pressing
world issues are a concern of yours? Go ahead, work them. Or just a
little more attention to your personal evolution, so that all of
society can benefit? When you control your destiny, everyone benefits.

Now show me the money. Your three acres of orchard give $5k per
season, just by passive U-pick in the local area. People are attracted
to your showcase, and begin asking questions. That is valuable
conversation, and at the end you return to your Fab Lab, as you got an
order for an open source car – that's $1k dollar value earned for 20
hours of your time. Or, your tree propagation workshop brought in $1k
for the day, as your plant stock is abundant. A few small organic
farmers in your area are waiting for you to fill their microcombine
order. Or, the training workshop for earth block building. You can
roll in extra cash if you like, but your expenses are low, and you may
have more important things to do. Perhaps providing clean water or
gasifier stoves to the rest of the world, at a ridiculously affordable
cost?

We like to help others. Low on money and high on vision? Come to our
workshops, build yourself an infrastructure so you could live like
this, if you have lifetime durable equipment. Start with basics: car
at $2k; not bad for a high performance, lifetime vehicle;
tractor at a $2k, brick machine at $1k, greenhouse another
$1k; flex fab outfit, a large price item, $5k for all you need in
machine work and cutting jobs. Orchard literally free, and all of our
gene pool too, if you do the propagation work. And the glazing
hopefully comes from bioplastics from onsite, or extruded waste
resins. Then you may need some immediate cash after you start up,
because you wanted to buy some more books or other exotic merchandise.
Maybe marketing products of other farmer scientist friends of yours
will do the job as you get on your feet.

As your operations get off the ground, you cannot help but notice that
everyone around you is going off-grid, starting to produce other open
source items of Fab Lab industry, and those government workers are
leaving town as they have no more problems left to solve or create.

[[Main Page|Evolve to freedom.]]

[[Category:Marketing]]

Lathe Specifications

2009-03-17T09:13:46Z

Dennis:

==Fabrication and Cost==
*Ease and low cost of fabrication is the primary goal, as a high-performance lathe is perhaps the most important tool in a workshop
*Construction consists of a concrete bed
*Cost is that of 4 bags of concrete for the bed, chuck, cross slide, and
*Motor cost is included in [[LifeTrac]] infrastructure
*Motor coupler to lathe shaft is machined
*Commercial chck is the main cost
*XY table constitutes a cross slide
*Tool post is fabricated
*2" shaft constitutes a mounting surface for an xy table and for tail stock
*Feed-through shaft is present, but is only 1 foot deep
*[http://surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2009030121420114&item=1-215-47-4-S&catname=powerTrans Cheap 2 15/16" bearing]

[[Image:Lathe.jpg]]

==Specifications==
*12" lathe
*1/1000" accuracy via bearing tolerance and chuck tolerance
*Heavy duty axial thrust acceptable, as determined by 3" shaft and bearings
*Radial thrust determined by set screws on 2 bearings, with 2 extra full split collars

=BOM=
*http://www.thebigbearingstore.com/servlet/the-57/2%22-Pillow-Block-Bearing/Detail
*

[[Category:Specifications]]

Parabolic Trough Prototype

2009-03-15T09:06:29Z

Dennis: /* What about reflective coating? */

=Introduction=

Gang Xiao, professor at University of Nice, France, has developed a [http://wims.unice.fr/xiao/solar/index.html low-cost parabolic trough solar thermal concentrator], applicable to electricity production. He is pursuing the steam engine as the heat engine of choice.

[[Factor e Farm]] is interested in evaluating the performance of this system by building a prototype. Here are the detailed instructions for prototype deployment.

=Concept=

=Bill of Materials=

Estimation of the material cost for 1m2 of collector. The costs are in dollars.

<table border=2>
<tr><th>Use<th>Material<th>Specification<th>Quantity<th>Cost

<tr><td>Cover<td>tempered glass<td>5mm
<td>1.05m2<td>?
</td></tr>

<tr><td>Back and ends<td>steel sheet<td>0.5mm
<td>1.6m2<td>?
</td></tr>

<tr><td>Structural pieces<td>stainless steel 
bars and angles<td>width around 15mm<td>~15m<td>?
</td></tr>

<tr><td>Bearings<td>metal tubes<td>φ40mm×20mm
<td>2<td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td>Support<td>Plastic pieces<td>to be moulded
<td>2<td>2?</td></tr>

<tr><td>Photodetector<td>photoresistors+case<td>-
<td>1<td>2?</td></tr>

<tr><td>Controller + gear<td>commercially available<td>-
<td>1<td>10-30</td></tr>

<tr><td>Receiver<td>metal tube<td>configurable
<td>~1.2m<td>~5</td></tr>

<tr><td>Chassis<td>square steel tubes<td>30mm
<td>~3m<td>5?</td></tr>

</table>
===Questions:===
==Structural pieces - what is the thickness, and how much of it is angle and how much of it is bar?==
--- Roughly, half-half.
==Can the support pieces be printed with [[RepRap]] if we have access to it? ==
--- Yes.
==Can you show a picture and dimensions of the plastic pieces?==
--That will come.

==Specify photodetector and photoresistor, plus size of case ==
--- See my DIY document.
:Where?--[[User:Dennis|Dennis]] 09:04, 15 March 2009 (UTC)

==One axis controller, and what about the control motor? ==
Show the angle tilt mechanism.
==Diameter and wall thickness of collector tube? ==
--- These are interchangeable.
==What about sealing of corners?==

-- Don't seal. The design takes care that direct rain water won't get in. For cleaning water jets, some kind of protection with sponge foam will be enough. [[User:Azuredu|Azuredu]] 19:56, 13 March 2009 (UTC)

==What about reflective coating?==
--- Mylar film.
: Any evidence or other examples of mylar being used for parabolics for solar concentrators?--[[User:Dennis|Dennis]] 15:12, 12 March 2009 (UTC)

:: The best example is car headlights. This is not exactly [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PET_film_(biaxially_oriented) mylar], but the technology is the same: a metal reflective coating protected by a plastic sheet cover. Otherwise, [Absolicon.com Absolicon.com] is selling troughs using silver-coted mylar mirrors, but the commercialization is still very limited. Here the point is that mylar must be protected from humidity, rain water and dust (or more exactly cleaning scratch).[[User:Azuredu|Azuredu]] 19:51, 13 March 2009 (UTC)

==What about couplers for collector tube and inter-collector connection for stringing multiple collectors? ==
--- Ordinary (home water supply) tube connectors.
==What about stand and base? ==
--- Rather free design.

[[Image:paraboliccollector.jpg|thumb]]

=Fabrication Procedure=

[[Category:Solar Turbine]]

Parabolic Trough Prototype

2009-03-15T09:04:05Z

Dennis: /* Specify photodetector and photoresistor, plus size of case */

=Introduction=

Gang Xiao, professor at University of Nice, France, has developed a [http://wims.unice.fr/xiao/solar/index.html low-cost parabolic trough solar thermal concentrator], applicable to electricity production. He is pursuing the steam engine as the heat engine of choice.

[[Factor e Farm]] is interested in evaluating the performance of this system by building a prototype. Here are the detailed instructions for prototype deployment.

=Concept=

=Bill of Materials=

Estimation of the material cost for 1m2 of collector. The costs are in dollars.

<table border=2>
<tr><th>Use<th>Material<th>Specification<th>Quantity<th>Cost

<tr><td>Cover<td>tempered glass<td>5mm
<td>1.05m2<td>?
</td></tr>

<tr><td>Back and ends<td>steel sheet<td>0.5mm
<td>1.6m2<td>?
</td></tr>

<tr><td>Structural pieces<td>stainless steel 
bars and angles<td>width around 15mm<td>~15m<td>?
</td></tr>

<tr><td>Bearings<td>metal tubes<td>φ40mm×20mm
<td>2<td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td>Support<td>Plastic pieces<td>to be moulded
<td>2<td>2?</td></tr>

<tr><td>Photodetector<td>photoresistors+case<td>-
<td>1<td>2?</td></tr>

<tr><td>Controller + gear<td>commercially available<td>-
<td>1<td>10-30</td></tr>

<tr><td>Receiver<td>metal tube<td>configurable
<td>~1.2m<td>~5</td></tr>

<tr><td>Chassis<td>square steel tubes<td>30mm
<td>~3m<td>5?</td></tr>

</table>
===Questions:===
==Structural pieces - what is the thickness, and how much of it is angle and how much of it is bar?==
--- Roughly, half-half.
==Can the support pieces be printed with [[RepRap]] if we have access to it? ==
--- Yes.
==Can you show a picture and dimensions of the plastic pieces?==
--That will come.

==Specify photodetector and photoresistor, plus size of case ==
--- See my DIY document.
:Where?--[[User:Dennis|Dennis]] 09:04, 15 March 2009 (UTC)

==One axis controller, and what about the control motor? ==
Show the angle tilt mechanism.
==Diameter and wall thickness of collector tube? ==
--- These are interchangeable.
==What about sealing of corners?==

-- Don't seal. The design takes care that direct rain water won't get in. For cleaning water jets, some kind of protection with sponge foam will be enough. [[User:Azuredu|Azuredu]] 19:56, 13 March 2009 (UTC)

==What about reflective coating?==
--- Mylar film.
: Any evidence or other examples of mylar being used for parabolics for solar concentrators?--[[User:Dennis|Dennis]] 15:12, 12 March 2009 (UTC)

: The best example is car headlights. This is not exactly mylar, but the technology is the same: a metal reflective coating protected by a plastic sheet cover. Otherwise, Absolicon.com is selling troughs using silver-coted mylar mirrors, but the commercialization is still very limited.
Here the point is that mylar must be protected from humidity, rain water and dust (or more exactly cleaning scratch).[[User:Azuredu|Azuredu]] 19:51, 13 March 2009 (UTC)

==What about couplers for collector tube and inter-collector connection for stringing multiple collectors? ==
--- Ordinary (home water supply) tube connectors.
==What about stand and base? ==
--- Rather free design.

[[Image:paraboliccollector.jpg|thumb]]

=Fabrication Procedure=

[[Category:Solar Turbine]]

Pyrolysis Oil

2009-03-14T09:49:48Z

Dennis: /* links */

=links=

[http://www.alternatefuelsworld.com/pyrolysis-oil-terra-preta.htm Interesting article on the pros cons and problems and uses of pyrolysis oil.]

----

''PyNe - The Biomass Pyrolysis Network - a global network of active researchers and developers of fast pyrolysis, has been established to discuss and exchange information on scientific and technological developments on pyrolysis and related technologies for the production of liquid fuels, electricity and chemicals.'' Interesting table on the various types of reactors and their relative value to difficulty of construction and quality of fuels. [http://www.pyne.co.uk/?_id=69 table at bottom]

==From Elliot Hallmark:==

here's a pyrolysis machine as i understand it:

1. you need a furnace, probably an old barrel for the outside of the combustion chamber lined with with a fireclay/sand/sawdust mixture inside. it would have a lid with a moderate exaust port (maybe half the area of the lid is removed), which could be cast out of the same fireclay mixture. also, theres an opening at the bottom for fuel and air. you could run it on natural gas, since eventually you'd probably just pipe the wood gas back into it in a later version.

2. a chamber for the to be pyrolisized material to go into. might be able to surround a cheap chamber with a thin protective coating. thin so as not to impede heat transfer. refractory mortar and sand maybe, the mortar is maybe $20 for all you'd need i think. or you may need to use a large diameter pipe and make a bottom and top for it out of thick (5/8"-1/2" i guess) metal slabs. it has to be somewhat thick because it will oxidize through quickly otherwise (would galvanization help or would you burn it out?) at the top there is a hole for outlet, there is no inlet hole.

3. a quencher. apparently the quickness of the quenching is important, as the free radicals produced are rapidly combining to form tar and asphault as opposed to more useful things. A common way of doing this is to spray a lot of cooled pyrolysis oil into the hot stream within a cyclone seperator (like your flour mill thing). I don't know how practical that is. perhaps cooling the walls of the cyclone seperator and the tubing up to it also with running water from your cold well would work. this woukld need experimentation.

4. gas storage. an oil drum filled with water, inverted and subersed in water. A large version of how they collect gas in chemistry class. bubble the gas in through the bottom and you've got a valve on the exposed surface to let the gas out at your leisure. weights on top of the barral determine the psi of the storage. eventually this gas might be just redirected back to the furnace, but at first its good to know how much gas you are getting, and also you could use it as cooking gas to displace your propane.

At first i say skip 3 and just let bubbling through the water in 4 be the quench. then you could weigh the char and the gas and know how much oil you are producing. most of the oil would probably be in a film at the bottom of the gas collection, but i dont know how the wetness would affect it (i think some fractions would polymerize with the water, or form a stable emulsion). Theoretically, this would be the best quench as far as surface area of gas to thermal sink goes, so you'd get an estimate of how much oil very effective quenching would produce. then, when you have system data on flow rates and all that you can build a cyclone seperator and play with some better quenching ideas.

-elliot

[[Category:Pyrolysis Oil]]

Pyrolysis Oil

2009-03-14T09:49:24Z

Dennis:

=links=

[http://www.alternatefuelsworld.com/pyrolysis-oil-terra-preta.htm Interesting article on the pros cons and problems and uses of pyrolysis oil.]

''PyNe - The Biomass Pyrolysis Network - a global network of active researchers and developers of fast pyrolysis, has been established to discuss and exchange information on scientific and technological developments on pyrolysis and related technologies for the production of liquid fuels, electricity and chemicals.'' Interesting table on the various types of reactors and their relative value to difficulty of construction and quality of fuels. [http://www.pyne.co.uk/?_id=69 table at bottom]

==From Elliot Hallmark:==

here's a pyrolysis machine as i understand it:

1. you need a furnace, probably an old barrel for the outside of the combustion chamber lined with with a fireclay/sand/sawdust mixture inside. it would have a lid with a moderate exaust port (maybe half the area of the lid is removed), which could be cast out of the same fireclay mixture. also, theres an opening at the bottom for fuel and air. you could run it on natural gas, since eventually you'd probably just pipe the wood gas back into it in a later version.

2. a chamber for the to be pyrolisized material to go into. might be able to surround a cheap chamber with a thin protective coating. thin so as not to impede heat transfer. refractory mortar and sand maybe, the mortar is maybe $20 for all you'd need i think. or you may need to use a large diameter pipe and make a bottom and top for it out of thick (5/8"-1/2" i guess) metal slabs. it has to be somewhat thick because it will oxidize through quickly otherwise (would galvanization help or would you burn it out?) at the top there is a hole for outlet, there is no inlet hole.

3. a quencher. apparently the quickness of the quenching is important, as the free radicals produced are rapidly combining to form tar and asphault as opposed to more useful things. A common way of doing this is to spray a lot of cooled pyrolysis oil into the hot stream within a cyclone seperator (like your flour mill thing). I don't know how practical that is. perhaps cooling the walls of the cyclone seperator and the tubing up to it also with running water from your cold well would work. this woukld need experimentation.

4. gas storage. an oil drum filled with water, inverted and subersed in water. A large version of how they collect gas in chemistry class. bubble the gas in through the bottom and you've got a valve on the exposed surface to let the gas out at your leisure. weights on top of the barral determine the psi of the storage. eventually this gas might be just redirected back to the furnace, but at first its good to know how much gas you are getting, and also you could use it as cooking gas to displace your propane.

At first i say skip 3 and just let bubbling through the water in 4 be the quench. then you could weigh the char and the gas and know how much oil you are producing. most of the oil would probably be in a film at the bottom of the gas collection, but i dont know how the wetness would affect it (i think some fractions would polymerize with the water, or form a stable emulsion). Theoretically, this would be the best quench as far as surface area of gas to thermal sink goes, so you'd get an estimate of how much oil very effective quenching would produce. then, when you have system data on flow rates and all that you can build a cyclone seperator and play with some better quenching ideas.

-elliot

[[Category:Pyrolysis Oil]]

Pyrolysis Oil

2009-03-14T09:37:10Z

Dennis: /* links */

=links=

[http://www.alternatefuelsworld.com/pyrolysis-oil-terra-preta.htm Interesting article on the pros cons and problems and uses of pyrolysis oil.]

==From Elliot Hallmark:==

here's a pyrolysis machine as i understand it:

1. you need a furnace, probably an old barrel for the outside of the combustion chamber lined with with a fireclay/sand/sawdust mixture inside. it would have a lid with a moderate exaust port (maybe half the area of the lid is removed), which could be cast out of the same fireclay mixture. also, theres an opening at the bottom for fuel and air. you could run it on natural gas, since eventually you'd probably just pipe the wood gas back into it in a later version.

2. a chamber for the to be pyrolisized material to go into. might be able to surround a cheap chamber with a thin protective coating. thin so as not to impede heat transfer. refractory mortar and sand maybe, the mortar is maybe $20 for all you'd need i think. or you may need to use a large diameter pipe and make a bottom and top for it out of thick (5/8"-1/2" i guess) metal slabs. it has to be somewhat thick because it will oxidize through quickly otherwise (would galvanization help or would you burn it out?) at the top there is a hole for outlet, there is no inlet hole.

3. a quencher. apparently the quickness of the quenching is important, as the free radicals produced are rapidly combining to form tar and asphault as opposed to more useful things. A common way of doing this is to spray a lot of cooled pyrolysis oil into the hot stream within a cyclone seperator (like your flour mill thing). I don't know how practical that is. perhaps cooling the walls of the cyclone seperator and the tubing up to it also with running water from your cold well would work. this woukld need experimentation.

4. gas storage. an oil drum filled with water, inverted and subersed in water. A large version of how they collect gas in chemistry class. bubble the gas in through the bottom and you've got a valve on the exposed surface to let the gas out at your leisure. weights on top of the barral determine the psi of the storage. eventually this gas might be just redirected back to the furnace, but at first its good to know how much gas you are getting, and also you could use it as cooking gas to displace your propane.

At first i say skip 3 and just let bubbling through the water in 4 be the quench. then you could weigh the char and the gas and know how much oil you are producing. most of the oil would probably be in a film at the bottom of the gas collection, but i dont know how the wetness would affect it (i think some fractions would polymerize with the water, or form a stable emulsion). Theoretically, this would be the best quench as far as surface area of gas to thermal sink goes, so you'd get an estimate of how much oil very effective quenching would produce. then, when you have system data on flow rates and all that you can build a cyclone seperator and play with some better quenching ideas.

-elliot

[[Category:Pyrolysis Oil]]

Pyrolysis Oil

2009-03-14T09:36:46Z

Dennis: /* links */

=links=

[http://www.alternatefuelsworld.com/pyrolysis-oil-terra-preta.htm Interesting article on the pros cons and problems and uses of pyrolysis oil.]

http://www.alternatefuelsworld.com/pyrolysis-oil-terra-preta.htm

==From Elliot Hallmark:==

here's a pyrolysis machine as i understand it:

1. you need a furnace, probably an old barrel for the outside of the combustion chamber lined with with a fireclay/sand/sawdust mixture inside. it would have a lid with a moderate exaust port (maybe half the area of the lid is removed), which could be cast out of the same fireclay mixture. also, theres an opening at the bottom for fuel and air. you could run it on natural gas, since eventually you'd probably just pipe the wood gas back into it in a later version.

2. a chamber for the to be pyrolisized material to go into. might be able to surround a cheap chamber with a thin protective coating. thin so as not to impede heat transfer. refractory mortar and sand maybe, the mortar is maybe $20 for all you'd need i think. or you may need to use a large diameter pipe and make a bottom and top for it out of thick (5/8"-1/2" i guess) metal slabs. it has to be somewhat thick because it will oxidize through quickly otherwise (would galvanization help or would you burn it out?) at the top there is a hole for outlet, there is no inlet hole.

3. a quencher. apparently the quickness of the quenching is important, as the free radicals produced are rapidly combining to form tar and asphault as opposed to more useful things. A common way of doing this is to spray a lot of cooled pyrolysis oil into the hot stream within a cyclone seperator (like your flour mill thing). I don't know how practical that is. perhaps cooling the walls of the cyclone seperator and the tubing up to it also with running water from your cold well would work. this woukld need experimentation.

4. gas storage. an oil drum filled with water, inverted and subersed in water. A large version of how they collect gas in chemistry class. bubble the gas in through the bottom and you've got a valve on the exposed surface to let the gas out at your leisure. weights on top of the barral determine the psi of the storage. eventually this gas might be just redirected back to the furnace, but at first its good to know how much gas you are getting, and also you could use it as cooking gas to displace your propane.

At first i say skip 3 and just let bubbling through the water in 4 be the quench. then you could weigh the char and the gas and know how much oil you are producing. most of the oil would probably be in a film at the bottom of the gas collection, but i dont know how the wetness would affect it (i think some fractions would polymerize with the water, or form a stable emulsion). Theoretically, this would be the best quench as far as surface area of gas to thermal sink goes, so you'd get an estimate of how much oil very effective quenching would produce. then, when you have system data on flow rates and all that you can build a cyclone seperator and play with some better quenching ideas.

-elliot

[[Category:Pyrolysis Oil]]

Pyrolysis Oil

2009-03-14T09:36:02Z

Dennis:

=links=

[[
http://www.alternatefuelsworld.com/pyrolysis-oil-terra-preta.htm Interesting article on the pros cons and problems and uses of pyrolysis oil.]]

http://www.alternatefuelsworld.com/pyrolysis-oil-terra-preta.htm

==From Elliot Hallmark:==

here's a pyrolysis machine as i understand it:

1. you need a furnace, probably an old barrel for the outside of the combustion chamber lined with with a fireclay/sand/sawdust mixture inside. it would have a lid with a moderate exaust port (maybe half the area of the lid is removed), which could be cast out of the same fireclay mixture. also, theres an opening at the bottom for fuel and air. you could run it on natural gas, since eventually you'd probably just pipe the wood gas back into it in a later version.

2. a chamber for the to be pyrolisized material to go into. might be able to surround a cheap chamber with a thin protective coating. thin so as not to impede heat transfer. refractory mortar and sand maybe, the mortar is maybe $20 for all you'd need i think. or you may need to use a large diameter pipe and make a bottom and top for it out of thick (5/8"-1/2" i guess) metal slabs. it has to be somewhat thick because it will oxidize through quickly otherwise (would galvanization help or would you burn it out?) at the top there is a hole for outlet, there is no inlet hole.

3. a quencher. apparently the quickness of the quenching is important, as the free radicals produced are rapidly combining to form tar and asphault as opposed to more useful things. A common way of doing this is to spray a lot of cooled pyrolysis oil into the hot stream within a cyclone seperator (like your flour mill thing). I don't know how practical that is. perhaps cooling the walls of the cyclone seperator and the tubing up to it also with running water from your cold well would work. this woukld need experimentation.

4. gas storage. an oil drum filled with water, inverted and subersed in water. A large version of how they collect gas in chemistry class. bubble the gas in through the bottom and you've got a valve on the exposed surface to let the gas out at your leisure. weights on top of the barral determine the psi of the storage. eventually this gas might be just redirected back to the furnace, but at first its good to know how much gas you are getting, and also you could use it as cooking gas to displace your propane.

At first i say skip 3 and just let bubbling through the water in 4 be the quench. then you could weigh the char and the gas and know how much oil you are producing. most of the oil would probably be in a film at the bottom of the gas collection, but i dont know how the wetness would affect it (i think some fractions would polymerize with the water, or form a stable emulsion). Theoretically, this would be the best quench as far as surface area of gas to thermal sink goes, so you'd get an estimate of how much oil very effective quenching would produce. then, when you have system data on flow rates and all that you can build a cyclone seperator and play with some better quenching ideas.

-elliot

[[Category:Pyrolysis Oil]]

Slide 4

2009-03-13T18:54:50Z

Dennis:

[[Slide 1]] - [[Slide 2]] - [[Slide 3]] - [[Slide 4]] - [[Slide 5]] - [[Slide 6]] - [[Slide 7]] - [[Slide 8]] - [[Slide 9]] - [[Slide 10]] - [[Slide 11]] - [[Slide 12]] - [[Slide 13]] - [[Slide 14]] - [[Slide 15]] - [[Slide 16]] - [[Slide 17]] - [[Slide 18]] - [[Slide 19]] - [[Slide 20]] - [[Slide 21]] - [[Slide 22]] - [[Slide 23]] - [[Slide 24]] - [[Slide 25]] - [[Slide 26]] - [[Slide 27]] - [[Slide 28]] - [[Slide 29]] - [[Slide 30]] - [[Slide 31]] - [[Slide 32]] - [[Slide 33]]

[[Image:Slide 4.jpg]]

----

Open source engineering comes in for price reduction. I’ll talk about how a typical 5-10 factor of cost decrease is likely – but without any decrease in quality. Moreover, we are talking of the highest quality, lifetime design.

Compare the economics. Materials for CEB and Sawmill are $2k total. $30k for both if you got them as consumer products from competitors. With open design blueprints and simple design, you can build these yourself in a week’s time for each. If you are not skilled with your hands, come to a workshop and get these made.

Solar concentrator turbine system with storage - $5k for 5kW of peak power. Compare to $1k/year electric bills, or $25k+ for equivalent photovoltaics.

[[LifeTrac]] multipurpose tractor – but with all these attachments – including sawmill and backhoe – for $8k. Absolutely modular attachments, shared hydraulic motors – such as the same hydraulic motor for the roto-tiller can power a cement mixer. The same functions would cost you about $80k if you got them off the shelf.

Fabrication – the computerized Multimachine, computer controlled torch table, and welder – for $3k.

Food – come to a workshop, propagate all of our plant and animal stock – and you can have a permacultural garden feeding you 100% for the rest of your life.

Just in case you are not interested in working for someone else for the rest of your life – you can Buy out at the Bottom - $18k, independence included. Or, pursue the American Dream, slave your life and pay off a 250k home, full dependence on the System included.

Oekonux 4

2009-03-13T18:37:25Z

Dennis: /* Oekonux 4 OSE Presentation */

=Oekonux 4 OSE Presentation=
*[[Slide 1]] - How to Build the World's First, Replicable, Open Source, Global Village
**Promise: unprecedented quality of life and emergent small-scale republics as present system breaks at the seams
*[[Slide 2]] - You need to provide needs (an economy) - food, energy, housing, plus technology - then you build culture, social organization (peer governance, means of exchange), out with kleptocracy, funny money system
**Pix of orchard, propagation nursery, chicks, goats, cordwood,
*[[Slide 3]] - Past work - land base, food/housing - tractor + CEB infastructure
** CEB pallets, CEB pressing, tiller, backhoe, balespike, tooth bar,
*[[Slide 4]] - Present - saw mill/pulverizer/torch table/lathe/microtrac/incubator
*[[Slide 5]] - Main Present near-term goal - 3 month - close the food/energy/housing loop based on local ecology - 3000 brick per day CEB/3000 bf/d sawmill - tractor running on local pyrolysis oil with a steam engine
**Details: Lathe and torch table open sourced
**RepRap variant for fabbing grafting tools, etc
*[[Slide 6]]
*[[Slide 6]] - That's all boring. What's the real story?
**Veritable open engineering method to be developed
**Challenge - beyond any known collab paradigm, physical plant necessary
**Main challenge - peoples' conceptions
*[[Slide 7]] - What have we shown?
**10x reduction in price
**Fungability via crowd source after technical due diligence is performed
**Big Q - is this replicable and scaleable
*[[Slide 8]] - Present approach to open engineering
**Limits of volunteers
**Facility inadequacy in a bootstrap effort
***Voluntary lifestyle of reinventing everything in infrastructure - as part of the experimetn
**Latest news - working with bidding process and professionals at pay; due diligence for crowd funding - is this replicable/scalable to a full development platform

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User talk:WikiSysop

2009-03-13T15:26:51Z

Dennis:

Can you turn off the Captcha for certain users? It's becoming a brake on my ability to supply links to research. Thanks. --[[User:Dennis|Dennis]] 18:28, 12 March 2009 (UTC)

possibly done [[User:Jeremy|Jeremy]] 21:48, 12 March 2009 (UTC)
: Fair enough. Thanks --[[User:Dennis|Dennis]] 07:09, 13 March 2009 (UTC)

----
I think I've found some spam pages... how to flag and remove same?--[[User:Dennis|Dennis]] 15:26, 13 March 2009 (UTC)

Compressed Fuel Gas

2009-03-13T15:25:12Z

Dennis: /* Downdraft Gasifier */

{{Site header}}

----
Compressed Fuel Gas (CFG)- proven technology for gasifying wood exists. It is not a huge leap to compress and store this gas, as a local option for fuel gas. Huge market potential. Essential to bakery, or metal melting. Update: I've since found out from a wood gas forum that the high percentage of hydrogen in wood gas makes it difficult to store, as hydrogen embrittles metal containers.
: What of using non metal containers? I've seen bags and balloons used for storage. As well, there are carbon fiber storage tanks as well. --[[User:Dennis|Dennis]] 11:18, 13 March 2009 (UTC)

=Collaboration=
==Review of Project Status==
== CFG - Current Work==
[[Image:Biomass_gasifier.jpg|thumb|Personal Biomass Gasifier]]
[http://www.mizzou.edu University of Missouri] - Columbia Capstone Project 
Team Leader: [mailto:michael.d.koch@hotmail.com Michael Koch] 
Report: [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Personal_Gasification_Chamber.pdf Final Draft] 
PPT: [http://openfarmtech.org/BiomassGasifier.ppt PowerPoint] 
Pictures: [http://www.flickr.com/photos/newtimes/sets/72157604870914771/ Flickr]

Through the work of a team of 4 senior mechanical engineers at the University of Missouri, the basic design found below was finished for a Personal Biomass Gasification Chamber. The team has finished the final report. The information found below was ported to the Wiki format from that report. All of the research is completely open. Also, it is '''''highly encouraged''''' that people update and correct mistakes since this project is far from perfect.

== CFG - Developments Needed==
=== CFG - General===
Currently we are testing to ensure that the correct amount of oxygen is being introduced into the system. This is to ensure that we are actually getting CO gas as a byproduct.
=== CFG - Specific===
==== CFG - Background Debriefing====

=====Downdraft Gasifier=====
The most popular gasifier design for personal use is the downdraft gasifier. There are many good reasons for this:

#The Imbert design was used to power parts of Europe during WWII. This includes everything from cars to homes and factories. Over a million were in use at the peak of 'that' energy crisis.

#Downdraft gasifiers are easy to build for most people who have an arc welder.

#Downdraft gasifiers are great for most fuels, like wood,paper, pellets, because they can crack the tars that are formed.

==== CFG - Information Work====
==== CFG - Hardware Work====
== CFG - Sign-in==

=Introduction=
Biomass gasification technology is a concept that has been around for over 100 years. Simply put, biomass gasification takes a dry, carbon-based fuel and converts it into a usable synthesis gas, or syngas, that can be be used for various processes such as cooking or manufacturing. This technology is is now back in demand due to several factors. One of the prominent reasons biomass gasification is becoming important again is rising gas prices as well as United States dependence on foreign oil. These topics are now at the forefront of many American’s minds. A personal biomass gasification chamber would give consumers an inexpensive alternative to expensive natural gas that now dominates the market. The effects of such a technology could have extensive implications on the economics of the oil markets, as well as the ability of people around the world to locally produce their own fuel.

Similarly, this chamber would be using renewable energy because it is based on the gasification of biomass. Biomass is a broad term that essentially means any sort of carbon based material that can be used as fuel. In our case, we would be using biomass logs that would be gasified in the chamber. This process is much more environmental-friendly than simply burning the biomass because the gasification process has significantly less emissions. Also, the ash byproduct can be used as fertilizer for plants and crops. Charcoal production can be enacted also, as long as the correct conditions are held within the chamber. Similarly, reducing the use of fossil fuels is extremely important as issues of global warming seem to be cropping up everywhere. Since biomass is renewable it would eliminate the need to drill for fossil fuels, something that would significantly reduce the amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) that are created by humans.

==Motivation==
Throughout the world, energy is becoming one of the most important issues in all facets of life. Be it political, social, economical or simply survival, the problems that the human race now face due to the limited supply of fossil fuel becomes more evident every day. The following paper will discuss the reasoning and need behind the research, design and building of a personal biomass gasification chamber, and the potential it holds for energy usage by persons around the world. Included in this paper are the design principals, schedule for completing review, research, engineering analysis and other related topics that went into our research process. This personal gasification chamber could be used in rural areas where biomass is abundant and logs could be made from agricultural waste as a byproduct of crops. This would make these logs very inexpensive to produce and gasify on sight and produce cost efficient energy. Similarly, reducing the use of fossil fuels is extremely important as issues of global warming seem to be cropping up everywhere. Since biomass is renewable it would eliminate the need to drill for fossil fuels, something that would significantly reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that are created by humans. Biomass is CO2 neutral and thus immune to this problem.

==Background Research==
Through market research we were able to determine what gasifiers were currently being used today. Some of these gasifiers can be seen in Appendix C.
:What appendix C?--[[User:Dennis|Dennis]] 08:22, 13 March 2009 (UTC)

As can be seen, these gasifiers are usually very large and expensive. The only gasifier that is small does not capture the outputted syngas.

=Links=
Below is a list of links that were utilized in the above design. There is especially useful information found in the Research/Papers section.

==Research/Papers==
#University of Missouri Capstone Project, Mech Engr Dept, 2008 [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Personal_Gasification_Chamber.pdf]
#Wood Gas as Engine Fuel, FAO Forestry Paper #72, 1986 [http://www.fao.org/docrep/t0512e/T0512e00.HTM] 
#The research progress of biomass pyrolysis processes, FAO, 1994 [http://www.fao.org/docrep/T4470E/t4470e0a.htm] 
#Study on performance of biomass gasifier-engine systems and their environmental aspects, China National Rice Research Institute, Paper # 9403 [http://www.fao.org/docrep/T4470E/t4470e0i.htm]
#Identifying a role for biomass gasification in rural electrification in developing countries: the economic perspective, Nov 2000 [http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V22-42SXH0V-4&_user=3419478&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000049994&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=3419478&md5=707baaa9d2c865c21d15309586b4e713 ]
#BioEnergy Lists: Biomass Cooking Stoves [http://www.bioenergylists.org]
#Dept of Energy, Small-Modular Gasification [http://www1.eere.energy.gov/biomass/small_modular_gasification.html] 
#Study on performance of biomass gasifier-engine systems [http://www.fao.org/docrep/T4470E/t4470e0i.htm] 
#Biomass Gasification by Anil K. Rajvanshi Director, Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute [http://www.nariphaltan.virtualave.net/gasbook.pdf] 
#Biomass Gasification Group, Department of Mechanical Engineering, DTU [http://www.bgg.mek.dtu.dk] 

==Companies==
#Crorey Alternative Fuels [http://www.croreyrenewable.com/] 
#Tom’s Woodgas Stove [http://www.woodgas.com/bookSTOVE.htm] 
#Biomax 15 Specification Sheet [http://www.gocpc.com/Products/BioMax%20Spec%20Sheet.PDF] 
#Biomass Gasification Technologies, Inc.[http://www.biomassgasification.com] 
#BTG Bimass Technologies Group [http://www.btgworld.com/technologies/gasification.html] 
#GE Energy, Gasification [http://www.gepower.com/prod_serv/products/gasification/en/overview.htm] 
#Dakota Gasification Company [http://www.dakotagas.com] 

==Other==
#USPTO Biomass Gasification [http://www.uspto.gov/web/patents/patog/week24/OG/classification/classGroup_11.htm] 
#Biomass Gasification, Technology and Utilization [http://members.tripod.com/~cturare/bio.htm] 
#ISO Standard - Pressure Vessel [http://www.iso.org/iso/search.htm?qt=pressure+vessel&published=on&active_tab=standards] 
#OSHA [http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owasrch.search_form?p_doc_type=STANDARDS&p_toc_level=0&p_keyvalue=] 
#Freepatentsonline.com patent #5378113 [http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5378113.pdf] 

[[Category:Energy]]

Compressed Fuel Gas

2009-03-13T15:24:36Z

Dennis: /* Downdraft Gasifier */

{{Site header}}

----
Compressed Fuel Gas (CFG)- proven technology for gasifying wood exists. It is not a huge leap to compress and store this gas, as a local option for fuel gas. Huge market potential. Essential to bakery, or metal melting. Update: I've since found out from a wood gas forum that the high percentage of hydrogen in wood gas makes it difficult to store, as hydrogen embrittles metal containers.
: What of using non metal containers? I've seen bags and balloons used for storage. As well, there are carbon fiber storage tanks as well. --[[User:Dennis|Dennis]] 11:18, 13 March 2009 (UTC)

=Collaboration=
==Review of Project Status==
== CFG - Current Work==
[[Image:Biomass_gasifier.jpg|thumb|Personal Biomass Gasifier]]
[http://www.mizzou.edu University of Missouri] - Columbia Capstone Project 
Team Leader: [mailto:michael.d.koch@hotmail.com Michael Koch] 
Report: [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Personal_Gasification_Chamber.pdf Final Draft] 
PPT: [http://openfarmtech.org/BiomassGasifier.ppt PowerPoint] 
Pictures: [http://www.flickr.com/photos/newtimes/sets/72157604870914771/ Flickr]

Through the work of a team of 4 senior mechanical engineers at the University of Missouri, the basic design found below was finished for a Personal Biomass Gasification Chamber. The team has finished the final report. The information found below was ported to the Wiki format from that report. All of the research is completely open. Also, it is '''''highly encouraged''''' that people update and correct mistakes since this project is far from perfect.

== CFG - Developments Needed==
=== CFG - General===
Currently we are testing to ensure that the correct amount of oxygen is being introduced into the system. This is to ensure that we are actually getting CO gas as a byproduct.
=== CFG - Specific===
==== CFG - Background Debriefing====

=====Downdraft Gasifier=====
The most popular gasifier design for personal use is the downdraft gasifier. There are many good reasons for this:

1) The Imbert design was used to power parts of Europe during WWII. This includes everything from cars to homes and factories. Over a million were in use at the peak of 'that' energy crisis.

2) Downdraft gasifiers are easy to build for most people who have an arc welder.

3) Downdraft gasifiers are great for most fuels, like wood,paper, pellets, because they can crack the tars that are formed.

==== CFG - Information Work====
==== CFG - Hardware Work====
== CFG - Sign-in==

=Introduction=
Biomass gasification technology is a concept that has been around for over 100 years. Simply put, biomass gasification takes a dry, carbon-based fuel and converts it into a usable synthesis gas, or syngas, that can be be used for various processes such as cooking or manufacturing. This technology is is now back in demand due to several factors. One of the prominent reasons biomass gasification is becoming important again is rising gas prices as well as United States dependence on foreign oil. These topics are now at the forefront of many American’s minds. A personal biomass gasification chamber would give consumers an inexpensive alternative to expensive natural gas that now dominates the market. The effects of such a technology could have extensive implications on the economics of the oil markets, as well as the ability of people around the world to locally produce their own fuel.

Similarly, this chamber would be using renewable energy because it is based on the gasification of biomass. Biomass is a broad term that essentially means any sort of carbon based material that can be used as fuel. In our case, we would be using biomass logs that would be gasified in the chamber. This process is much more environmental-friendly than simply burning the biomass because the gasification process has significantly less emissions. Also, the ash byproduct can be used as fertilizer for plants and crops. Charcoal production can be enacted also, as long as the correct conditions are held within the chamber. Similarly, reducing the use of fossil fuels is extremely important as issues of global warming seem to be cropping up everywhere. Since biomass is renewable it would eliminate the need to drill for fossil fuels, something that would significantly reduce the amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) that are created by humans.

==Motivation==
Throughout the world, energy is becoming one of the most important issues in all facets of life. Be it political, social, economical or simply survival, the problems that the human race now face due to the limited supply of fossil fuel becomes more evident every day. The following paper will discuss the reasoning and need behind the research, design and building of a personal biomass gasification chamber, and the potential it holds for energy usage by persons around the world. Included in this paper are the design principals, schedule for completing review, research, engineering analysis and other related topics that went into our research process. This personal gasification chamber could be used in rural areas where biomass is abundant and logs could be made from agricultural waste as a byproduct of crops. This would make these logs very inexpensive to produce and gasify on sight and produce cost efficient energy. Similarly, reducing the use of fossil fuels is extremely important as issues of global warming seem to be cropping up everywhere. Since biomass is renewable it would eliminate the need to drill for fossil fuels, something that would significantly reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that are created by humans. Biomass is CO2 neutral and thus immune to this problem.

==Background Research==
Through market research we were able to determine what gasifiers were currently being used today. Some of these gasifiers can be seen in Appendix C.
:What appendix C?--[[User:Dennis|Dennis]] 08:22, 13 March 2009 (UTC)

As can be seen, these gasifiers are usually very large and expensive. The only gasifier that is small does not capture the outputted syngas.

=Links=
Below is a list of links that were utilized in the above design. There is especially useful information found in the Research/Papers section.

==Research/Papers==
#University of Missouri Capstone Project, Mech Engr Dept, 2008 [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Personal_Gasification_Chamber.pdf]
#Wood Gas as Engine Fuel, FAO Forestry Paper #72, 1986 [http://www.fao.org/docrep/t0512e/T0512e00.HTM] 
#The research progress of biomass pyrolysis processes, FAO, 1994 [http://www.fao.org/docrep/T4470E/t4470e0a.htm] 
#Study on performance of biomass gasifier-engine systems and their environmental aspects, China National Rice Research Institute, Paper # 9403 [http://www.fao.org/docrep/T4470E/t4470e0i.htm]
#Identifying a role for biomass gasification in rural electrification in developing countries: the economic perspective, Nov 2000 [http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V22-42SXH0V-4&_user=3419478&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000049994&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=3419478&md5=707baaa9d2c865c21d15309586b4e713 ]
#BioEnergy Lists: Biomass Cooking Stoves [http://www.bioenergylists.org]
#Dept of Energy, Small-Modular Gasification [http://www1.eere.energy.gov/biomass/small_modular_gasification.html] 
#Study on performance of biomass gasifier-engine systems [http://www.fao.org/docrep/T4470E/t4470e0i.htm] 
#Biomass Gasification by Anil K. Rajvanshi Director, Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute [http://www.nariphaltan.virtualave.net/gasbook.pdf] 
#Biomass Gasification Group, Department of Mechanical Engineering, DTU [http://www.bgg.mek.dtu.dk] 

==Companies==
#Crorey Alternative Fuels [http://www.croreyrenewable.com/] 
#Tom’s Woodgas Stove [http://www.woodgas.com/bookSTOVE.htm] 
#Biomax 15 Specification Sheet [http://www.gocpc.com/Products/BioMax%20Spec%20Sheet.PDF] 
#Biomass Gasification Technologies, Inc.[http://www.biomassgasification.com] 
#BTG Bimass Technologies Group [http://www.btgworld.com/technologies/gasification.html] 
#GE Energy, Gasification [http://www.gepower.com/prod_serv/products/gasification/en/overview.htm] 
#Dakota Gasification Company [http://www.dakotagas.com] 

==Other==
#USPTO Biomass Gasification [http://www.uspto.gov/web/patents/patog/week24/OG/classification/classGroup_11.htm] 
#Biomass Gasification, Technology and Utilization [http://members.tripod.com/~cturare/bio.htm] 
#ISO Standard - Pressure Vessel [http://www.iso.org/iso/search.htm?qt=pressure+vessel&published=on&active_tab=standards] 
#OSHA [http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owasrch.search_form?p_doc_type=STANDARDS&p_toc_level=0&p_keyvalue=] 
#Freepatentsonline.com patent #5378113 [http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5378113.pdf] 

[[Category:Energy]]

Compressed Fuel Gas

2009-03-13T15:22:52Z

Dennis: /* CFG - Background Debriefing */

{{Site header}}

----
Compressed Fuel Gas (CFG)- proven technology for gasifying wood exists. It is not a huge leap to compress and store this gas, as a local option for fuel gas. Huge market potential. Essential to bakery, or metal melting. Update: I've since found out from a wood gas forum that the high percentage of hydrogen in wood gas makes it difficult to store, as hydrogen embrittles metal containers.
: What of using non metal containers? I've seen bags and balloons used for storage. As well, there are carbon fiber storage tanks as well. --[[User:Dennis|Dennis]] 11:18, 13 March 2009 (UTC)

=Collaboration=
==Review of Project Status==
== CFG - Current Work==
[[Image:Biomass_gasifier.jpg|thumb|Personal Biomass Gasifier]]
[http://www.mizzou.edu University of Missouri] - Columbia Capstone Project 
Team Leader: [mailto:michael.d.koch@hotmail.com Michael Koch] 
Report: [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Personal_Gasification_Chamber.pdf Final Draft] 
PPT: [http://openfarmtech.org/BiomassGasifier.ppt PowerPoint] 
Pictures: [http://www.flickr.com/photos/newtimes/sets/72157604870914771/ Flickr]

Through the work of a team of 4 senior mechanical engineers at the University of Missouri, the basic design found below was finished for a Personal Biomass Gasification Chamber. The team has finished the final report. The information found below was ported to the Wiki format from that report. All of the research is completely open. Also, it is '''''highly encouraged''''' that people update and correct mistakes since this project is far from perfect.

== CFG - Developments Needed==
=== CFG - General===
Currently we are testing to ensure that the correct amount of oxygen is being introduced into the system. This is to ensure that we are actually getting CO gas as a byproduct.
=== CFG - Specific===
==== CFG - Background Debriefing====

=====Downdraft Gasifier=====
The most popular gasifier design for personal use is the downdraft gasifier. There are many good reasons for this:

1) The Imbert design was used to power parts of Europe during the war. This includes everything from cars to homes and factories. Over a million were in use.

2) Downdraft gasifiers are easy to build.

3) Downdraft gasifiers are great for common fuels like wood because they can crack the tars that are formed.
[[File:http://api.ning.com/files/YspO*YmPsuE9NYvZ5ljS3fD6Mq53S3oaeHKjG1cv*4TPAm8sSMDfZkEwD7GqD-dz48CoagsXPMlMV1j89*9A3Bv2iy5*uNyk/Wood_Gasifier.jpg]]

==== CFG - Information Work====
==== CFG - Hardware Work====
== CFG - Sign-in==

=Introduction=
Biomass gasification technology is a concept that has been around for over 100 years. Simply put, biomass gasification takes a dry, carbon-based fuel and converts it into a usable synthesis gas, or syngas, that can be be used for various processes such as cooking or manufacturing. This technology is is now back in demand due to several factors. One of the prominent reasons biomass gasification is becoming important again is rising gas prices as well as United States dependence on foreign oil. These topics are now at the forefront of many American’s minds. A personal biomass gasification chamber would give consumers an inexpensive alternative to expensive natural gas that now dominates the market. The effects of such a technology could have extensive implications on the economics of the oil markets, as well as the ability of people around the world to locally produce their own fuel.

Similarly, this chamber would be using renewable energy because it is based on the gasification of biomass. Biomass is a broad term that essentially means any sort of carbon based material that can be used as fuel. In our case, we would be using biomass logs that would be gasified in the chamber. This process is much more environmental-friendly than simply burning the biomass because the gasification process has significantly less emissions. Also, the ash byproduct can be used as fertilizer for plants and crops. Charcoal production can be enacted also, as long as the correct conditions are held within the chamber. Similarly, reducing the use of fossil fuels is extremely important as issues of global warming seem to be cropping up everywhere. Since biomass is renewable it would eliminate the need to drill for fossil fuels, something that would significantly reduce the amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) that are created by humans.

==Motivation==
Throughout the world, energy is becoming one of the most important issues in all facets of life. Be it political, social, economical or simply survival, the problems that the human race now face due to the limited supply of fossil fuel becomes more evident every day. The following paper will discuss the reasoning and need behind the research, design and building of a personal biomass gasification chamber, and the potential it holds for energy usage by persons around the world. Included in this paper are the design principals, schedule for completing review, research, engineering analysis and other related topics that went into our research process. This personal gasification chamber could be used in rural areas where biomass is abundant and logs could be made from agricultural waste as a byproduct of crops. This would make these logs very inexpensive to produce and gasify on sight and produce cost efficient energy. Similarly, reducing the use of fossil fuels is extremely important as issues of global warming seem to be cropping up everywhere. Since biomass is renewable it would eliminate the need to drill for fossil fuels, something that would significantly reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that are created by humans. Biomass is CO2 neutral and thus immune to this problem.

==Background Research==
Through market research we were able to determine what gasifiers were currently being used today. Some of these gasifiers can be seen in Appendix C.
:What appendix C?--[[User:Dennis|Dennis]] 08:22, 13 March 2009 (UTC)

As can be seen, these gasifiers are usually very large and expensive. The only gasifier that is small does not capture the outputted syngas.

=Links=
Below is a list of links that were utilized in the above design. There is especially useful information found in the Research/Papers section.

==Research/Papers==
#University of Missouri Capstone Project, Mech Engr Dept, 2008 [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Personal_Gasification_Chamber.pdf]
#Wood Gas as Engine Fuel, FAO Forestry Paper #72, 1986 [http://www.fao.org/docrep/t0512e/T0512e00.HTM] 
#The research progress of biomass pyrolysis processes, FAO, 1994 [http://www.fao.org/docrep/T4470E/t4470e0a.htm] 
#Study on performance of biomass gasifier-engine systems and their environmental aspects, China National Rice Research Institute, Paper # 9403 [http://www.fao.org/docrep/T4470E/t4470e0i.htm]
#Identifying a role for biomass gasification in rural electrification in developing countries: the economic perspective, Nov 2000 [http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V22-42SXH0V-4&_user=3419478&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000049994&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=3419478&md5=707baaa9d2c865c21d15309586b4e713 ]
#BioEnergy Lists: Biomass Cooking Stoves [http://www.bioenergylists.org]
#Dept of Energy, Small-Modular Gasification [http://www1.eere.energy.gov/biomass/small_modular_gasification.html] 
#Study on performance of biomass gasifier-engine systems [http://www.fao.org/docrep/T4470E/t4470e0i.htm] 
#Biomass Gasification by Anil K. Rajvanshi Director, Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute [http://www.nariphaltan.virtualave.net/gasbook.pdf] 
#Biomass Gasification Group, Department of Mechanical Engineering, DTU [http://www.bgg.mek.dtu.dk] 

==Companies==
#Crorey Alternative Fuels [http://www.croreyrenewable.com/] 
#Tom’s Woodgas Stove [http://www.woodgas.com/bookSTOVE.htm] 
#Biomax 15 Specification Sheet [http://www.gocpc.com/Products/BioMax%20Spec%20Sheet.PDF] 
#Biomass Gasification Technologies, Inc.[http://www.biomassgasification.com] 
#BTG Bimass Technologies Group [http://www.btgworld.com/technologies/gasification.html] 
#GE Energy, Gasification [http://www.gepower.com/prod_serv/products/gasification/en/overview.htm] 
#Dakota Gasification Company [http://www.dakotagas.com] 

==Other==
#USPTO Biomass Gasification [http://www.uspto.gov/web/patents/patog/week24/OG/classification/classGroup_11.htm] 
#Biomass Gasification, Technology and Utilization [http://members.tripod.com/~cturare/bio.htm] 
#ISO Standard - Pressure Vessel [http://www.iso.org/iso/search.htm?qt=pressure+vessel&published=on&active_tab=standards] 
#OSHA [http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owasrch.search_form?p_doc_type=STANDARDS&p_toc_level=0&p_keyvalue=] 
#Freepatentsonline.com patent #5378113 [http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5378113.pdf] 

[[Category:Energy]]

Compressed Fuel Gas

2009-03-13T11:18:35Z

Dennis:

{{Site header}}

----
Compressed Fuel Gas (CFG)- proven technology for gasifying wood exists. It is not a huge leap to compress and store this gas, as a local option for fuel gas. Huge market potential. Essential to bakery, or metal melting. Update: I've since found out from a wood gas forum that the high percentage of hydrogen in wood gas makes it difficult to store, as hydrogen embrittles metal containers.
: What of using non metal containers? I've seen bags and balloons used for storage. As well, there are carbon fiber storage tanks as well. --[[User:Dennis|Dennis]] 11:18, 13 March 2009 (UTC)

=Collaboration=
==Review of Project Status==
== CFG - Current Work==
[[Image:Biomass_gasifier.jpg|thumb|Personal Biomass Gasifier]]
[http://www.mizzou.edu University of Missouri] - Columbia Capstone Project 
Team Leader: [mailto:michael.d.koch@hotmail.com Michael Koch] 
Report: [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Personal_Gasification_Chamber.pdf Final Draft] 
PPT: [http://openfarmtech.org/BiomassGasifier.ppt PowerPoint] 
Pictures: [http://www.flickr.com/photos/newtimes/sets/72157604870914771/ Flickr]

Through the work of a team of 4 senior mechanical engineers at the University of Missouri, the basic design found below was finished for a Personal Biomass Gasification Chamber. The team has finished the final report. The information found below was ported to the Wiki format from that report. All of the research is completely open. Also, it is '''''highly encouraged''''' that people update and correct mistakes since this project is far from perfect.

== CFG - Developments Needed==
=== CFG - General===
Currently we are testing to ensure that the correct amount of oxygen is being introduced into the system. This is to ensure that we are actually getting CO gas as a byproduct.
=== CFG - Specific===
==== CFG - Background Debriefing====
==== CFG - Information Work====
==== CFG - Hardware Work====
== CFG - Sign-in==

=Introduction=
Biomass gasification technology is a concept that has been around for over 100 years. Simply put, biomass gasification takes a dry, carbon-based fuel and converts it into a usable synthesis gas, or syngas, that can be be used for various processes such as cooking or manufacturing. This technology is is now back in demand due to several factors. One of the prominent reasons biomass gasification is becoming important again is rising gas prices as well as United States dependence on foreign oil. These topics are now at the forefront of many American’s minds. A personal biomass gasification chamber would give consumers an inexpensive alternative to expensive natural gas that now dominates the market. The effects of such a technology could have extensive implications on the economics of the oil markets, as well as the ability of people around the world to locally produce their own fuel.

Similarly, this chamber would be using renewable energy because it is based on the gasification of biomass. Biomass is a broad term that essentially means any sort of carbon based material that can be used as fuel. In our case, we would be using biomass logs that would be gasified in the chamber. This process is much more environmental-friendly than simply burning the biomass because the gasification process has significantly less emissions. Also, the ash byproduct can be used as fertilizer for plants and crops. Charcoal production can be enacted also, as long as the correct conditions are held within the chamber. Similarly, reducing the use of fossil fuels is extremely important as issues of global warming seem to be cropping up everywhere. Since biomass is renewable it would eliminate the need to drill for fossil fuels, something that would significantly reduce the amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) that are created by humans.

==Motivation==
Throughout the world, energy is becoming one of the most important issues in all facets of life. Be it political, social, economical or simply survival, the problems that the human race now face due to the limited supply of fossil fuel becomes more evident every day. The following paper will discuss the reasoning and need behind the research, design and building of a personal biomass gasification chamber, and the potential it holds for energy usage by persons around the world. Included in this paper are the design principals, schedule for completing review, research, engineering analysis and other related topics that went into our research process. This personal gasification chamber could be used in rural areas where biomass is abundant and logs could be made from agricultural waste as a byproduct of crops. This would make these logs very inexpensive to produce and gasify on sight and produce cost efficient energy. Similarly, reducing the use of fossil fuels is extremely important as issues of global warming seem to be cropping up everywhere. Since biomass is renewable it would eliminate the need to drill for fossil fuels, something that would significantly reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that are created by humans. Biomass is CO2 neutral and thus immune to this problem.

==Background Research==
Through market research we were able to determine what gasifiers were currently being used today. Some of these gasifiers can be seen in Appendix C.
:What appendix C?--[[User:Dennis|Dennis]] 08:22, 13 March 2009 (UTC)

As can be seen, these gasifiers are usually very large and expensive. The only gasifier that is small does not capture the outputted syngas.

=Links=
Below is a list of links that were utilized in the above design. There is especially useful information found in the Research/Papers section.

==Research/Papers==
#University of Missouri Capstone Project, Mech Engr Dept, 2008 [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Personal_Gasification_Chamber.pdf]
#Wood Gas as Engine Fuel, FAO Forestry Paper #72, 1986 [http://www.fao.org/docrep/t0512e/T0512e00.HTM] 
#The research progress of biomass pyrolysis processes, FAO, 1994 [http://www.fao.org/docrep/T4470E/t4470e0a.htm] 
#Study on performance of biomass gasifier-engine systems and their environmental aspects, China National Rice Research Institute, Paper # 9403 [http://www.fao.org/docrep/T4470E/t4470e0i.htm]
#Identifying a role for biomass gasification in rural electrification in developing countries: the economic perspective, Nov 2000 [http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V22-42SXH0V-4&_user=3419478&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000049994&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=3419478&md5=707baaa9d2c865c21d15309586b4e713 ]
#BioEnergy Lists: Biomass Cooking Stoves [http://www.bioenergylists.org]
#Dept of Energy, Small-Modular Gasification [http://www1.eere.energy.gov/biomass/small_modular_gasification.html] 
#Study on performance of biomass gasifier-engine systems [http://www.fao.org/docrep/T4470E/t4470e0i.htm] 
#Biomass Gasification by Anil K. Rajvanshi Director, Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute [http://www.nariphaltan.virtualave.net/gasbook.pdf] 
#Biomass Gasification Group, Department of Mechanical Engineering, DTU [http://www.bgg.mek.dtu.dk] 

==Companies==
#Crorey Alternative Fuels [http://www.croreyrenewable.com/] 
#Tom’s Woodgas Stove [http://www.woodgas.com/bookSTOVE.htm] 
#Biomax 15 Specification Sheet [http://www.gocpc.com/Products/BioMax%20Spec%20Sheet.PDF] 
#Biomass Gasification Technologies, Inc.[http://www.biomassgasification.com] 
#BTG Bimass Technologies Group [http://www.btgworld.com/technologies/gasification.html] 
#GE Energy, Gasification [http://www.gepower.com/prod_serv/products/gasification/en/overview.htm] 
#Dakota Gasification Company [http://www.dakotagas.com] 

==Other==
#USPTO Biomass Gasification [http://www.uspto.gov/web/patents/patog/week24/OG/classification/classGroup_11.htm] 
#Biomass Gasification, Technology and Utilization [http://members.tripod.com/~cturare/bio.htm] 
#ISO Standard - Pressure Vessel [http://www.iso.org/iso/search.htm?qt=pressure+vessel&published=on&active_tab=standards] 
#OSHA [http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owasrch.search_form?p_doc_type=STANDARDS&p_toc_level=0&p_keyvalue=] 
#Freepatentsonline.com patent #5378113 [http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5378113.pdf] 

[[Category:Energy]]

Compressed Fuel Gas

2009-03-13T08:22:03Z

Dennis: /* Background Research */ seeking clarification

{{Site header}}

----
Compressed Fuel Gas (CFG)- proven technology for gasifying wood exists. It is not a huge leap to compress and store this gas, as a local option for fuel gas. Huge market potential. Essential to bakery, or metal melting. Update: I've since found out from a wood gas forum that the high percentage of hydrogen in wood gas makes it difficult to store, as hydrogen embrittles metal containers.

=Collaboration=
==Review of Project Status==
== CFG - Current Work==
[[Image:Biomass_gasifier.jpg|thumb|Personal Biomass Gasifier]]
[http://www.mizzou.edu University of Missouri] - Columbia Capstone Project 
Team Leader: [mailto:michael.d.koch@hotmail.com Michael Koch] 
Report: [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Personal_Gasification_Chamber.pdf Final Draft] 
PPT: [http://openfarmtech.org/BiomassGasifier.ppt PowerPoint] 
Pictures: [http://www.flickr.com/photos/newtimes/sets/72157604870914771/ Flickr]

Through the work of a team of 4 senior mechanical engineers at the University of Missouri, the basic design found below was finished for a Personal Biomass Gasification Chamber. The team has finished the final report. The information found below was ported to the Wiki format from that report. All of the research is completely open. Also, it is '''''highly encouraged''''' that people update and correct mistakes since this project is far from perfect.

== CFG - Developments Needed==
=== CFG - General===
Currently we are testing to ensure that the correct amount of oxygen is being introduced into the system. This is to ensure that we are actually getting CO gas as a byproduct.
=== CFG - Specific===
==== CFG - Background Debriefing====
==== CFG - Information Work====
==== CFG - Hardware Work====
== CFG - Sign-in==

=Introduction=
Biomass gasification technology is a concept that has been around for over 100 years. Simply put, biomass gasification takes a dry, carbon-based fuel and converts it into a usable synthesis gas, or syngas, that can be be used for various processes such as cooking or manufacturing. This technology is is now back in demand due to several factors. One of the prominent reasons biomass gasification is becoming important again is rising gas prices as well as United States dependence on foreign oil. These topics are now at the forefront of many American’s minds. A personal biomass gasification chamber would give consumers an inexpensive alternative to expensive natural gas that now dominates the market. The effects of such a technology could have extensive implications on the economics of the oil markets, as well as the ability of people around the world to locally produce their own fuel.

Similarly, this chamber would be using renewable energy because it is based on the gasification of biomass. Biomass is a broad term that essentially means any sort of carbon based material that can be used as fuel. In our case, we would be using biomass logs that would be gasified in the chamber. This process is much more environmental-friendly than simply burning the biomass because the gasification process has significantly less emissions. Also, the ash byproduct can be used as fertilizer for plants and crops. Charcoal production can be enacted also, as long as the correct conditions are held within the chamber. Similarly, reducing the use of fossil fuels is extremely important as issues of global warming seem to be cropping up everywhere. Since biomass is renewable it would eliminate the need to drill for fossil fuels, something that would significantly reduce the amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) that are created by humans.

==Motivation==
Throughout the world, energy is becoming one of the most important issues in all facets of life. Be it political, social, economical or simply survival, the problems that the human race now face due to the limited supply of fossil fuel becomes more evident every day. The following paper will discuss the reasoning and need behind the research, design and building of a personal biomass gasification chamber, and the potential it holds for energy usage by persons around the world. Included in this paper are the design principals, schedule for completing review, research, engineering analysis and other related topics that went into our research process. This personal gasification chamber could be used in rural areas where biomass is abundant and logs could be made from agricultural waste as a byproduct of crops. This would make these logs very inexpensive to produce and gasify on sight and produce cost efficient energy. Similarly, reducing the use of fossil fuels is extremely important as issues of global warming seem to be cropping up everywhere. Since biomass is renewable it would eliminate the need to drill for fossil fuels, something that would significantly reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that are created by humans. Biomass is CO2 neutral and thus immune to this problem.

==Background Research==
Through market research we were able to determine what gasifiers were currently being used today. Some of these gasifiers can be seen in Appendix C.
:What appendix C?--[[User:Dennis|Dennis]] 08:22, 13 March 2009 (UTC)

As can be seen, these gasifiers are usually very large and expensive. The only gasifier that is small does not capture the outputted syngas.

=Links=
Below is a list of links that were utilized in the above design. There is especially useful information found in the Research/Papers section.

==Research/Papers==
#University of Missouri Capstone Project, Mech Engr Dept, 2008 [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Personal_Gasification_Chamber.pdf]
#Wood Gas as Engine Fuel, FAO Forestry Paper #72, 1986 [http://www.fao.org/docrep/t0512e/T0512e00.HTM] 
#The research progress of biomass pyrolysis processes, FAO, 1994 [http://www.fao.org/docrep/T4470E/t4470e0a.htm] 
#Study on performance of biomass gasifier-engine systems and their environmental aspects, China National Rice Research Institute, Paper # 9403 [http://www.fao.org/docrep/T4470E/t4470e0i.htm]
#Identifying a role for biomass gasification in rural electrification in developing countries: the economic perspective, Nov 2000 [http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V22-42SXH0V-4&_user=3419478&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000049994&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=3419478&md5=707baaa9d2c865c21d15309586b4e713 ]
#BioEnergy Lists: Biomass Cooking Stoves [http://www.bioenergylists.org]
#Dept of Energy, Small-Modular Gasification [http://www1.eere.energy.gov/biomass/small_modular_gasification.html] 
#Study on performance of biomass gasifier-engine systems [http://www.fao.org/docrep/T4470E/t4470e0i.htm] 
#Biomass Gasification by Anil K. Rajvanshi Director, Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute [http://www.nariphaltan.virtualave.net/gasbook.pdf] 
#Biomass Gasification Group, Department of Mechanical Engineering, DTU [http://www.bgg.mek.dtu.dk] 

==Companies==
#Crorey Alternative Fuels [http://www.croreyrenewable.com/] 
#Tom’s Woodgas Stove [http://www.woodgas.com/bookSTOVE.htm] 
#Biomax 15 Specification Sheet [http://www.gocpc.com/Products/BioMax%20Spec%20Sheet.PDF] 
#Biomass Gasification Technologies, Inc.[http://www.biomassgasification.com] 
#BTG Bimass Technologies Group [http://www.btgworld.com/technologies/gasification.html] 
#GE Energy, Gasification [http://www.gepower.com/prod_serv/products/gasification/en/overview.htm] 
#Dakota Gasification Company [http://www.dakotagas.com] 

==Other==
#USPTO Biomass Gasification [http://www.uspto.gov/web/patents/patog/week24/OG/classification/classGroup_11.htm] 
#Biomass Gasification, Technology and Utilization [http://members.tripod.com/~cturare/bio.htm] 
#ISO Standard - Pressure Vessel [http://www.iso.org/iso/search.htm?qt=pressure+vessel&published=on&active_tab=standards] 
#OSHA [http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owasrch.search_form?p_doc_type=STANDARDS&p_toc_level=0&p_keyvalue=] 
#Freepatentsonline.com patent #5378113 [http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5378113.pdf] 

[[Category:Energy]]

Gasifier

2009-03-13T08:19:42Z

Dennis:

see also [[Compressed Fuel Gas]]

Gasifier construction set:

http://allpowerlabs.org/gasification/gek/index.html

Mike Koch's gasifier, U. Missouri, Columbia, 2008 Capstone Project, Mechanical Engineering:

http://openfarmtech.org/BiomassGasifier.ppt

A gasifier can also be used to make [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biochar BIOCHAR]. Here are some simple design examples for charcoal/biochar-producing biomass gasifiers:

[http://www.repp.org/discussiongroups/resources/stoves/English/bigtop.htm 50 kilowatt wood pellet gasifier]

[http://www.arti-india.org/content/view/80/52/ Charcoal kiln at A.R.T.I.]

Folke Günther's design: [http://www.holon.se/folke/carbon/simplechar/simplechar.shtml "the simplest of the simple - a two-barrel charcoal retort"]

[http://www.geocities.com/kenboak/TurboStove.doc Tom Reed's TurboStove]

Gasifier

2009-03-13T08:18:51Z

Dennis:

see also
Gasifier construction set:

http://allpowerlabs.org/gasification/gek/index.html

Mike Koch's gasifier, U. Missouri, Columbia, 2008 Capstone Project, Mechanical Engineering:

http://openfarmtech.org/BiomassGasifier.ppt

A gasifier can also be used to make [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biochar BIOCHAR]. Here are some simple design examples for charcoal/biochar-producing biomass gasifiers:

[http://www.repp.org/discussiongroups/resources/stoves/English/bigtop.htm 50 kilowatt wood pellet gasifier]

[http://www.arti-india.org/content/view/80/52/ Charcoal kiln at A.R.T.I.]

Folke Günther's design: [http://www.holon.se/folke/carbon/simplechar/simplechar.shtml "the simplest of the simple - a two-barrel charcoal retort"]

[http://www.geocities.com/kenboak/TurboStove.doc Tom Reed's TurboStove]

Fuel Alcohol

2009-03-13T08:15:16Z

Dennis: /* Biofuels - Information Work */

{{Site header}}

----
Biofuels - for the temperate climate, alcohol derived from Jerusalem artichokes or waste orchard fruit appears to be the proven, sustainable route of fueling cities. Crop productivity and fuel usage calculations indicate that most cities, worldwide, scale in size in such a fashion that they can produce all their vehicle fuel needs from a land area equivalent to the size of the city - as long as this calculation is not based on the inefficient, though touted, alcohol from corn - but on perennial crops such as Jerusalem artichokes. This would not contribute to the food-or-fuel scenario that detractors of this proposition point out. Key: this is proven technology, and vehicles can run on alcohol with minor modifications. In the tropics, palm oil appears to be the solution for fuel needs, based on yields.

=Collaboration=
==Review of Project Status==
== Biofuels - Current Work==
== Biofuels - Developments Needed==
=== Biofuels - General===
=== Biofuels - Specific===
==== Biofuels - Background Debriefing====
==== Biofuels - Information Work====
What is required to distill the alcohol?

Where will the energy come from to distill the alcohol?

What is the fruit to alcohol ratio?

I've visited plum brandy distilleries and they said that it was a 50:1 ratio...--[[User:Dennis|Dennis]] 08:15, 13 March 2009 (UTC)

==== Biofuels - Hardware Work====
== Biofuels - Sign-in==
=Development Work Template=
#[[Biofuels - Product Definition]]
##[[Biofuels - General]]
##[[Biofuels - General Scope]]
##[[Biofuels - Product Ecology]]
###[[Biofuels - Localization]]
###[[Biofuels - Scaleability]]
###[[Biofuels - Analysis of Scale]]
###[[Biofuels - Lifecycle Analysis]]
##[[Biofuels - Enterprise Options]]
##[[Biofuels - Development Approach]]
###[[Biofuels - Timeline]]
###[[Biofuels - Development Budget]]
####[[Biofuels - Value Spent]]
####[[Biofuels - Value available]]
####[[Biofuels - Value needed]]
##[[Biofuels - Deliverables and Product Specifications]]
##[[Biofuels - Industry Standards]]
##[[Biofuels - Market and Market Segmentation]]
##[[Biofuels - Salient Features and Keys to Success]]
#[[Biofuels - Technical Design]]
##[[Biofuels - Product System Design]]
###[[Biofuels - Diagrams and Conceptual Drawings]]
####[[Biofuels - Pattern Language Icons]]
####[[Biofuels - Structural Diagram]]
####[[Biofuels - Funcional or Process Diagram]]
####[[Biofuels - Workflow]]
###[[Biofuels - Technical Issues]]
###[[Biofuels - Deployment Strategy]]
###[[Biofuels - Performance specifications]]
###[[Biofuels - Calculations]]
####[[Biofuels - Design Calculations]]
####[[Biofuels - Yields]]
####[[Biofuels - Rates]]
####[[Biofuels - Structural Calculations]]
####[[Biofuels - Power Requirements]]
####[[Biofuels - Ergonomics of Production]]
####[[Biofuels -Time Requirements]]
####[[Biofuels - Economic Breakeven Analysis]]
####[[Biofuels - Scaleability Calculations]]
####[[Biofuels - Growth Calculations]]
###[[Biofuels - Technical Drawings and CAD]]
###[[Biofuels - CAM Files]]
##[[Biofuels - Component Design]]
###[[Biofuels - Diagrams]]
###[[Biofuels - Conceptual drawings]]
###[[Biofuels - Performance specifications]]
###[[Biofuels - Performance calculations]]
###[[Biofuels - Technical drawings and CAD]]
###[[Biofuels - CAM files whenever available]]
##[[Biofuels - Subcomponents]]
#[[Biofuels - Deployment and Results]]
##[[Biofuels - Production steps]]
##[[Biofuels - Flexible Fabrication or Production]]
##[[Biofuels - Bill of materials]]
##[[Biofuels - Pictures and Video]]
##[[Biofuels - Data]]
#[[Biofuels - Documentation and Education]]
##[[Biofuels - Documentation]]
##[[Biofuels - Enterprise Plans]]
#[[Biofuels - Resource Development]]
##[[Biofuels - Identifying Stakeholders]]
###[[Biofuels - Information Collaboration]]
####[[Biofuels - Wiki Markup]]
####[[Biofuels - Addition of Supporting References]]
####[[Biofuels - Production of diagrams, flowcharts, 3D computer models, and other qualitative information architecture]]
####[[Biofuels - Technical Calculations, Drawings, CAD, CAM, other]]
###[[Biofuels - Prototyping]]
###[[Biofuels - Funding]]
###[[Biofuels - Preordering working products]]
###[[Biofuels - Grantwriting]]
###[[Biofuels - Publicity]]
###[[Biofuels - User/Fabricator Training and Accreditation]]
###[[Biofuels - Standards and Certification Developmen]]
###[[Biofuels - Other]]
##[[Biofuels - Grantwriting]]
###[[Biofuels - Volunteer grantwriters]]
###[[Biofuels - Professional, Outcome-Based Grantwriters]]
##[[Biofuels - Collaborative Stakeholder Funding]]
##[[Biofuels - Tool and Material Donations]]
##[[Biofuels - Charitable Contributions]]

[[Category:Energy]]

Development Strategy

2009-03-13T07:47:11Z

Dennis: /* Deployment Strategy */

=Development Template=

An Index for the Open Source Technology Template is shown here, including explanation of each heading. This template, properly adapted, shall be the famework seen when you go into any of the 28 products in the links on top of this page.

==Product Definition==
##'''General''' - What is the product, what needs does it meet, why is it relevant to a village economy, and how is it relevant to making a better world
##'''General Scope''' - Options, variations in implementation, spinoffs, phases, and evolutions that the product is aimed to include. This section reveals the deployment strategy - in terms of the desirable steps to be taken towards product deployment.
##'''Product Ecology''' - Relationship to other products in a village, as well as ecological qualities of the product, including environmental, human, and technological aspects.
###Localization - how the product may be produced and sourced locally, and what global resource flows it can displace
###Scaleability - exploration of how the product may be designed to scale in production or output
###Analysis of Scale - Exploration of the appropriate scale for carrying out this enterprise, based on the notion that human orgnization works most effectively up to a certain size, after which organization begins to break down. The effective scale may change depending on the scenario.
###Lifecycle Analysis - material flows analysis, 'from crust to dust'
==Enterprise Options==
Possible enterprises that may be undertaken, as related to the given product, in the sense of [[neosubsistence]] - or providing both for the needs of the community and for outside markets. Note that village design favors neosubsistence in order to integrate participants' lifestyles for increased self-sufficiency. Enterprise may involve production of the product itself, fabrication of devices that build the product itself, production of other items using the product, education, training, certification, consulting, further R&D activities, and others
##'''Development Approach'''
###Timeline
###Development budget - This is a highly flexible item, since the core development team labor has been donated until project completion, and a research facility is available. Costs incur for materials, outsourcing, and hiring of independent contractors. All costs may be eliminated by collaborative contributions, and resources come in as they are needed in a bootstrapping fashion. In case larger contributions become available for top-down funding, it is useful to do general accounting, and to specify a required budget in terms of those allocations that would propel the project forward significantly. Thus project financial accounting should include:
####Value spent - total value of monetary and in-kind contributions utilized specifically by the project, and provided by voluntary contributions; summed in US dollars; voluntary labor is not counted
####Value available - resources that are available but have not yet been utilized
####Value needed - This is what's needed in labor and materials to complete the project under two scenarios: normal and accelerated. The normal scenario assumes voluntary labor and materials at cost. The accelerated scenario refers to spending money to outsource the necessary developments. Outsourcing means spending the money on independent contractors who would otherwise not contribute their services in a volunteer fashion. For this, labor is accounted in hours. In the industrialized world, typical professional services may be $50 per hour.
==Deliverables and Product Specifications==
Specific, robust implementations of products taken from the ''General Scope'' upon which development will focus in this wiki. Forks to different implementations or spinoffs may occur, but should initially be limited to the 28 products that may be administered by a core development team, unless the core team has a sufficient number of administrators who can retain clear direction based on purity of conception, and who can provide quality control of the content.
##'''Industry Standards''' - This is a brief summary of techniques and product specifications that are found currently in mainstream market competition. This is provided to show a frame of reference that reveals how our developments relate to the status quo, and at what point they differentiate or evolve from accepted practice.
==Market and Market Segmentation==
##'''Salient Features and Keys to Success''' - Explanation of the critical features of the '''Deliverables''', and how they can produce breakthrough developments, such as those of ecological features, durability, cost reduction, ergonomics of production, and so forth.
#'''Technical Design''' Ã¢ÂÂ The general assumptions for product design are, wherever possible: (1), lifetime design, (2), design for disassembly (DfD), (3), modularity, and (4), scaleability. Technical design progress will be visible in real-time, as updates are posted on an ongoing basis.
##''' Product System Design''' Ã¢ÂÂ This parts starts to define the technical aspects of products beyond Product Definition. This includes the product itself and framework of other products within which the product is used or fabricated. Product system design includes components of the Scope as defined in Product Definition. Different options, variations, or implementations of a product are included. Product system design is an iterative definition, such that the best approach will be pursued as additional information becomes available. Particular product development forks may be selected. Product system design includes:
###Diagrams and Conceptual Drawings - these may include:
####pattern language icons that help simplify technological discussion, see [[technology pattern language icons]]
####Structural diagram of the technology
####Funcional or process diagram
####Workflow for productive activities
===Technical Issues===
main technical issues to be addressed and resolved
===Deployment Strategy===
Prioritization of steps to be taken, such as design prototyping fabrication iterations. The goal is to build on past work, involve additional developers, obtain peer review, identify prototyping collaborations, and follow import substitution to build capacity locally, until an integrated technology base, including provision of feed stocks, is under control of a community.
#Performance specifications
#Calculations: design calculations, yields, rates, structural calculations, power requirements, ergonomics of production - labor and fatigue, time requirements for production, economic break even analysis, scalability calculations, growth calculations
#Technical drawings and CAD
#CAM files whenever available

==Component Design==
Design of components related to the product system. This will be the main thrust of the wiki, as product ecologies are based on individual components. These components are likely to be located on their own subpage, because each component design has a number of subsections:
###Diagrams
###Conceptual drawings
###Performance specifications
###Performance calculations
###Technical drawings and CAD
###CAM files whenever available

==Subcomponents==
breakdown of components into subcomponents will be provided as needed.
#'''Deployment''' - Deployment prograss is visible by the documentation provided in the sections above, but tangible results of substance can be documented by pictures, video, data, and so forth. Progress is designed to be transparent to the observer.
##'''Production steps''' - fabrication, assembly, and any strategic insights of the production process
##'''Flexible fabrication or production''' - describes infrastructure requirements (equipment, utilities, etc.), tool requirements, techniques, processes used
##'''Bill of materials''' - materials, sourcing, and prices of required materials or feedstocks
##'''Pictures and Video''' - of materials, parts, prototypes, working models
##'''Data'''- any results that are measured
#'''Documentation and Education'''- this section is dedicated to preparing and disseminating results, in the form of publications and technical reports.
##'''Documentation''' - reports on results, or more comprehensive reports educating interested individuals in mastering techniques under consideration.
==Enterprise Plans==
The bottom line to this entire project is whether economically significant goods and services can be produced in a replicable fashion. Are people able to use the presented information for entrepreneurial, right livelihood goals? The best mark of a complete development process is the number of ''independent'' replications. That is, is the information sufficiently complete and clear, such that people can egage in an entrepreneurial, subsistence, or neosubsistence opportunity? To facilitate this process, we are publishing ''enterprise plans'' that help to clarify and deploy enterprise opportunities related to the products in this wiki. Since the authors will be either directly or indirectly engaged in many or all of the projects- in an economically significan way- it is natural for working business models to be developed and shared. It may be claimed that enterprise plans, coupled with thorough background information - is the essence of a true education. A true education is one in which rapid learning enables one to be a self-sufficient, productive, and constructive steward of their community and of the greater world.
#'''Collaboration''' - this section is a clear definition of work that needs to be done and how in particular the development and deployment process can be shared with the greater community. The basic procedure is for the collaborator to learn about the background and status, and to begin addressing the issues that need to be addressed. The list of ''Developments needed'' is the basic call for contributions.
##'''Review of project status'''
##'''Current Steps''' - lists current development work that is being done
##'''''Developments needed''''' -
###General - wiki markup, supporting links, relevant background, soliciting peer reviewers, and other details at 'Identifying stakeholders' below - are always welcome.
###Specific - This is the essential part of the wiki, as it lists the specific tasks to be done for project deployment. Collaborators should view this list and pursue addressing issues.
####Background - this motivates why a particular approach or implementation was chosen, and why others have been eliminated, and, possibly, under what conditions the eliminated options could be revisited.
####Information - This is a list of information-level tasks to be done, such as collecting background information, producing designs, performing engineering calculation, doing feasibility studies
####Implementation - This is a list of hardware-level tasks, such as fabricating prototypes, procuring materials, and so forth.
##'''Sign-in''' - Please sign in with your name and contact information if you are contributing information. Name, email, and Skype are preferable. This is to facilitate communication.
#'''Resource Development''' - This section is aimed to organize resource development or funding for project deployment. This includes:
##'''Identifying stakeholders''' - this is a list and description of individuals, groups, organizations, and institutions that may be particularly interested in the product under development, at any of these levels:
###Information collaboration
####Wiki structuring, markup
####Addition of supporting references
####Production of diagrams, flowcharts, 3D computer models, and other qualitative information architecture
####Technical calculations, drawings, CAD, CAM, other technical designs
###Prototyping - collaborators with access to fabrication capacity
###Funding
###Preordering working products - see ''Soliciting stakeholders'' below ###Grantwriting - see below
###Publicity - help in getting the word out on developments, and recruiting new collaborators
###User/fabricator training and accreditation - New skills will be required to operate the economy proposed here. Training and accreditation is a natural part of product dissemination.
###Standards and certification development - Independent review will be solicited as a means to verify and control quality of products and services.
###Other
##'''Grantwriting''' - The development process is designed to have sufficient background, motivation, definition of issues, breakthrough potential, technical content, and integrated comprehensivity; such that grants and various proposals for support should fall out as a direct byproduct of the information content. This is a mechanism for outsourcing some of the fundraising function of this deployment effort. We encourage codevelopers to study any or all of the products to understand them sufficiently well to be capable of writing grants related to product deployment.
###Volunteer grantwriters - One avenue is grantwriters who volunteer to write grants at no cost grantwriters.
###Professional, outcome-based grantwriters - These grantwriters collaborate in grantwriting by adding value to the proposal effort, and get paid a percentage upon success of bringing in resources
##'''Collaborative Stakeholder Funding''' - Once products are demonstrated, we will solicit stakeholders to fund production capacity. This is a highly innovative social enterprise model, where stakeholders contribute a small amount, say $50, to the actual building of a facility for producing a specific item under the model of flexible fabrication. Funding will go towards: (1), building the flexible fabrication facility with the appropriate equipment, (2), bringing in and training a person who will operate the flexible fabrication facility. The motivation for the stakeholders is an absolutely lowest cost product - at near the price of materials - if the design is sufficiently simple and flex fab capacity is sufficiently advanced, to minimize the cost of production. The trick here is to be able to fund a facility collaboratively, such that the price reduction in the cost of production can be realized. This is essentially a question of distributing the development and production cost via a collaborative enterprise model.
##'''Tool and Material Donations'''
##'''Charitable Contributions'''

[[Category:Collaboration]][[Category:Open Engineering]]

Development Strategy

2009-03-13T07:46:03Z

Dennis: /* Enterprise Options */

=Development Template=

An Index for the Open Source Technology Template is shown here, including explanation of each heading. This template, properly adapted, shall be the famework seen when you go into any of the 28 products in the links on top of this page.

==Product Definition==
##'''General''' - What is the product, what needs does it meet, why is it relevant to a village economy, and how is it relevant to making a better world
##'''General Scope''' - Options, variations in implementation, spinoffs, phases, and evolutions that the product is aimed to include. This section reveals the deployment strategy - in terms of the desirable steps to be taken towards product deployment.
##'''Product Ecology''' - Relationship to other products in a village, as well as ecological qualities of the product, including environmental, human, and technological aspects.
###Localization - how the product may be produced and sourced locally, and what global resource flows it can displace
###Scaleability - exploration of how the product may be designed to scale in production or output
###Analysis of Scale - Exploration of the appropriate scale for carrying out this enterprise, based on the notion that human orgnization works most effectively up to a certain size, after which organization begins to break down. The effective scale may change depending on the scenario.
###Lifecycle Analysis - material flows analysis, 'from crust to dust'
==Enterprise Options==
Possible enterprises that may be undertaken, as related to the given product, in the sense of [[neosubsistence]] - or providing both for the needs of the community and for outside markets. Note that village design favors neosubsistence in order to integrate participants' lifestyles for increased self-sufficiency. Enterprise may involve production of the product itself, fabrication of devices that build the product itself, production of other items using the product, education, training, certification, consulting, further R&D activities, and others
##'''Development Approach'''
###Timeline
###Development budget - This is a highly flexible item, since the core development team labor has been donated until project completion, and a research facility is available. Costs incur for materials, outsourcing, and hiring of independent contractors. All costs may be eliminated by collaborative contributions, and resources come in as they are needed in a bootstrapping fashion. In case larger contributions become available for top-down funding, it is useful to do general accounting, and to specify a required budget in terms of those allocations that would propel the project forward significantly. Thus project financial accounting should include:
####Value spent - total value of monetary and in-kind contributions utilized specifically by the project, and provided by voluntary contributions; summed in US dollars; voluntary labor is not counted
####Value available - resources that are available but have not yet been utilized
####Value needed - This is what's needed in labor and materials to complete the project under two scenarios: normal and accelerated. The normal scenario assumes voluntary labor and materials at cost. The accelerated scenario refers to spending money to outsource the necessary developments. Outsourcing means spending the money on independent contractors who would otherwise not contribute their services in a volunteer fashion. For this, labor is accounted in hours. In the industrialized world, typical professional services may be $50 per hour.
==Deliverables and Product Specifications==
Specific, robust implementations of products taken from the ''General Scope'' upon which development will focus in this wiki. Forks to different implementations or spinoffs may occur, but should initially be limited to the 28 products that may be administered by a core development team, unless the core team has a sufficient number of administrators who can retain clear direction based on purity of conception, and who can provide quality control of the content.
##'''Industry Standards''' - This is a brief summary of techniques and product specifications that are found currently in mainstream market competition. This is provided to show a frame of reference that reveals how our developments relate to the status quo, and at what point they differentiate or evolve from accepted practice.
==Market and Market Segmentation==
##'''Salient Features and Keys to Success''' - Explanation of the critical features of the '''Deliverables''', and how they can produce breakthrough developments, such as those of ecological features, durability, cost reduction, ergonomics of production, and so forth.
#'''Technical Design''' Ã¢ÂÂ The general assumptions for product design are, wherever possible: (1), lifetime design, (2), design for disassembly (DfD), (3), modularity, and (4), scaleability. Technical design progress will be visible in real-time, as updates are posted on an ongoing basis.
##''' Product System Design''' Ã¢ÂÂ This parts starts to define the technical aspects of products beyond Product Definition. This includes the product itself and framework of other products within which the product is used or fabricated. Product system design includes components of the Scope as defined in Product Definition. Different options, variations, or implementations of a product are included. Product system design is an iterative definition, such that the best approach will be pursued as additional information becomes available. Particular product development forks may be selected. Product system design includes:
###Diagrams and Conceptual Drawings - these may include:
####pattern language icons that help simplify technological discussion, see [[technology pattern language icons]]
####Structural diagram of the technology
####Funcional or process diagram
####Workflow for productive activities
===Technical Issues===
main technical issues to be addressed and resolved
===Deployment Strategy===
Prioritization of steps to be taken, such as design Ã¢ÂÂ prototyping Ã¢ÂÂ fabrication iterations. The goal is to build on past work, involve additional developers, obtain peer review, identify prototyping collaborations, and follow import substitution to build capacity locally, until an integrated technology base, including provision of feedstocks, is under control of a community.
###Performance specifications
###Calculations: design calculations, yields, rates, structural calculations, power requirements, ergonomics of production - labor and fatigue, time requirements for production, economic breakeven analysis, scaleability calculations, growth calculations
###Technical drawings and CAD
###CAM files whenever available
==Component Design==
Design of components related to the product system. This will be the main thrust of the wiki, as product ecologies are based on individual components. These components are likely to be located on their own subpage, because each component design has a number of subsections:
###Diagrams
###Conceptual drawings
###Performance specifications
###Performance calculations
###Technical drawings and CAD
###CAM files whenever available

==Subcomponents==
breakdown of components into subcomponents will be provided as needed.
#'''Deployment''' - Deployment prograss is visible by the documentation provided in the sections above, but tangible results of substance can be documented by pictures, video, data, and so forth. Progress is designed to be transparent to the observer.
##'''Production steps''' - fabrication, assembly, and any strategic insights of the production process
##'''Flexible fabrication or production''' - describes infrastructure requirements (equipment, utilities, etc.), tool requirements, techniques, processes used
##'''Bill of materials''' - materials, sourcing, and prices of required materials or feedstocks
##'''Pictures and Video''' - of materials, parts, prototypes, working models
##'''Data'''- any results that are measured
#'''Documentation and Education'''- this section is dedicated to preparing and disseminating results, in the form of publications and technical reports.
##'''Documentation''' - reports on results, or more comprehensive reports educating interested individuals in mastering techniques under consideration.
==Enterprise Plans==
The bottom line to this entire project is whether economically significant goods and services can be produced in a replicable fashion. Are people able to use the presented information for entrepreneurial, right livelihood goals? The best mark of a complete development process is the number of ''independent'' replications. That is, is the information sufficiently complete and clear, such that people can egage in an entrepreneurial, subsistence, or neosubsistence opportunity? To facilitate this process, we are publishing ''enterprise plans'' that help to clarify and deploy enterprise opportunities related to the products in this wiki. Since the authors will be either directly or indirectly engaged in many or all of the projects- in an economically significan way- it is natural for working business models to be developed and shared. It may be claimed that enterprise plans, coupled with thorough background information - is the essence of a true education. A true education is one in which rapid learning enables one to be a self-sufficient, productive, and constructive steward of their community and of the greater world.
#'''Collaboration''' - this section is a clear definition of work that needs to be done and how in particular the development and deployment process can be shared with the greater community. The basic procedure is for the collaborator to learn about the background and status, and to begin addressing the issues that need to be addressed. The list of ''Developments needed'' is the basic call for contributions.
##'''Review of project status'''
##'''Current Steps''' - lists current development work that is being done
##'''''Developments needed''''' -
###General - wiki markup, supporting links, relevant background, soliciting peer reviewers, and other details at 'Identifying stakeholders' below - are always welcome.
###Specific - This is the essential part of the wiki, as it lists the specific tasks to be done for project deployment. Collaborators should view this list and pursue addressing issues.
####Background - this motivates why a particular approach or implementation was chosen, and why others have been eliminated, and, possibly, under what conditions the eliminated options could be revisited.
####Information - This is a list of information-level tasks to be done, such as collecting background information, producing designs, performing engineering calculation, doing feasibility studies
####Implementation - This is a list of hardware-level tasks, such as fabricating prototypes, procuring materials, and so forth.
##'''Sign-in''' - Please sign in with your name and contact information if you are contributing information. Name, email, and Skype are preferable. This is to facilitate communication.
#'''Resource Development''' - This section is aimed to organize resource development or funding for project deployment. This includes:
##'''Identifying stakeholders''' - this is a list and description of individuals, groups, organizations, and institutions that may be particularly interested in the product under development, at any of these levels:
###Information collaboration
####Wiki structuring, markup
####Addition of supporting references
####Production of diagrams, flowcharts, 3D computer models, and other qualitative information architecture
####Technical calculations, drawings, CAD, CAM, other technical designs
###Prototyping - collaborators with access to fabrication capacity
###Funding
###Preordering working products - see ''Soliciting stakeholders'' below ###Grantwriting - see below
###Publicity - help in getting the word out on developments, and recruiting new collaborators
###User/fabricator training and accreditation - New skills will be required to operate the economy proposed here. Training and accreditation is a natural part of product dissemination.
###Standards and certification development - Independent review will be solicited as a means to verify and control quality of products and services.
###Other
##'''Grantwriting''' - The development process is designed to have sufficient background, motivation, definition of issues, breakthrough potential, technical content, and integrated comprehensivity; such that grants and various proposals for support should fall out as a direct byproduct of the information content. This is a mechanism for outsourcing some of the fundraising function of this deployment effort. We encourage codevelopers to study any or all of the products to understand them sufficiently well to be capable of writing grants related to product deployment.
###Volunteer grantwriters - One avenue is grantwriters who volunteer to write grants at no cost grantwriters.
###Professional, outcome-based grantwriters - These grantwriters collaborate in grantwriting by adding value to the proposal effort, and get paid a percentage upon success of bringing in resources
##'''Collaborative Stakeholder Funding''' - Once products are demonstrated, we will solicit stakeholders to fund production capacity. This is a highly innovative social enterprise model, where stakeholders contribute a small amount, say $50, to the actual building of a facility for producing a specific item under the model of flexible fabrication. Funding will go towards: (1), building the flexible fabrication facility with the appropriate equipment, (2), bringing in and training a person who will operate the flexible fabrication facility. The motivation for the stakeholders is an absolutely lowest cost product - at near the price of materials - if the design is sufficiently simple and flex fab capacity is sufficiently advanced, to minimize the cost of production. The trick here is to be able to fund a facility collaboratively, such that the price reduction in the cost of production can be realized. This is essentially a question of distributing the development and production cost via a collaborative enterprise model.
##'''Tool and Material Donations'''
##'''Charitable Contributions'''

[[Category:Collaboration]][[Category:Open Engineering]]

Development Strategy

2009-03-13T07:43:53Z

Dennis: /* Development Template */

=Development Template=

An Index for the Open Source Technology Template is shown here, including explanation of each heading. This template, properly adapted, shall be the famework seen when you go into any of the 28 products in the links on top of this page.

==Product Definition==
##'''General''' - What is the product, what needs does it meet, why is it relevant to a village economy, and how is it relevant to making a better world
##'''General Scope''' - Options, variations in implementation, spinoffs, phases, and evolutions that the product is aimed to include. This section reveals the deployment strategy - in terms of the desirable steps to be taken towards product deployment.
##'''Product Ecology''' - Relationship to other products in a village, as well as ecological qualities of the product, including environmental, human, and technological aspects.
###Localization - how the product may be produced and sourced locally, and what global resource flows it can displace
###Scaleability - exploration of how the product may be designed to scale in production or output
###Analysis of Scale - Exploration of the appropriate scale for carrying out this enterprise, based on the notion that human orgnization works most effectively up to a certain size, after which organization begins to break down. The effective scale may change depending on the scenario.
###Lifecycle Analysis - material flows analysis, 'from crust to dust'
==Enterprise Options==
Possible enterprises that may be undertaken, as related to the given product, in the sense of [[neosubsistence]] - or providing both for the needs of the community and for outside markets. Note that village design favors neosubsistence in order to integrate participants' lifestyles for increased self-sufficiency. Enterprise may involve production of the product itself, fabrication of devices that build the product itself, production of other items using the product, education, training, certification, consulting, further R&D activities, and others
##'''Development Approach'''
###Timeline
###Development budget - This is a highly flexible item, since the core development team labor has been donated until project completion, and a research facility is available. Costs incur for materials, outsourcing, and hiring of independent contractors. All costs may be eliminated by collaborative contributions, and resources come in as they are needed in a bootstrapping fashion. In case larger contributions become available for top-down funding, it is useful to do general accounting, and to specify a required budget in terms of those allocations that would propel the project forward significantly. Thus project financial accounting should include:
####Value spent - total value of monetary and in-kind contributions utilized specifically by the project, and provided by voluntary contributions; summed in US dollars; voluntary labor is not counted
####Value available - resources that are available but have not yet been utilized
####Value needed - This is what's needed in labor and materials to complete the project under two scenarios: normal and accelerated. The normal scenario assumes voluntary labor and materials at cost. The accelerated scenario refers to spending money to outsource the necessary developments. Outsourcing means spending the money on independent contractors who would otherwise not contribute their services in a volunteer fashion. For this, labor is accounted in hours. In the industrialized world, typical professional services may be $50 per hour.
##'''Deliverables and Product Specifications''' - Specific, robust implementations of products taken from the ''General Scope'' upon which development will focus in this wiki. Forks to different implementations or spinoffs may occur, but should initially be limited to the 28 products that may be administered by a core development team, unless the core team has a sufficient number of administrators who can retain clear direction based on purity of conception, and who can provide quality control of the content.
##'''Industry Standards''' - This is a brief summary of techniques and product specifications that are found currently in mainstream market competition. This is provided to show a frame of reference that reveals how our developments relate to the status quo, and at what point they differentiate or evolve from accepted practice.
##'''Market and Market Segmentation'''
##'''Salient Features and Keys to Success''' - Explanation of the critical features of the '''Deliverables''', and how they can produce breakthrough developments, such as those of ecological features, durability, cost reduction, ergonomics of production, and so forth.
#'''Technical Design''' Ã¢ÂÂ The general assumptions for product design are, wherever possible: (1), lifetime design, (2), design for disassembly (DfD), (3), modularity, and (4), scaleability. Technical design progress will be visible in real-time, as updates are posted on an ongoing basis.
##''' Product System Design''' Ã¢ÂÂ This parts starts to define the technical aspects of products beyond Product Definition. This includes the product itself and framework of other products within which the product is used or fabricated. Product system design includes components of the Scope as defined in Product Definition. Different options, variations, or implementations of a product are included. Product system design is an iterative definition, such that the best approach will be pursued as additional information becomes available. Particular product development forks may be selected. Product system design includes:
###Diagrams and Conceptual Drawings - these may include:
####pattern language icons that help simplify technological discussion, see [[technology pattern language icons]]
####Structural diagram of the technology
####Funcional or process diagram
####Workflow for productive activities
###Technical Issues Ã¢ÂÂ main technical issues to be addressed and resolved
###Deployment Strategy Ã¢ÂÂ Prioritization of steps to be taken, such as design Ã¢ÂÂ prototyping Ã¢ÂÂ fabrication iterations. The goal is to build on past work, involve additional developers, obtain peer review, identify prototyping collaborations, and follow import substitution to build capacity locally, until an integrated technology base, including provision of feedstocks, is under control of a community.
###Performance specifications
###Calculations: design calculations, yields, rates, structural calculations, power requirements, ergonomics of production - labor and fatigue, time requirements for production, economic breakeven analysis, scaleability calculations, growth calculations
###Technical drawings and CAD
###CAM files whenever available
==Component Design==Design of components related to the product system. This will be the main thrust of the wiki, as product ecologies are based on individual components. These components are likely to be located on their own subpage, because each component design has a number of subsections:
###Diagrams
###Conceptual drawings
###Performance specifications
###Performance calculations
###Technical drawings and CAD
###CAM files whenever available
==Subcomponents==
breakdown of components into subcomponents will be provided as needed.
#'''Deployment''' - Deployment prograss is visible by the documentation provided in the sections above, but tangible results of substance can be documented by pictures, video, data, and so forth. Progress is designed to be transparent to the observer.
##'''Production steps''' - fabrication, assembly, and any strategic insights of the production process
##'''Flexible fabrication or production''' - describes infrastructure requirements (equipment, utilities, etc.), tool requirements, techniques, processes used
##'''Bill of materials''' - materials, sourcing, and prices of required materials or feedstocks
##'''Pictures and Video''' - of materials, parts, prototypes, working models
##'''Data'''- any results that are measured
#'''Documentation and Education'''- this section is dedicated to preparing and disseminating results, in the form of publications and technical reports.
##'''Documentation''' - reports on results, or more comprehensive reports educating interested individuals in mastering techniques under consideration.
==Enterprise Plans==
The bottom line to this entire project is whether economically significant goods and services can be produced in a replicable fashion. Are people able to use the presented information for entrepreneurial, right livelihood goals? The best mark of a complete development process is the number of ''independent'' replications. That is, is the information sufficiently complete and clear, such that people can egage in an entrepreneurial, subsistence, or neosubsistence opportunity? To facilitate this process, we are publishing ''enterprise plans'' that help to clarify and deploy enterprise opportunities related to the products in this wiki. Since the authors will be either directly or indirectly engaged in many or all of the projects- in an economically significan way- it is natural for working business models to be developed and shared. It may be claimed that enterprise plans, coupled with thorough background information - is the essence of a true education. A true education is one in which rapid learning enables one to be a self-sufficient, productive, and constructive steward of their community and of the greater world.
#'''Collaboration''' - this section is a clear definition of work that needs to be done and how in particular the development and deployment process can be shared with the greater community. The basic procedure is for the collaborator to learn about the background and status, and to begin addressing the issues that need to be addressed. The list of ''Developments needed'' is the basic call for contributions.
##'''Review of project status'''
##'''Current Steps''' - lists current development work that is being done
##'''''Developments needed''''' -
###General - wiki markup, supporting links, relevant background, soliciting peer reviewers, and other details at 'Identifying stakeholders' below - are always welcome.
###Specific - This is the essential part of the wiki, as it lists the specific tasks to be done for project deployment. Collaborators should view this list and pursue addressing issues.
####Background - this motivates why a particular approach or implementation was chosen, and why others have been eliminated, and, possibly, under what conditions the eliminated options could be revisited.
####Information - This is a list of information-level tasks to be done, such as collecting background information, producing designs, performing engineering calculation, doing feasibility studies
####Implementation - This is a list of hardware-level tasks, such as fabricating prototypes, procuring materials, and so forth.
##'''Sign-in''' - Please sign in with your name and contact information if you are contributing information. Name, email, and Skype are preferable. This is to facilitate communication.
#'''Resource Development''' - This section is aimed to organize resource development or funding for project deployment. This includes:
##'''Identifying stakeholders''' - this is a list and description of individuals, groups, organizations, and institutions that may be particularly interested in the product under development, at any of these levels:
###Information collaboration
####Wiki structuring, markup
####Addition of supporting references
####Production of diagrams, flowcharts, 3D computer models, and other qualitative information architecture
####Technical calculations, drawings, CAD, CAM, other technical designs
###Prototyping - collaborators with access to fabrication capacity
###Funding
###Preordering working products - see ''Soliciting stakeholders'' below ###Grantwriting - see below
###Publicity - help in getting the word out on developments, and recruiting new collaborators
###User/fabricator training and accreditation - New skills will be required to operate the economy proposed here. Training and accreditation is a natural part of product dissemination.
###Standards and certification development - Independent review will be solicited as a means to verify and control quality of products and services.
###Other
##'''Grantwriting''' - The development process is designed to have sufficient background, motivation, definition of issues, breakthrough potential, technical content, and integrated comprehensivity; such that grants and various proposals for support should fall out as a direct byproduct of the information content. This is a mechanism for outsourcing some of the fundraising function of this deployment effort. We encourage codevelopers to study any or all of the products to understand them sufficiently well to be capable of writing grants related to product deployment.
###Volunteer grantwriters - One avenue is grantwriters who volunteer to write grants at no cost grantwriters.
###Professional, outcome-based grantwriters - These grantwriters collaborate in grantwriting by adding value to the proposal effort, and get paid a percentage upon success of bringing in resources
##'''Collaborative Stakeholder Funding''' - Once products are demonstrated, we will solicit stakeholders to fund production capacity. This is a highly innovative social enterprise model, where stakeholders contribute a small amount, say $50, to the actual building of a facility for producing a specific item under the model of flexible fabrication. Funding will go towards: (1), building the flexible fabrication facility with the appropriate equipment, (2), bringing in and training a person who will operate the flexible fabrication facility. The motivation for the stakeholders is an absolutely lowest cost product - at near the price of materials - if the design is sufficiently simple and flex fab capacity is sufficiently advanced, to minimize the cost of production. The trick here is to be able to fund a facility collaboratively, such that the price reduction in the cost of production can be realized. This is essentially a question of distributing the development and production cost via a collaborative enterprise model.
##'''Tool and Material Donations'''
##'''Charitable Contributions'''

[[Category:Collaboration]][[Category:Open Engineering]]

User talk:WikiSysop

2009-03-13T07:09:36Z

Dennis:

Talk:Volunteer at Factor e Farm

2009-03-12T18:30:42Z

Dennis:

Suggestion: Identify what is involved in the sponsorship of these projects... I have no idea what a chinampa was until I hit wikipedia. Your site doesn't discuss the construction nor did I find any vids of same.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinampa

I'm very interested in your project(s)!--[[User:Dennis|Dennis]] 09:33, 8 March 2009 (PDT)

----
I think all of these items need more description. I can help but would need a lot of input from the developers of these ideas to give me a better idea of what in fact is involved. --[[User:Dennis|Dennis]] 18:30, 12 March 2009 (UTC)

* Build an Organoponic Raise Bed Remotely $225
* Build a Chinampa Remotely $1,000
* Build a Solar Cube Shelter Remotely $430
* Chick Hatching Remotely $51
* Build a Heavy Hoe Remotely $75
* Micro-Berm Around a Tree Remotely $50
* Remote Propagation of rasberry and other plants $50
* Make Biodiesel Remotely $85

Labor Volunteering (if you just want to visit to see how Factor e Farm works) Please send email before paying to ensure scheduled visit.

* Build a Raised Bed during your visit $50, takes one full day
* Build a Solar Cube Shelter during your visit $50, takes one full day
* Build Heavy Hoe $50, takes 1 hour, must run torch, grinder and welder
* Micro-Berm Around Tree $50, takes 1 hour
* Propagation of rasberry and other plants $50, takes 1 hour (in early spring)
* Make Biodeisel $50 takes one day

Project Volunteering Labor and Materials Purchase (if you're seriously considering becoming a part of Factor e Farm)

* You Build Your Factor e Farm Solar Cube $380 pre-paid, non-refundable, food is $10/day for length of visit
* You Build Your Factor e Farm Organoponic Raised Bed $175 pre-paid, non-refundable, food is $10/day for length of visit

User talk:WikiSysop

2009-03-12T18:28:16Z

Dennis: Created page with 'Can you turn off the Captcha for certain users? It's becoming a brake on my ability to supply links to research. Thanks. --~~~~'

Can you turn off the Captcha for certain users? It's becoming a brake on my ability to supply links to research. Thanks. --[[User:Dennis|Dennis]] 18:28, 12 March 2009 (UTC)

Talk:3 vs 4 jaw lathe chucks

2009-03-12T18:27:03Z

Dennis:

If it can't hold square stock then it can't be used for making precise holes, correct?

This system
http://openfarmtech.org/index.php?title=Eric_Hunting_Resource_Guide#Matrix.2FBox_Beam.2FGrid_Beam

Seems to be the most reusable system for high value steel products. Though the [http://www.tslots.com/index.html T Slot system] might be better and more versatile, it's extruded which means it is more expensive to produce.

Eric Hunting Resource Guide

2009-03-12T18:23:04Z

Dennis: /* Modular Stressed Skin Systems */

I've been mulling this over for a time and I think I can offer a list of some things to get this started. Some of this relates to research I've been doing on a T-Slot sourcebook. The outline order is not that orderly, since I was pulling a lot of things from memory, bookshelves, and loose bookmarks, but it's a start. I tried to find an order by age or sophistication within sub-categories. Other approaches may be better. I've also listed a lot of commercial sources as examples rather than sticking with just open source projects, since there are very few for many areas of technology other than software.

Open Source Tools: (these would ultimately follow the same break-down as the Commercial Tools, only they are very few at the moment)

==[[RepRap]] ==
- The first open source fabber, first to self-replicate - http://reprap.org/bin/view/Main/WebHome

==Fab@Home==
- Second open source fabber - http://fabathome.org/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

==Hextatic==
- Open CNC machine design based on hexapod/Stewart platform structure. Under development, not yet prototyped - http://fennetic.net/machines/hextatic

==NIST RoboCrane==
Relatively simple cable-based Stewart platform system built with T-Slot and suited to numerous very large area machine and robot applications such as extremely large scale CNC. Not intended to be open source technology, but, as a publicly funded research project, potentially readily acquired for such projects and another good example of T-Slot based tool design - http://www.isd.mel.nist.gov/projects/robocrane/

==BugLabs Platform==
Open Source software based (but not hardware) modular electronics platform for personal gadgets - http://buglabs.net/

==Commercial Tools:==
(obviously, this cannot cover all such tools. I'm focussing on a selection of the more advanced tools like that of the Fab Labs that are potentially leveraging independent production)

=== Multi-Tools===
(reconfigurable machine tools based on modular components):

==Unimat-1 - 6== in 1 modular miniature machine tool based on a T-Slot structure. The most advanced model is suited to light metals and potentially adaptable into a CNC platform. A good example of using T-Slot for the design of small tool systems. http://www.unimat-1.com/

==Sign/Vinyl Cutters:==
Laser Cutter/Engravers:
Hydrocutters:
Multi-Axis Milling Machines:

==Sherline==
Line of small adaptable table-top lathes and milling machines with CNC options. http://www.sherline.com/index.html

==CNC Machines:==

==Torchmate== Line of table-based CNC platforms based on T-Slot chassis for DIY assembly. Can employ router and plasma cutter heads. Good example of T-Slot use for large scale machine tool designs. http://www.torchmate.com/

===Flat Bed Printers:===
Rapid Prototyping Systems/3D Printers:

==Z Corp 3D Printers==
- Leading line of rapid prototyping systems with full color capability - http://www.zcorp.com/

===3D Scanners:===
Extruders:

==Design/Engineering Tools:==
Physical Desig, CAD/Visualization, Simulation/Analysis:

==SketchUp==
Free basic 3D modeling package sponsored by Google. Available for Mac and PC platforms. Compatible with 3Dconnexxion space mouse devices. http://sketchup.google.com/
I'm pretty strong with this application, though far from an expert--[[User:Dennis|Dennis]] 17:23, 12 March 2009 (UTC)

==Plumbing/Hydraulics/Pneumatics/Pneudraulics, fluid/pneumatic circuit design :==

Circuit Design, PCB-CAD, SPICE, VHDL, ETL, RTL

==Phonics, optics simulation:==

Software, platforms, languages, editors, APIs:

(there should be a lot of Linux related links for this section)

Fabrication Technologies: (Here we have a breakdown of fabrication technologies which would be used to categorize specific links and references. I am making here the distinction here between fabrication -the creation of largely monolithic objects- and building or construction -the assembly of an artifact from parts)

Spinning/Weaving:
Felting:
Spinning, hand, machine:
Spinneret Extrusion:
Looms, hand, machine, digital:
Knitting, hand, machine, digital:
Embroidery:

Tanning/Leatherworking:

Papermaking:
Parchment:
Vellum:
Pulp Paper:
Synthetic:

Bookbinding:
Hard Cover:
Soft Cover:

==Sculpting:==
Hand Sculpting:
Papier Mache:
Origami:
Potterywork:
Hand Forming:
Coiling:
Throwing (wheel pottery):
Jiggering (wheel lathing):

==Glassmaking:==
Blown:
Free-Form:
Crown:
Cylinder:
Blown formed:
Lampworking:
Caneworking:
Cast:
Pressed:
Rolled:
Float Glass:

==Carving/Grinding:==
Wood/Stone/Crystal:

Smelting:

Machining:
Breaks, Benders:
Die-Cutters:
Milling (drills, saws, grinders, sanders, routers, lathes, multi-axis milling):
CNC:
Flat-Bed Routers:
Sign Cutters:
Hydrocutters:
Laser Cutters, Drills, Engravers:

Forming:
Hammer Shaping/Blacksmithing:
Presses/Stampers:
Casting/Molding:
Investment Casting:
Die Casting:
Embeddment/Suspension Casting:
Compression Molding:
Thermoforming:
Vacuum Forming:
Blow-Molding:
Injection Molding:
Rotomolding:
Laminating:
Extrusion:

Surfacing:
Painting:
Etching, Relief Carving:
Tiling, Mosaic, Inlay:
Decoupage:

Lithography/Printing:
Traditional:
Plate (fixed and rotary):
Photolithography:
Xerography:
Digital Xerography:
Digital Impact:
Thermal Print:
Thermojet (inkjet):
Beam (electron, ion):
Laser Engraving, 3D Engraving:
Laser Bonding:

Fabbing/Rapid Prototyping/Stereo Lithography/3D Printing:

Culturing:
Trained and Pleached Wood/Bamboo Structures:

Modular Building Systems: (here I've put in some descriptions from my work on the T-slot Sourcebook. This is an example of how the fabrication and engineering sections would be fleshed-out)

==Matrix/Box Beam/Grid Beam==
Modular building system invented by designer Ken Isaacs in the 1950s based on square holed wood, aluminum, or steel struts/beams joined with 'trilap' bolted joints and using a scalable regular geometry. One of the earliest deliberately open source building systems.

http://www.gridbeamers.com/
How To Make Your Own Living Structures by ken Isaacs
The Box Beam Sourcebook by Richard Jergensen

==Holed Profile==
Construction based on tubular, 'L' shaped, and flat allow struts with regularly spaced holes. Though the technology is public domain, geometries are not standard from one manufacturer to another, though some are compatible with the geometry of Matrix. Popularized with the classic building toys Mechano and Erector Set. Commonly used for laboratory equipment, prototype machines, and simple home-brew construction before being supplanted by T-Slot.

==Plate Frame Systems==
Plate frame systems are most commonly seen in the electronics industry today but had their origins in the engineering of watches, clocks, and other gear-based mechanical systems and are commonly employed as the basis of electronics and machine 'chassis' structures, though they have often been employed in other uses and have featured in such things as novel furniture designs. They are based on the use of rigid plates of alloy, wood, plastics, and composites which are formed into stacks through the use of pins, posts, or blocks held in place by screws. This structure forms the basis of a frame holding static and movable components between the plates which, through the use of holes and surface-mounted fittings, hold parts in place from one or two sides. In electronics plates are usually formed of composite circuit board materials -and in earlier times materials known as 'phenolics' or 'phenolic composites' such as the well known Bakelite. In mechanical systems such as clocks alloys are the norm and may often be cut with openings for variably sized parts held in multiple stacks or to minimize weight or simply to create 'reveals' of the works for decoration. In decorative or educational machines such as 'visible' clocks clear plastic plates are sometimes used. Not strictly a true modular building system in the past, the use of plate materials with regular quadratic hole grids have sometimes been employed, particularly for the prototyping of electronics circuits and for some construction toys based on the technology. Though greatly declining in use in machine design in the late 20th century, it has seen a revival specifically in the maker movement as a result of the limitation of many early fab tools to cutting sheet material, thus inspiring new invention with plate frame designs.

==Rod & Clamp Framing==
Currently typified by its use as a framing system for the [[RepRap]] open fabber, this very old modular building system has obscure origins, possibly originating earlier than even the 19th century and may have derived from early scientific instrumentation. Very likely the origin of the concept of ball socket space frames. Based on the use of blocks with holes that clamp rods in place using a set-screw, the angle and placement of holes on the blocks determine the type of joint with 'trilap' joints supporting box frame structure common but with endless other possibilities such as octet and geodesic space frames. Blocks are typically equipped with additional fittings to support other components or cladding panels but rods can also be used to attach lighter objects or cladding using clips or simple 'C' clamps. Rods and blocks can also be used as parts of linear actuators and are sometimes precision ruled and engraved with ruling lines to allow for precision adjustable sliding elements. Produced with an endless assortment of materials but works best with alloy rods and alloy, plastic, or wood blocks and is usually limited to small light structures.

==Pipe Fitting Systems==
Possibly a derivative of Rod & Clamp systems, this common modular building system originated in the early 20th century and today has numerous producers worldwide. Popularized in the US under the brand name KeeKlamp. Public domain as a technology, but without an open source or public domain component set. Pipe Fitting Systems combine common galvanized pipe normally used for plumbing with sets of modular cast steel joints that clamp the pipes in place using a hex nut. Commonly used for institutional hand railing, playground equipment, industrial shelving, and greenhouse structures as well as many home-brew and temporary structures. Experimented with by Ken Isaacs in the 1960s as the basis of external support superstructures for lighter habitat structures.

==Space Frame Systems==
Appearing early in the 20th century, these systems were a particular fascination for Modernist designers but have never lived up to their early promise of being cheap and ubiquitous due to the inability -or refusal- of manufacturers to standardized on components across the industry. Used for everything from building toys to the largest clear-span buildings in the world, space frames are used as space-filling structures often based on octet geometry, planar trusses used for roof and floor decks, and as space enclosure systems such as the classic geodesic sphere or dome. Though once characterized as symbolic of Machine Age efficiency and expected to become ubiquitous, all commercial architectural uses of the technology to date have been based on manufacture-on-demand at outrageous cost premiums. Space frame systems come in the following types;

==Ball Socket==
uses nodal joints based on precision fabricated alloy balls with screw sockets that interface to screws on the ends of tubular alloy struts. The most common form of commercial space frame, popularized by the German Mero corporation. Often considered the strongest of the space frame joint schemes, typically only available as standardized off-the-shelf parts for very light systems used for kiosks and indoor store displays. Also considered the most sophisticated of space frame systems, it can employ the broadest range of materials for struts, including wood, plastic, FRP, fiberglass and carbon fiber composites, high-strength ceramics, and even solid wood or laminates. Even super-pressure pneumatic membrane struts have been used with this. Can be highly decorative with various anodized or powder coat treatments of parts or the use of wood or wood veneer over struts. The high precision needed for ball socket fabrication has long been a barrier to hobbyist or home-brew use of the type.

==Novum (formerly Mero)==
http://www.novumstructures.com/novum/
==Cast Socket==
uses nodal joints based on cast or milled alloys to which struts attach by bolts perpendicular to the strut. Very often uses square or rectangular tubular profiles for struts, offering more cladding options over ball socket systems but at a cost in aesthetics. Also often uses modular units for nodes to simplify their fabrication and allow for some variation of geometry from a smaller set of parts. Easier to fabricate than ball socket but still challenging for home-brew development.

==Crimp and Clamp: ==
Specific to the use of enclosure space frames such as geodesic domes and to the use of light alloy tubular struts, is based on crimping the ends of struts then rolling their flattened ends to create a precision angled pin that is clamped in slotted tubular or solid cylinder node joints. Has the great advantage of reducing the node parts to simple standard shapes but the crimping and rolling of the struts tends to limit them to malleable steel alloys and highly stressed the metal, leading to potential fatigue failures that limits its use to light structures. Very common for playground domes and tent domes.

==Plate Node==
The simplest of space frame systems, is based on stamped alloy nodes that hold struts by perpendicular bolts. Largely the same as cast sockets save for the use of flat plate alloy that is stamped, folded, and rolled into the necessary shapes and sometime based on multiple pieces in order to sandwich struts between two or more plates for increased strength. Very commonly used for home-brew geodesic domes, is very commonly employed by DIY builders and is one of the few types that can effectively use wood as a strut material, thus it is standard for wood framed dome home products.

==Plate Module: ==
A departure from traditional systems and a derivative of plate truss systems, plate module systems employ plates as both node AND strut, using a large triangulated piece of flat material that interfaces to others, often with the use of an alloy plate or other interface. Plates are often fashioned with an open space in their inner area but are also used 'closed web'. The approach is typified by the Fly's Eye Dome devised by Fuller but can be stronger when used as the basis of box trusses and planar truss structures. Typically based on stamped alloys, it can also use common sheet materials like plywood. Has recently been studied as the basis of robotic self-assembling space frames based on equipping each plate modular with active components that allow them to climb over each other and link into place with powered locking hinges.

==Glue Socket:==
A recent invention intended to find ways of using bamboo as a strut material in space frame structutres, glue socket space frames are inspired by classic wooden construction toys. Wooden blocks are precision milled to form nodal joins with hole sockets similar to ball socket nodes but shaped more like cast nodes. Struts of wood, engineered lumber, or bamboo are then inserted into the sockets and a high performance adhesive is pressure-injected into the socket to glue the strut permanently in place. High natural uniformity is necessary when using bamboo members.

==Tensegrity: ==
First devised by Kenneth Snelson but often wrongly attributed to Buckminster Fuller who adopted the concept as an expression of his Synergetics concept, this class of space frame structures is based on combining tension cables and rigid struts in self-tensioned networks where struts join only to tension cables. One of the most sophisticated of space frame types, their full potential remains unexploited despite being well suited to Maker experimentation. Introduction of nanofiber cable materials is likely to see great expansion of this form of structure.

==N55 Space Frame - ==
A unique variant of 'L' profile based holed profile systems using specially formed galvanized steel struts bolted together at nested ends to create and octet space frame structure. Can integrate roto-molded/blow-molded polyethylene containers also designed by N55 and open source. N55 Space Frame has a relatively high parts count for its structures but has been used to produce large and complex structures including buildings, floating platforms able to support buildings, suspended/hanging platforms, pontoon boats, and an endless variety of machines, furniture, and even sculptural objects.

http://www.n55.dk/MANUALS/SPACEFRAME/spaceframe.html

==Modular Wooden Post & Beam==
The oldest of modular framing systems with examples thousands of years old, this building system is typified by pre-industrial architecture but is not exclusive to architectural uses. The most refined of the traditional Post & beam systems may come from the Japanese tradition with housing based on the 'ken' system of modularity based on the dimensional standards of tatami floor matting. Japanese architecture and furniture were often a source of inspiration to early Modernist designers. Wooden Post & Beam framing is usually based on simple rectilinear geometry and employs wooden posts and beams with integral carved wooden tongue & groove joint elements locked with sometimes hidden wooden pegs. Contemporary systems have employed steel plate secured by bolts. X and Y axis posts typically must employ different planes to interface at common posts, but Japanese and more contemporary joinery have sometimes overcome this limitation. Despite its age and natural modularity, no true standardized mass-produced systems have ever evolved. The Japanese systems came closest to realizing this before being supplanted by western building system with industrialization. Many modular systems have been developed on a per-design basis, but not as a generalized building system, though no technical obstacles exist for this. The chief obstacles for its common use today are the high skill required for fabrication of its joinery, the increasing scarcity and cost solid lumber of large dimensions, and the high mass of its components as architectural scales.

==Bali-T Houses Polynesian-Modern style kit homes==
http://www.balithouse.com/
Shelter Kit - post & beam kit homes based on bolted joint systems - http://www.shelter-kit.com/
Kure-Tec steel plate joinery system for post & beam framing. (also used with Volkshaus system) - http://www.tatsumi-web.com/hp/home/new-index.htm

==Modular Block Masonry==
Traditional block masonry, originating with the adobe block, is a very ancient building technology with the production of such blocks often considered the first form of mass production industry. But while such blocks are inherently modular themselves, this form of building has not often been regarded as a modular building system owing to the lack of direct interface between blocks. Adhesive mortar holds brick/block walls together, thus masonry has typically been seen as a means to create monolithic structures from small units. However, in the 20th century the ability to machine-produce blocks with much higher precision than before has lead to the use of direct block-to-block mechanical interfacing intended to reduce or eliminate the need for mortar in construction. This has also expanded the range of materials and uses for this beyond the architectural. However, as with many other forms of modular building, no definitive standard systems have ever evolved and one is usually limited to systems designed by a particular block manufacturer. Typified today by the construction toy Lego, modular block systems are characterized by the reliance upon a mechanical interface between blocks to hold them together rather than any kind of glue or mortar -though these may be used to create a water-proof seal- and the use of blocks of different shape to support the varying topology and features of a structure. Blocks may fit together in multiple planes of interface like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle or they may rely on a separate system of tie-rods, bolts, or pins which link them together. Traditional materials such as earth, clay, concrete, and stone are common -since this is still dominated by architectural uses- but many more materials are now used such as engineered lumber, engineered (cast) stone, gypsum composites, ceramics, cast and molded glass, shaped alloy profiles, and plastics. Recently, the use of blocks featuring active robotic systems allowing for self-assembly of structures and machines have been explored among robotics designers. Though a public domain technology in general, the only modular block systems to get close to an open source building system standard have been precision compressed earth block systems such as the Auram system. (http://www.earth-auroville.com/?nav=menu&pg=auram&id1=7)

==FRP Frame & Panel==
A very recently introduced technology, FRP frame and panel systems are based on the use of fiberglass reinforced pultruded plastics extruded in systems of self-interlocking posts, beams and corrugated panels held together mechanically. Emerging mostly in industrial building uses, has been experimented with as the basis of housing on the premise that plastic is actually more environmentally sound than it has long been given credit for based on its use of recycled cellulose and the low energy overhead of its production compared to alloys and concrete. Currently no open source or public domain systems exist nor are there any truly standard systems independent of any one manufacturer, though there may be no obstacles to the creation of these. Little explored because of its newness, FRP has has much potential as a maker technology owing to the relatively small scale and low energy of pultrusion systems compared to alloy extrusion and the potential to develop epoxies that are low-toxic and plant sourced.

==Modular Stressed Skin Systems==
Stressed skin systems are typified by the semi-monocoque structures common to early aircraft and boats as well as 'woven panel domes' where a kind of geodesic dome is made by layered panels and tension structures where a tent-like membrane is tensioned by a system of frames or piers. Stressed skin systems are generally based on the combination of a 'skin' or 'hull' structure that is tensioned by either its own material stiffness or by a frame structure so as to translate localized compression forces into distributed tension forces. In effect. working in the manner of a 'closed web' or 'box' truss or a 'tensegrity' structure employing a skin rather than tension cables. Though a common structural technique, very few attempts have been made to modularize these systems on anything but a self-contained macrostructural element level -in effect using these kinds of structures as a whole unit element of a much larger structure. The International Space Station is a good example of this approach. However, in a few instances attempts at modularizing the component elements of a stressed skin structure have been explored, most commonly in the form of contemporary tents and tension structures and in the use of plywood or SIP (structural insulated panel) shell structures. Plywood domes (http://www.sover.net/~triorbtl/rd18.html), hypoid or conics roof systems (http://www.fishrock.com/conics/), and systems like Vinay Gupta's Hexayurt (http://hexayurt.com/) may be some of the best current examples of this. In the 1960s designer Ken Isaacs experimented with stressed skin plywood cabin or 'microhouse' designs that employed standardized modular panel and spar elements connected by small block joints or alloy angles, the edge seams sealed with aluminum tape. Some of the more LEM-spacecraft-like designs Isaacs employed have been revived recently with new geometry in work by N55 (http://www.n55.dk/MANUALS/MICRO_DWELLINGS/micro_dwellings.html) Conventional wood frame systems for housing have evolved into a kind of stressed skin system based on the reliance on external cladding (and to a lesser extent internal cladding) for structural integrity. These, however, have only recently begun being used in any modular way on the level of panel module systems using factory produced panels or OSB based SIPs. No standardized systems have developed for this in the conventional housing industry in the western world, but one potential standardized system does exist, however, in the form of the Volkshaus system developed in Japan by the design group Landship (http://www.landship.co.jp/) and marketed commercially by several companies. (http://www.a-kit.com/) An evolution in some ways of the traditional Japanese 'ken' system, Volkshaus uses steel plate joined post and beam framing with prefabricated stressed skin composite wall, floor, and roofing panels. In spite of its heritage, the resulting sophisticated homes have more in common with Scandinavian contemporary housing in their appearance. The system is potentially feasible in both a DIY and factory setting, though currently its use is dominated by several companies in Japan. Its developers have produced books and even design software for builders, but only in Japanese.

==T-Slot Aluminum Profile Framing==
The premier modular building system today, is based on the use of extruded aluminum alloy profiles that feature integral T-shaped channels to which bolt connectors are attached to link them into simple post and beam frame structures to which can be attached an endless assortment of modular fittings and equipment. Fittings allow for surface-mount attachment as well as integral of attachment based on fitting mounted inside the ends of profiles. Profiles also often feature multiple hollow interior channels both for reinforcement and to serve as the basis pneumatic and hydraulic power distribution or can serve as cable runs. Truss systems have also been made with these, based on open and closed web trusses assembled as composites of several profiles and connecting parts. In a few cases space frames have been produced. Appearing sometime in the 20th century, T-Slot was introduced in the late 1960s or early 1970s for the construction of custom industrial automation systems, offering a powerful solution for the high cost for the development and adaptation of automated systems. It quickly became ubiquitous for laboratory equipment and prototype robotics and eventually supplanted Box Beam as the most popular building system among eco-technology experimenters. With very high strength to weight performance and a growing variety of profile shapes, new alternative materials such as carbon fiber, FRP, and wood, and a huge worldwide catalog of accessory parts, today its list of uses are endless and with the recent introduction of large scale profiles it has begun being used for housing and plug-in architecture systems based on post and beam structures. With most new digital machine tools commonly being prototyped using T-Slot, the variety of sources very numerous, and the variety of the off-the-shelf parts very high, T-Slot represents one of the best choices for maker projects. However, it remains somewhat costly due to manufacturer pricing focused on a typically spendthrift technical/industrial business market. Curiously, as ubiquitous as it is, T-Slot remains little known at the DIY enthusiast level, largely due to a lack of any media about its use. Similarly, most manufacturers of T-Slot products are so culturally focused on the industrial market they are largely oblivious to the huge variety of other uses their own products have actually been put to.

Need a picture of the T slot here.--[[User:Dennis|Dennis]] 18:23, 12 March 2009 (UTC)

MK Profiles - http://www.mkprofiles.com/default.asp
Bosch Profiles - http://www.boschrexroth-us.com/country_units/america/united_states/en/products/brl/product_overview1/mge/index.jsp
80:20 - http://www.8020.net/
Tslots -http://www.tslots.com/index.html
Jeriko House - http://www.jerikohouse.com/
iT House - http://www.tkithouse.com/
Tomahouses - http://www.tomahouse.com/

=Non-Modular Building Systems:=

==Traditional Carpentry==
Supported by the vast majority of off-the-shelf tools and contemporary DIY literature, traditional wood carpentry remains the most common set of techniques used for independent manufacture in the western world. However, it is also entirely limited to wood and engineered wood materials, severely limiting the range of practical artifacts it is capable of producing. Though decorative techniques can be extremely elaborate, wooden assemblies are commonly based on fitted box panel and box frame structures using tab, biscuit, mortice and tendon, dovetail, small nail and screw, small metal fitting, glue, and slot/key joinery at the small scale and post and beam, stressed skin, and 'light wood' or 'platform' framing using mortice and tendon, nail, and bolt joiner at the large scale. More sophisticated techniques include the use of space frames and formed/bent wood and laminates. Without the benefits of modularity, traditional carpentry tends to demand high skill levels and labor to compete in quality with factory products and can be wasteful of an increasingly unsustainable resource, particularly at large scales. Sustainability has improved to a small degree with the increased use of engineered lumber materials using formerly waste material, though sometimes at the compromise of latent toxicity from chemicals. The introduction of materials like wheatboard and new bamboo and other more renewable lumber alternatives offers some hope for improving this further, though most of these new materials remain beyond the means of small scale production and unavailable from typical lumber sources.

==Welded Profile Spaceframe Systems==
Welded profile space frame systems employ tubular alloy profiles in typically round or square profile shapes as the basis of a structure assembled with welded joints. They usually employ either rectilinear box frames -typical of housing uses and machine structures/enclosures, or triangulated trusses but can be elaborated into complex free-form shapes through the custom-bending of frame members, as demonstrated by the space frame chassis of some vehicles. Though not modular in themselves due to their welded connections and often non-regular topology, when standardized over a whole form they can serve very well as the foundation for modular retrofit components, as also well demonstrated by their vehicle applications. Indeed, this is the most-likely basis of the design and production of larger open source artifacts such as automobiles, given that the technology offers superior performance characteristics to the more conventional pressed steel welded unibody construction of factory-produced automobiles (hence its common use in race cars and military vehicles) while still being suited to the scale of production of a very small machine shop. Welded profile space frame structures based on structural steel profiles have also been a mainstay for housing applications among Modernist architects and have proven very effective. Such housing has often seen an attempt by designers to modularize their structures through standardized component dimensions and the use of large modular sectional frames that are partly prefabricated and partly site assembled.

==Composite Shells==Composites shells are rigid shell structures which are made of a combination of resins and fiber reinforcement, commonly in the forms of fiberglass, polyester, and carbon fiber. Though employed in such advanced applications as aircraft structures, the basic techniques used may have their origins in the simple techniques of papier-mache; the method of making sculptures from layers of glue/starch-soaked paper strips. Several techniques are common; formed, foam-core, free-form, and wound. Formed composite shells are made by creating removable forms, usually of plywood or corrugated cardboard, in an either concave or convex shape to which resin-soaked mats or tape are applied in multiple layers to build up a rigid shell finished in a smooth coating of resin. Small structures are usually self-rigid but larger more complex shapes can often be reinforced by bonding in flat or tubular spars of pre-made composite to create a monocoque or stressed skin structure. Large structures are sometimes produced in sections which are mechanically assembled along facing edge spars before being 'knit' together to seal their seams. This allows for the build-up of large structures by using assemblages of thin unfinished sectional shells as permanent forms for thicker shells built-up on top of them. Foam core shells are made by carving blocks of polyurethane or polystyrene foam into the desired shape then applying the resin-soaked fiber layers leaving the foam permanently in place. This technique is commonly employed in the creation of surf boards and pontoon hulls. The technique allows for intricate shapes based on the density of foam used but is best suited to structures that are intended to be monolithic in character, as surf boards are. Double-sided finished shell structures are possible based on using hollow foam structures sculpted to shape on both exterior and interior surfaces. Free-form shells are based on the use of wire mesh as a sacrificial form to construct a desired shape which is then covered in layers of resin-soaked fiber. This technique allows for very intricately detailed sculptural forms over very large areas. Wound shells are made by mounting a form structure on a large axial spindle which allows it to be rotated whole as fiber is applied as a continuous string or tape in a continuous semi-automated process. Rigs are sometimes designed to allow windings in multiple directions for each layer or wound layers may alternate with matted layers. This most sophisticated composite shell technique is used almost exclusively by the aerospace industry to make composite carbon fiber aircraft structures and fuel tanks but has also been used for the creation of super-pressure pneumatic tanks used for compressed air powered vehicles and energy storage systems.

Monocoque and Stressed Skin Structures - Typically associated with ships and aircraft, this class of structures is also common to structures using composite shell construction and and is characterized by the use of skin materials tensioned by their own stiffness and/or the use of an internal framework. In a stressed skin system, or semi-monocoque, the skin material may have no stiffness and rely entirely on a frame structure combining spars with perpendicular stringers or triangulated struts. This internal frame is intended to translate internal and external loads into tension on the skin material. In a true monocoque the stiffness of the skin material alone, usually employing rounded shapes, is relied on for strength but may be supplemented by spars, whose chief job is to communicate internal loads to the exterior shell without concentrating them on any one skin point. Favored for their strength-to-weight performance, these structures can be some of the most complex to build combining many techniques and using many different materials. Key among the engineering challenges is the means to interface skin materials of limited dimensions. Limited by the practical dimensions of lumber, early ships employed complex mortice and tendon system to join relatively thin planks into large area shells that behaved as though they were monolithic. Of course, they were never entirely waterproof. Later techniques based on lamination of wood, the gluing of fabrics, and riveting and welding of alloys emerged. Today, continuous welding of alloys and laminate polymer/fiber composites are common. True monocoque structures represent the highest challenge for casual makers owing to the very large skill sets and precision they require. Stressed skin systems are much less challenging in this respect and can be produced with fairly simple materials.

Pressed Alloy Shell Structures - A derivative of monocoque structures, this class of structures is typified by the humble soup can and the welded steel unibody construction as commonly employed in automobile manufacture. Essentially, curved or corrugated shapes are pressed out of flat sheet alloy stock and roll-seam-joined or welded together into a self-rigid structure. Rigidity is dependent largely on the curving forms employed in the component shapes, but simple sharp-edged forms are possible where flat surface areas are minimal. Ubiquitous in the production of many Industrial Age products prior to the introduction of plastics, the technology remains common for automobiles and large appliances and is often exploited by manufacturers as a means to control competition by industry standardization of production equipment of extreme scale and capital overhead. This generally imposes a great barrier to Maker use of this form of structure except at scale suited to parts fabrication by very small hydraulic presses or hammer-forming of pieces by hand.

Cast/Milled Block/Chassis Structures - Structures of this class are based on the use of a block or frame chassis structure which is cast whole or milled from a single or small set of blocks and used as the foundation for attachment of other components to build-up an overall structure. Casting and milling are, of course, fabrication techniques, not building methods, but when a cast or milled structured is used as the foundation of an assemblage of parts, it becomes a building system, sometimes suited to modularization. As with many other non-modular building methods, this type of structures has generally been very limited in its potential use by Makers owing to the large scales and high skill overhead of the base fabrication methods needed for its parts. But at small scales one can function within the limits of digital CNC which makes this a more practical option. Commonly based on alloys, this type of structure can employ any material that is millable or castable and can support the attachment of components by bolts, welding, or adhesives.

Masonry Structures - This class of structures falls into three basic categories; monolithic structures usually relying on bi-state plastic materials like concretes relying on formwork to control form during state transition of the material, stacked or rubble structures which rely on found materials like stones with human skill relied on to control form through selection, and block systems which rely on the regular geometry of prefabricated blocks to control form. Many forms of hybridization exist between these three basic categories as well as the use of conventional carpentry. Originating with the use of hand-formed clay/mud structures, this represents one of the oldest of all known building technologies, with a legacy suggested at over 10,000 years old and strongly associated with the development of the related technologies of pottery fabrication and ceramics. However, it is also a technology that has long resisted improvement of its basic limitation; high labor overhead. It is also a technology generally limited to architectural applications, though in some cases can be employed in the creation of furniture, sculpture, low-tech appliances like wood stoves, and some stationary machines like kilns, furnaces, stationary engines and pumps, and the like. For most of history masonry construction has been dominated by the materials of clay-bearing earth and stone with some use of primitive geopolymers and fired bricks in Roman times. With industrialization came expanded use of fired bricks and the emergence of portland cement based concretes but earth still dominated in much of the world. In modern times fired brick has been largely eliminated as economically impractical and concrete and prefabricated concrete block have been dominant but accompanied by a great diversity of other technologies and materials including extruded clay panels and blocks, gypsum block and plank, engineered stone, glass block, advanced geopolymers, and in-situ machine extruded masonry. Modular slip-formed and factory-precast concrete remain the current leaders in low-labor technology but may soon find competition from in-situ extrusion technologies offering the prospects of 'fabbing' masonry structures by computer control. Since the latter part of the 20th century earthen construction has seen a revival of use in developed countries based on its environmental characteristics, yet has seen little improvement in labor overhead beyond the use of hydraulically compressed earth block. earth bag/superadobe, and slip-formed cast earth techniques.

Ferro-cement - Most commonly employed in the creation of concrete sculptures and free-form organic architecture, ferro-cement was originally invented in the early 20th century as a means to make yacht hulls from cement. The basic technique involves the use of a wire mesh or mesh lathing (as used in plasterwork) as foundation for an application of hand-applied or sprayed concrete, known commonly as 'shotcrete' because it's 'shot' from a hose under pressure using a peristaltic concrete pump or by compressed air using a plaster spraying device known as a tirolessa. The technique produces very thin but strong cement shell structures and, though sometimes used with tension frames to create a kind of tilt-up masonry panel, it is most commonly used to create domes, spheres, hypoid, conic shells shapes or large flowing sculptural shapes based on the use of free-form wire mesh, sometimes employing double-shell structures with a core of pumicecrete or polymer foam as insulation. Recently, manufacturers have introduced prefabricated ferro-cement foundation panels combining wire mesh over and through a polymer foam core which can be used flat or cut and bent to some degree into more fluid shapes. (see http://www.tridipanel.com/) Ferro-cement is the mainstay of the Free-Form Organic school of architecture, whose buildings feature elaborate complexes of non-euclidean shapes with formed-in-place furnishings and which is often regarded as the closest current analogy to architecture likely to result with the advent of advanced nanotechnology.

Ferrocement.com - http://www.ferrocement.com/
Flying Concrete - http://www.geocities.com/flyingconcrete/steve.htm
Vetsch Architecture - http://www.erdhaus.ch/main.php?fla=y&lang=en&cont=start

Pneumatic Structures - This class of structure is a derivative of stressed skin or tension structures based on non-rigid material that rely on internal pressure to provide them with rigidity. They are typically formed of welded/glued panels of polymer or polymer-composite materials fashioned so as to hold a relatively high internal pressure. Commonly seen in pool toys and inflatable novelty furniture, this technology is suited to very serious tasks such as the construction of airships, winged aircraft, and very large span building enclosures. With new membrane materials such as mylar, kevlar, tefzel, and in the future nanomembranes extremely high permanent internal pressures are now possible, allowing this fairly simple technology to produce very strong structures as rigid and solid as any more conventional material. Though still experimental, such materials have been used as wall and window panels in buildings and for struts in space frame structures.

Tension Structures - Similar to stressed skin systems, tension structures are typified by tensioning of a non-rigid material by perimeter edge anchoring to various forms of internal or external framework, anchor points, or piers. Though most commonly used as the basis of light enclosures -sometimes of enormous areas- they can also be used as the basis of tensegrity structures like bicycle wheels and geodesic tents and used as the basis of various machines and hybrid transforming structures such as Hoberman structures. One of the few forms of non-modular structures that are extremely well suited to Maker exploration.

Xanadome large area tefzel structures - http://www.xanadome.com/
Birdair large area tension structures based on PTFE - http://www.birdair.com/
Shelter Systems tend domes based on GripClip skin attachment - http://www.shelter-systems.com/

==Textile Structures==Commonly seen in the creation of clothing, furniture upholstery, toys, and the like this class of structure has evolved to include a complex assortment of hybrids where sewn and welded textiles are rigidized through internal filler material and frameworks that sometimes border on tension structure or stressed skin systems. Most exploration of this form of structure has been limited to furniture and toy design and 'soft sculpture' art but with the advent of sophisticated variable density structural foam polymers many new possibilities are emerging and we may soon see this form of structure commonly used in a growing variety of artifacts including such applications as personal housing on orbit, relief shelters, and vehicle bodies.

=Engineering:=

Chemical:
Inorganic:
Organic:
Biochemical:
Mechanical:

Hydrodynamics/Aerodynamics:

Plumbing/Sewerage:

Pneudraulics:

Electrical:

Heating/Cooling/HVAC:

Electronics/Radio:

Computers/Networking/Telecommunications:
Software:

Photonics/Optics:
Fiber Optics:
Lasers:

Energy:
Combustion Engine Systems:
Rankin Cycle Systems:
Solar-Dynamic:
Photovolatic:
Heliostat Lighting Systems:
Wind:
Hydro:
Marine:
Geothermal:
Biofuels:
Cogeneration:
Energy Storage/Transport:
Battery:
Redox:
Hydrogen:
Hydrides:

Biotechnology:
Selective Breeding/Culturing:
Cell/Tissue Culturing:
Industrial Bioreactors:

Waste/Recycling:
Waste To Feedstock Reduction:
Design For Reuse:
Upcycling:
Waste To Energy Conversion:

Nanotechnology:
Chemosynthesis:
Protein Systems:
Statistical Assembly/Sequencers/Mixer Plants:
Mechanosynthesis:
Desktop ATM Systems/NanoLathes:
Biosynthesis:

Agricultural Techniques:

Conventional:

Organic:

Container Farming:

Hydroponics:

Living Machine Systems:
Air:
Plant Air Purifiers:
Water:
Graywater Systems:
Sewerage Systems:
Natural Swimming Pools:
Abatement Barges/Floats:
CELSS (closed environment life support systems):
Drip Irrigation:
Flood/Drain:
NFT:
Aeroponics:
Semi-Permeable Pressurized Grow-Structures:
Curtain Systems:
Raft/Trough Systems:
Rotating/Moving Frame Systems:

Cold-Bed Farming:

Permaculture:

Terra Preta:

Mariculture:

Mono-Species:
Pen:
Tank:
Containerized:
Frame:

Poly-Species:

==Deep Water Fed Poly-Species:==

Free-Range Fish Farming:

==Algaeculture:==
Trough:
Tank:
Solar Panel:
Flex Tube or Curtain:

Animal Husbandry:

Other Open Source Projects:

SourceForge - http://www.sourceforge.com/
Linux OS - http://www.linux.com/
Access Grid open teleconferencing - http://www.accessgrid.org/
DevShed open web tutorials - http://www.devshed.com/
Gridbeamers - http://www.gridbeamers.com/
Hexayurt Project - http://hexayurt.com/
Open Source Ecology - http://openfarmtech.org/
OSKOMAK - http://oscomak.net/
OScar - http://www.theoscarproject.org/
Openmoko - http://www.openmoko.com/
Arduino - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arduino
Global Peace Containers - http://www.gbs-gpc.com/
Bamboo Bike - http://www.bamboobike.org/Home.html

=General Resources:=

==Books:==

Bolo`Bolo - P.M.
Cohousing - Kathryn McCamant and Charles Durrett
How to Survive Without a Salary: Learning How to Live the Conserver Lifestyle - Charles Long
The Velvet Monkeywrench - John Muir and Peter Aschwanden
How To Keep Your Volkswagen Alive - Muir, Gregg, and Aschwanden
The Septic System Owner's Manual - Kahn, Allen, Jones, and Aschwanden
How To Make Your Own Living Structures - Ken Isaacs
The Box Beam Sourcebook - Richard Jergensen
Nomadic Furniture 1 & 2 - Hennessey and Papanek
High-Tech: The Industrial Style and Source Book For the Home - Joan Kron and Suzanne Slesin
Original Whole Earth Catalog, Special 30th Anniversary Issue - Peter Warshall and Stewart Brand
Foxfire 1, 2, and 3 - Eliot Wigginton
The Findhorn Garden - The Findhorn Community and William Irwin Thompson
Permaculture One and Two - Bill Mollison , David Holmgren
Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability - David Holmgren
The Owner-Built Home - Ken Kern
The Timeless Way of Building - Christopher Alexander
Ceramic Houses and Earth Architecture: How to Build Your Own - Nader Khalili
Emergency Sandbag Shelter - Nader Khalili
Building With Earth - Paulina Wojciechowska
Earth Construction Handbook: The Building Material Earth in Modern Architecture - Gernot Minke
Home Work: Handbuilt Shelter - Lloyd Kahn
Earth Building and the Cob Revival: A Reader - The Cob Cottage Company
The Cob Builders Handbook - Becky Bee
The Craft of Modular Post & Beam: Building log and timber homes affordably - James Mitchell
Low-Cost Pole Building Construction - Ralph Wolfe
Measure and Construction of the Japanese House - Heino Engel
Japanese Homes and Their Surroundings - Edward S. Morse
Independent Builder: Designing & Building a House Your Own Way (Real Goods Independent Living Books) - Sam Clark
Growing Clean Water : Nature's Solution to Water Pollution - John D. Wolverton and B. C. Wolverton
How to Grow Fresh Air: 50 House Plants that Purify Your Home or Office - B. C. Wolverton
Application of vascular aquatic plants for pollution removal, energy and food production in a biological system
(NASA technical memorandum) - B. C Wolverton
Aquatic plant/microbial filters for treating septic tank effluent - B. C Wolverton
Aquatic plants for ph adjustment and removal of toxic chemicals and dissolved minerals from water supplies - B. C Wolverton
Envisioning Information - Edward R. Tufte
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, 2nd edition - Edward R. Tufte
Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative - Edward R. Tufte
Structure in Nature is a Strategy for Design - Peter Pearce
Fab: The Coming Revolution on Your Desktop--from Personal Computers to Personal Fabrication - Neil Gershenfeld
Shaping Things - Bruce Sterling
Design Like You Give a Damn - Architecture for Humanity, Kate Stohr, and Cameron Sinclair
Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century - Alex Steffen, Al Gore, and Stephan Sagmeister

Magazines:

Make - http://makezine.com/
Ready Made - http://readymademag.com/blog/
Desktop Engineering - http://www.deskeng.com/
NASA Tech Briefs - http://www.techbriefs.com/
Dwell - http://www.dwell.com/
Growing Edge - http://www.growingedge.com/magazine/
Mother Earth News - http://www.motherearthnews.com/
Robot Magazine - http://www.botmag.com/

Web Sites:

Blogs:

Make Blog - http://blog.makezine.com/
Instructibles - http://www.instructables.com/
Ready Made Blog - http://readymade.com/blogs/rmblog
Finkbuilt - http://www.finkbuilt.com/blog/
DIY Life - http://www.diylife.com/
Fab Prefab - http://www.fabprefab.com/
BldBlog - http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/
Apartment Therapy - http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/
Inhabitat - http://www.inhabitat.com/
Dezeen - http://www.dezeen.com/
Design.nl - http://design.nl/
NotCot - http://www.notcot.org/
Design Zen - http://designzen.wordpress.com/
MocoLoco - http://mocoloco.com/
Treehugger - http://www.treehugger.com/index.php
Metaefficient - http://www.metaefficient.com/
Eco-Geek - http://www.ecogeek.org/
Life @ Arcsanti - http://arcosanti.wordpress.com/
KurzweilAI.net - http://www.kurzweilai.net/
Technovelgy - http://www.technovelgy.com/
Other:
Greenpages - http://www.eco-web.com/
OIKOS Green Building Sources - http://oikos.com/
Global Eco-Village Network - http://gen.ecovillage.org/
Earthship Biotecture - http://www.earthship.net/
Earth-Auroville Labs - http://www.earth-auroville.com/
Cal-Earth - http://www.calearth.org/
Arcosanti - http://www.arcosanti.org/
Foresight Institute - http://www.foresight.org/index.html
MIT Center for Bits and Atoms - http://cba.mit.edu/
Biomimicry Institute - http://www.biomimicryinstitute.org/
Buckminster Fuller Institute - http://bfi.org/
DaVinci Institute - http://www.davinciinstitute.com/
Institut für Baubiologie + Oekologie Neubeuern (IBN) - http://www.baubiologie-ibn.de/
Dave Gingery Publishing (legendary Gingery Machines) - http://www.lindsaybks.com/dgjp/index.html
Lindsay Technical Books (legendary DIY tech publications) - http://www.lindsaybks.com/index.html
Small Parts (popular inventors/researcher's supply) - http://www.smallparts.com/
American Science & Surplus (legendary tech surplus store) - http://www.sciplus.com/
GripClips - http://shelter-systems.com/gripclips/index.html
Wood Central woodworker's on-line portal - http://www.woodcentral.com/
How-To Hydroponics kit plans - http://www.howtohydroponics.com/
Hydroponics free DIY plans - http://members.mailaka.net/norm34/
Garden of Delights exotic fruit plants supply - http://www.gardenofdelights.com/default.htm

Eric Hunting
erichunting@gmail.com

Talk:3 vs 4 jaw lathe chucks

2009-03-12T18:20:57Z

Dennis: Created page with 'If it can't hold square stock then it can't be used for making precise holes, correct? This system http://openfarmtech.org/index.php?title=Eric_Hunting_Resource_Guide#Matrix.2F...'

Living Machines

2009-03-12T18:17:07Z

Dennis: /* LM - Developments Needed */

{{Site header}}

----
Living Machines (LM) - Living machines are living systems with sufficient measurement of internal processes, inputs and outputs; so as to allow the control of the living system for purposes determined by the controller. For our purposes, these are integrated water treatment systems based on living ecosystems - housed in a greenhouse in cold climates - for recycling all waste water up to drinking quality. This is one avenue for handling all human organic waste. The notable feature is possibility of integrating living machines with food production - and obtaining drinking water at the same time.

=Collaboration=
==Review of Project Status==
==LM - Current Work==
== LM - Developments Needed==
What is the current status of waste water handling at Factor E?

How large is the water shed in the area?

Are there any running streams nearby?

What is the height of the water table?

What governmental restrictions are in place?

=== LM - General===
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_machines living machines at Wikipedia]

=== LM - Specific===
==== LM - Background Debriefing====
==== LM - Information Work====
==== LM - Hardware Work====

== LM - Sign-in==
=Development Work Template=
#[[LM - Product Definition]]
##[[LM - General]]
##[[LM - General Scope]]
##[[LM - Product Ecology]]
###[[LM - Localization]]
###[[LM - Scaleability]]
###[[LM - Analysis of Scale]]
###[[LM - Lifecycle Analysis]]
##[[LM - Enterprise Options]]
##[[LM - Development Approach]]
###[[LM - Timeline]]
###[[LM - Development Budget]]
####[[LM - Value Spent]]
####[[LM - Value available]]
####[[LM - Value needed]]
##[[LM - Deliverables and Product Specifications]]
##[[LM - Industry Standards]]
##[[LM - Market and Market Segmentation]]
##[[LM - Salient Features and Keys to Success]]
#[[LM - Technical Design]]
##[[LM - Product System Design]]
###[[LM - Diagrams and Conceptual Drawings]]
####[[LM - Pattern Language Icons]]
####[[LM - Structural Diagram]]
####[[LM - Funcional or Process Diagram]]
####[[LM - Workflow]]
###[[LM - Technical Issues]]
###[[LM - Deployment Strategy]]
###[[LM - Performance specifications]]
###[[LM - Calculations]]
####[[LM - Design Calculations]]
####[[LM - Yields]]
####[[LM - Rates]]
####[[LM - Structural Calculations]]
####[[LM - Power Requirements]]
####[[LM - Ergonomics of Production]]
####[[LM -Time Requirements]]
####[[LM - Economic Breakeven Analysis]]
####[[LM - Scaleability Calculations]]
####[[LM - Growth Calculations]]
###[[LM - Technical Drawings and CAD]]
###[[LM - CAM Files]]
##[[LM - Component Design]]
###[[LM - Diagrams]]
###[[LM - Conceptual drawings]]
###[[LM - Performance specifications]]
###[[LM - Performance calculations]]
###[[LM - Technical drawings and CAD]]
###[[LM - CAM files whenever available]]
##[[LM - Subcomponents]]
#[[LM - Deployment and Results]]
##[[LM - Production steps]]
##[[LM - Flexible Fabrication or Production]]
##[[LM - Bill of materials]]
##[[LM - Pictures and Video]]
##[[LM - Data]]
#[[LM - Documentation and Education]]
##[[LM - Documentation]]
##[[LM - Enterprise Plans]]
#[[LM - Resource Development]]
##[[LM - Identifying Stakeholders]]
###[[LM - Information Collaboration]]
####[[LM - Wiki Markup]]
####[[LM - Addition of Supporting References]]
####[[LM - Production of diagrams, flowcharts, 3D computer models, and other qualitative information architecture]]
####[[LM - Technical Calculations, Drawings, CAD, CAM, other]]
###[[LM - Prototyping]]
###[[LM - Funding]]
###[[LM - Preordering working products]]
###[[LM - Grantwriting]]
###[[LM - Publicity]]
###[[LM - User/Fabricator Training and Accreditation]]
###[[LM - Standards and Certification Developmen]]
###[[LM - Other]]
##[[LM - Grantwriting]]
###[[LM - Volunteer grantwriters]]
###[[LM - Professional, Outcome-Based Grantwriters]]
##[[LM - Collaborative Stakeholder Funding]]
##[[LM - Tool and Material Donations]]
##[[LM - Charitable Contributions]]

[[Category:Habitat]]

Living Machines

2009-03-12T18:15:34Z

Dennis: /* LM - Developments Needed */ [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_machines living machines at Wikipedia]

{{Site header}}

----
Living Machines (LM) - Living machines are living systems with sufficient measurement of internal processes, inputs and outputs; so as to allow the control of the living system for purposes determined by the controller. For our purposes, these are integrated water treatment systems based on living ecosystems - housed in a greenhouse in cold climates - for recycling all waste water up to drinking quality. This is one avenue for handling all human organic waste. The notable feature is possibility of integrating living machines with food production - and obtaining drinking water at the same time.

=Collaboration=
==Review of Project Status==
==LM - Current Work==
== LM - Developments Needed==
=== LM - General===
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_machines living machines at Wikipedia]

=== LM - Specific===
==== LM - Background Debriefing====
==== LM - Information Work====
==== LM - Hardware Work====

== LM - Sign-in==
=Development Work Template=
#[[LM - Product Definition]]
##[[LM - General]]
##[[LM - General Scope]]
##[[LM - Product Ecology]]
###[[LM - Localization]]
###[[LM - Scaleability]]
###[[LM - Analysis of Scale]]
###[[LM - Lifecycle Analysis]]
##[[LM - Enterprise Options]]
##[[LM - Development Approach]]
###[[LM - Timeline]]
###[[LM - Development Budget]]
####[[LM - Value Spent]]
####[[LM - Value available]]
####[[LM - Value needed]]
##[[LM - Deliverables and Product Specifications]]
##[[LM - Industry Standards]]
##[[LM - Market and Market Segmentation]]
##[[LM - Salient Features and Keys to Success]]
#[[LM - Technical Design]]
##[[LM - Product System Design]]
###[[LM - Diagrams and Conceptual Drawings]]
####[[LM - Pattern Language Icons]]
####[[LM - Structural Diagram]]
####[[LM - Funcional or Process Diagram]]
####[[LM - Workflow]]
###[[LM - Technical Issues]]
###[[LM - Deployment Strategy]]
###[[LM - Performance specifications]]
###[[LM - Calculations]]
####[[LM - Design Calculations]]
####[[LM - Yields]]
####[[LM - Rates]]
####[[LM - Structural Calculations]]
####[[LM - Power Requirements]]
####[[LM - Ergonomics of Production]]
####[[LM -Time Requirements]]
####[[LM - Economic Breakeven Analysis]]
####[[LM - Scaleability Calculations]]
####[[LM - Growth Calculations]]
###[[LM - Technical Drawings and CAD]]
###[[LM - CAM Files]]
##[[LM - Component Design]]
###[[LM - Diagrams]]
###[[LM - Conceptual drawings]]
###[[LM - Performance specifications]]
###[[LM - Performance calculations]]
###[[LM - Technical drawings and CAD]]
###[[LM - CAM files whenever available]]
##[[LM - Subcomponents]]
#[[LM - Deployment and Results]]
##[[LM - Production steps]]
##[[LM - Flexible Fabrication or Production]]
##[[LM - Bill of materials]]
##[[LM - Pictures and Video]]
##[[LM - Data]]
#[[LM - Documentation and Education]]
##[[LM - Documentation]]
##[[LM - Enterprise Plans]]
#[[LM - Resource Development]]
##[[LM - Identifying Stakeholders]]
###[[LM - Information Collaboration]]
####[[LM - Wiki Markup]]
####[[LM - Addition of Supporting References]]
####[[LM - Production of diagrams, flowcharts, 3D computer models, and other qualitative information architecture]]
####[[LM - Technical Calculations, Drawings, CAD, CAM, other]]
###[[LM - Prototyping]]
###[[LM - Funding]]
###[[LM - Preordering working products]]
###[[LM - Grantwriting]]
###[[LM - Publicity]]
###[[LM - User/Fabricator Training and Accreditation]]
###[[LM - Standards and Certification Developmen]]
###[[LM - Other]]
##[[LM - Grantwriting]]
###[[LM - Volunteer grantwriters]]
###[[LM - Professional, Outcome-Based Grantwriters]]
##[[LM - Collaborative Stakeholder Funding]]
##[[LM - Tool and Material Donations]]
##[[LM - Charitable Contributions]]

[[Category:Habitat]]

Living Machines

2009-03-12T18:15:04Z

Dennis: /* LM - General */

{{Site header}}

----
Living Machines (LM) - Living machines are living systems with sufficient measurement of internal processes, inputs and outputs; so as to allow the control of the living system for purposes determined by the controller. For our purposes, these are integrated water treatment systems based on living ecosystems - housed in a greenhouse in cold climates - for recycling all waste water up to drinking quality. This is one avenue for handling all human organic waste. The notable feature is possibility of integrating living machines with food production - and obtaining drinking water at the same time.

=Collaboration=
==Review of Project Status==
==LM - Current Work==
== LM - Developments Needed==
=== LM - General===[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_machines living machines at Wikipedia]

=== LM - Specific===
==== LM - Background Debriefing====
==== LM - Information Work====
==== LM - Hardware Work====
== LM - Sign-in==
=Development Work Template=
#[[LM - Product Definition]]
##[[LM - General]]
##[[LM - General Scope]]
##[[LM - Product Ecology]]
###[[LM - Localization]]
###[[LM - Scaleability]]
###[[LM - Analysis of Scale]]
###[[LM - Lifecycle Analysis]]
##[[LM - Enterprise Options]]
##[[LM - Development Approach]]
###[[LM - Timeline]]
###[[LM - Development Budget]]
####[[LM - Value Spent]]
####[[LM - Value available]]
####[[LM - Value needed]]
##[[LM - Deliverables and Product Specifications]]
##[[LM - Industry Standards]]
##[[LM - Market and Market Segmentation]]
##[[LM - Salient Features and Keys to Success]]
#[[LM - Technical Design]]
##[[LM - Product System Design]]
###[[LM - Diagrams and Conceptual Drawings]]
####[[LM - Pattern Language Icons]]
####[[LM - Structural Diagram]]
####[[LM - Funcional or Process Diagram]]
####[[LM - Workflow]]
###[[LM - Technical Issues]]
###[[LM - Deployment Strategy]]
###[[LM - Performance specifications]]
###[[LM - Calculations]]
####[[LM - Design Calculations]]
####[[LM - Yields]]
####[[LM - Rates]]
####[[LM - Structural Calculations]]
####[[LM - Power Requirements]]
####[[LM - Ergonomics of Production]]
####[[LM -Time Requirements]]
####[[LM - Economic Breakeven Analysis]]
####[[LM - Scaleability Calculations]]
####[[LM - Growth Calculations]]
###[[LM - Technical Drawings and CAD]]
###[[LM - CAM Files]]
##[[LM - Component Design]]
###[[LM - Diagrams]]
###[[LM - Conceptual drawings]]
###[[LM - Performance specifications]]
###[[LM - Performance calculations]]
###[[LM - Technical drawings and CAD]]
###[[LM - CAM files whenever available]]
##[[LM - Subcomponents]]
#[[LM - Deployment and Results]]
##[[LM - Production steps]]
##[[LM - Flexible Fabrication or Production]]
##[[LM - Bill of materials]]
##[[LM - Pictures and Video]]
##[[LM - Data]]
#[[LM - Documentation and Education]]
##[[LM - Documentation]]
##[[LM - Enterprise Plans]]
#[[LM - Resource Development]]
##[[LM - Identifying Stakeholders]]
###[[LM - Information Collaboration]]
####[[LM - Wiki Markup]]
####[[LM - Addition of Supporting References]]
####[[LM - Production of diagrams, flowcharts, 3D computer models, and other qualitative information architecture]]
####[[LM - Technical Calculations, Drawings, CAD, CAM, other]]
###[[LM - Prototyping]]
###[[LM - Funding]]
###[[LM - Preordering working products]]
###[[LM - Grantwriting]]
###[[LM - Publicity]]
###[[LM - User/Fabricator Training and Accreditation]]
###[[LM - Standards and Certification Developmen]]
###[[LM - Other]]
##[[LM - Grantwriting]]
###[[LM - Volunteer grantwriters]]
###[[LM - Professional, Outcome-Based Grantwriters]]
##[[LM - Collaborative Stakeholder Funding]]
##[[LM - Tool and Material Donations]]
##[[LM - Charitable Contributions]]

[[Category:Habitat]]

LifeTrac

2009-03-12T18:12:02Z

Dennis: /* Features */

{{site header}}
<center>
LifeTrac, the low cost multipurpose open source tractor.

[[Image:lifetrac_loader.jpg|thumb]]
[[Image:lifetrac_bend.jpg|thumb]]
[[Image:Backhoe.jpg]]

<html>
 

<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/p/28958DE807A18811?hl=en" /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/p/28958DE807A18811?hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

 
See corresponding <a href="http://openfarmtech.org/weblog/?p=480"> blog post</a>
</html>

</center>

=LifeTrac Concept=

OSTrac is an open source tractor/ loader. It is an articulated tractor that steers by bending in the middle. It also has a flexible coupling between the front and back, so that the wheels stay on the ground at all times.

It is based on [http://www.cadplans.com/cadtrac.htm CADTrac, a set of plans that you can buy]:

[[Image:CADTrac.jpg]]

But it is redesigned thoroughly by enlarging the size and making construction simpler.

==Goals==
*Lifetime design
*Scalable
*Modular
*Easy to maintain
==Features==

It has a number of features that set it apart from skid loaders and make these vehicles suitable for agriculture. The main features for agriculture are a 3-point hitch, power takeoff, and high-flow hydraulic takeoff. These features make the [[LifeTrac]] capable of using any agricultural implements.

LifeTrac is also designed with a winch, and is designed to be equipped with well-drilling equipment with 10-foot drilling pipe sections.

As such, the design is one of highest utility and versatility, combining the power of skid loaders with agricultural tractors and construction tractors. A Compressed Earth Block press [[CEB Press]] is designed for use as an implement with [[LifeTrac]], and a backhoe as well.

The unique feature is the modularity and design for dis-assembly. Priority one is lifetime design, where any problem can be troubleshooted and fixed readily. Bye-bye to $1-2,000 transmission jobs at the shop. No transmission is required - it's built-in to the hydraulic drive.

Components are designed to be standard steel as much as possible. The goal is to have the user-owner fully capable of maintenance. By design, no issue in LifeTrac should be more expensive than $250 to fix. Standard steel components (sheet, tubing, shaft, etc.) is used, with no forming or machining outside of minor welding and lathing, for repair and construction of [[OSTrac]].

==General design goals==

*Skid loader concept
*Articulated steering
*4 wheel drive
*2 wheel drive for doubled speed
*Front-end loader
*Backhoe attachment available
*Well-drilling attachment available
*CEB attachment available
*Hybrid between a skid loader, agricultural tractor, and construction tractor

==Specifications==

*5-10 mph in 4 wheel drive
*29 gpm auxiliary hydraulics, 3 channels
*Weight: 3000 lb
*Modular: 2 OSTracs may be mounted together for double traction power
*3500 lb winch
*55 hp Deutz diesel engine
*Four 32 cubic inch hydraulic motors
*3-point hitch
*Power take off, hydraulic - 0-700 rpm

==Maintenance==
*Yearly maintenance costs designed to be no more than $100 with heavy duty usage
:What are the key points in a maintenance check?
:What are the skill sets required to perform a systems check accurately?

==Evolution==
*Flash-steam bladeless turbine drive being explored
*Flash-steam electric hybrid drive being developed

=Versatility=

For us at [http://openfarmtech.org/weblog/ Factor e Farm], LifeTrac will be the backbone of our agricultural, agroforestry, and land stewardship operations. It will also be used in construction, power generation, and possibly other workshop tools. Interestingly, hybrid hydraulic drive also applies to cars - here's an example [http://www.fordmuscle.com/blog/ford-to-build-60-mpg-f150/112114]. The identical hydraulic design, minus agricultural implement features - can be used with a car - simply by using faster, lower-torque wheel motors.

The basic drive is all hydraulic, and all implements are run hydraulically as well. Three hydraulic motors - PTO motor, high torque motor, and winch motor are used for accessory power applications. These can drive the following devices which we are also building contemporaneously:

*Tilt-blade sawmill
*Rototiller
*Post-hole digger/tree planter
*Mixer
*Winch
*Well-drilling rig (future work)

Other implements that we are preparing are:
*[[CEB Press]]
*Backhoe
*Trencher

The unique feature is that the motors can be mounted on the front-end laoder quick-connect plate - which serves, in effect, as an implement attachment mechanism that is much more versatile than a tractor 3 point hitch. All implements may be mounted on the quick-connect

As of 5.24.08, the current working program surrounding LifeTrac is:
[[Image:LifeTrac program.jpg]]

=Articulated Tractor Design=

After examining the function of skid-steering, we decided to add articulated steering with a 2-degree of freedom flexible coupler. The tractor can both bend and rotate around the middle joint. This allows the tractor to minimize impact on the ground when turning. It also allows all 4 wheels to remain on the ground in uneven terrain - where otherwise it is likely that 1 wheel is off the ground often in uneven terrain.

[[Initial LifeTrac design]] is updated here:

==Basic Frame==

Here is the basic frame concept, made of 4x4x1/4" tubing.

[[Image:LifeTrac 2.jpg]]

Here is the frame in practice, starting to be bolted together:

[[Image:frame start.jpg]]

You can see our [http://openfarmtech.org/weblog/?p=201 blog] for additional information.

===Other 2D Drawings===

See [[LifeTrac 2D Drawings]] for other views.

==Engine, Wheel, Hydraulics Addition==

[[Image:lifetrac_bend.jpg]]

==Loader Addition==

[[Image:lifetrac_loader.jpg]]

=Hydraulics Design=

==Design Rationale==

Several aspects must be considered:
*Wheel Motor Control
*Turning Cylinder
*Loader
*Auxiliary Hydraulics
===Wheet Motor Control===
A 50/50 flow divider is recommended to make sure that if the front wheels come off the ground with the loader, the back wheels still have adequate flow. Without using a divider, the wheels that come off the ground will spin fast and back wheels will stop - because hydraulic fluid takes the path of least resistance.

One way to address this is with a 50/50 rotary flow divider. Expensive option - such as this 21 gpm divider from Surpluscenter - [[http://surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2008101313500912&item=9-5120-21&catname=hydraulic]]

What are alternative routes? What about a simple ''adjustable flow control valve''?

Would a 50/50 flow divider work - [[http://surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2008101313500912&catname=hydraulic&qty=1&item=9-1048-c]]

==Schematic==
Here is a schematic for the hydraulic power system:

[[Image:LifeTrac hydraulics.jpg]]

==Hydraulics Part Sourcing==

Here are some of the part numbers from [http://surpluscenter.com Surplus Center]:

[[Image:LifeTrac hydraulics parts.jpg]]

Detail of hydraulic pump from Northerntool - [http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200329724_200329724] - and calculations -
===Hydraulic Pump===
[[Image:hydgearpump.jpg]]

===Hydraulic Motors===

These are used on each of the wheels and on the rototiller:

[[Image:wheelmotors.jpg]]

===Calculations===

*1800 RPM gives 26 gpm, so 2000 rpm engine speed of the Deutz 55 hp diesel yields 29 gpm, at a max of 3300 PSI.

**From Surpluscenter tech support, [http://surpluscenter.com/techhelp.asp?UID=2009012117064247&catname=hydraulic] - we have:

[[Image:hydraulicscalculations.jpg]]

**Calculating engine power requirements for the above pump, we have PSI*GPM/1714=3300*29/1714 = 56 hp - or we won't get absolutely high 3600 PSI, '''but only 3300 PSI''', which is still sufficient for any applications.

==Hydraulics Implementation Steps==

The first step of hydraulics implementation is the wheel drive circuit. This includes the hydraulic pump coupled to the engine, the hydraulic reservoir, wheel motors, control valve, cushion valve, hoses, and hydraulic return line filter. Before the main control valve is activated for driving the wheels, we test the pump by observing proper hydraulic fluid circulation back to the hydraulic reservoir. As a safety measure, the wheels are lifted off the ground, to oberve correct direction of motion of each wheel.

Wheel circuit:

[[Image:wheel drive circuit.jpg]]

Test procedure:

#Connect hydraulic pump, main wheel control valve, cushion valve, return filter, hydraulic reservoir.
#Turn on engine, observe flow through tank
#Connect wheel motors
#Disengage motors from wheels or lift wheels off ground, and test wheel motors
##Observe correct forward and reverse motion
#Connect steering cylinder, priority flow divider, and steering cylinder valve
#Drive the tractor on even ground and test steering

===Cushion Valve Plumbing===

From part [http://surpluscenter.com 9-4019-B] documentation:

[[Image:cushionplumbing.jpg]]

===PTO Motor Connection===

[[Image:ptoplumbing.jpg]]

===Post to [http://forums.hydraulicspneumatics.com/groupee hydraulics-pneumatics forum]===

http://forums.hydraulicspneumatics.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/8641063911/m/5881043582

Posted 24 May 2008 08:37 PM
Hello,

I am looking for suggestions on the design of the hydraulic system for an articulated tractor/loader that I am building.

Please view the hydraulics design. This includes a 55 hp diesel engine, and a series circuit. The circuit includes: (1), 4 reversible wheel motors for the drive; (2), double-acting turning cylinders for articulated steering; (3) front-end loader circuit; (4) 3 pairs of hydraulic take-offs with 12 gpm quick connects. See:

http://openfarmtech.org/index.php?title=LifeTrac#Hydraulics_Design

Please let me know if the design looks sound. In particular:

1. Is this a sufficient pressure release for protecting the wheel motors:
http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2008052417204...35&catname=hydraulic

2. Is it better to do an adjustable priority valve: http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2008052417204...50&catname=hydraulic
or a fixed flow control valve:
http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2008052417204...-5&catname=hydraulic
for the first divider in the circuit?

3. If I have a 24 gpm flow requirement for a load at the hydraulic takeoffs, is it ok to utilize two takeoffs to feed into one load? I am looking to run a 24 gpm reversible motor, with 12 gpm per takeoff channel.

4. Is the 0-25 gpm flow control valve:
http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2008052417204...75&catname=hydraulic
suitable for controlling the amount of flow to the hydraulic takeoffs?

Marcin
----
REPLY:
Margin;

This forum is mainly frequented by persons in the Industrial Hydraulic & Pneumatic field.

Try your request at one of these sites:

http://www.offroadfabnet.com/

http://www.machinebuilders.net/forum

http://www.hydraulicinnovations.com/forum

Bud Trinkel
FP Consultant Retired

===Post to [http://www.hydraulicinnovations.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2932#post2932 Hydraulic Innovations]===

This is my hydraulic circuit for a hydraulic, 4-wheel, articulated tractor:

http://openfarmtech.org/index.php?title=Image:LifeTrac_hydraulics.jpg

Is the priority flow divider and flow control valve, plus pressure relief valve for the wheels, sufficient to regulate the flow/prevent overpressure?

I am using:

1. Pressure release for wheel motors:
http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2008052417204...35&catname=hydraulic

2. If I have a 24 gpm flow requirement for a load at the hydraulic takeoffs, is it ok to utilize two takeoffs to feed into one load? I am looking to run a 24 gpm reversible motor, with 12 gpm coming from each takeoff channel.

Marcin

=Quick Attach Plate=

==Proposed Version==

The Quick Attach Plate converts the loader arms to a quick release mechanism for attachments.

[[Image:quick_attach.jpg]]

[[Image:latch_detail.jpg]]

==Implemented Version==

Here is an easier version, with pins replacing turnable latches. This is the first implementation:

[[Image:quick_quick_attach.jpg]]

=Rototiller=

Initial rototiller design:

[[Image:quick_quick_rototiller.jpg]]

=Tooth Bar=

[[Image:toothbar.jpg]]

[[Image:tooth.jpg]]

[[Image:toothmaking.jpg]]

[[Image:finishedbucket.jpg]]

=Backhoe=

[[Image:Backhoe.jpg]]

=Bill of Materials=

*Wheels
**Shaft collars, 1-7/8", double split - 4 of them - [http://surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2008101413105967&catname=&item=1-2768-193] - $6.75 each
*Tires
**Tire chain quick links, 18 per wheel - 1/4" - [http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=92412] - 60 cents each
*Wheel control
**50/50 divider to allow equal flow to front and back wheels when front wheels come off the ground while doing earth digging with loader - [http://surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2008101413105967&catname=hydraulic&qty=1&item=9-1048-c] - $88

=Bill of Materials for Industrial Counterparts=
*One tire and rim - a flat proof one - costs $500 for skid loaders - [http://www.radmeister.com/m-14765-743ds.aspx]. Compare to $5 used truck tires with $35 for open source chains - under $50 for a tire. The latter affords the same traction, at 10-100 times less cost, depending if you count the chains or not.
**Which is more cost effective over a lifetime?
**I've heard that you can fill a tire with insulation foam - as a dirt-cheap alternative to professional puncture-proofing gels. Has anyone done this.

=Attachments on Other Machines=
*Dingo attachments - [http://www.toro.com/professional/sws/loaderattach/photogallery_attachments.html]

=Cost Comparisons to Industrial Counterparts=

[[Image:lifetraccomparison.jpg]]

*NOTE: Industrial prices are taken largely from Northern Tool catologue - [http://www.northerntool.com/] - your local, global supply chain.
*Commercial hydraulic rotary well drilling rig quote - [http://www.hydra-jett.com/1573687.html]

[[Category:Hydraulics]] [[Category:LifeTrac]]
[[Category:Global_Village_Construction_Set]]
[[Category:OSA]]

LifeTrac

2009-03-12T18:10:38Z

Dennis: /* Features */

{{site header}}
<center>
LifeTrac, the low cost multipurpose open source tractor.

[[Image:lifetrac_loader.jpg|thumb]]
[[Image:lifetrac_bend.jpg|thumb]]
[[Image:Backhoe.jpg]]

<html>
 

<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/p/28958DE807A18811?hl=en" /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/p/28958DE807A18811?hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

 
See corresponding <a href="http://openfarmtech.org/weblog/?p=480"> blog post</a>
</html>

</center>

=LifeTrac Concept=

OSTrac is an open source tractor/ loader. It is an articulated tractor that steers by bending in the middle. It also has a flexible coupling between the front and back, so that the wheels stay on the ground at all times.

It is based on [http://www.cadplans.com/cadtrac.htm CADTrac, a set of plans that you can buy]:

[[Image:CADTrac.jpg]]

But it is redesigned thoroughly by enlarging the size and making construction simpler.

==Goals==
*Lifetime design
*Scalable
*Modular
*Easy to maintain
==Features==

It has a number of features that set it apart from skid loaders and make these vehicles suitable for agriculture. The main features for agriculture are a 3-point hitch, power takeoff, and high-flow hydraulic takeoff. These features make the [[LifeTrac]] capable of using any agricultural implements.

LifeTrac is also designed with a winch, and is designed to be equipped with well-drilling equipment with 10-foot drilling pipe sections.

As such, the design is one of highest utility and versatility, combining the power of skid loaders with agricultural tractors and construction tractors. A Compressed Earth Block press is designed for use as an implement with [[LifeTrac]], and a backhoe as well.

The unique feature is the modularity and design for dis-assembly. Priority one is lifetime design, where any problem can be troubleshooted and fixed readily. Bye-bye to $1-2,000 transmission jobs at the shop. No transmission is required - it's built-in to the hydraulic drive.

Components are designed to be standard steel as much as possible. The goal is to have the user-owner fully capable of maintenance. By design, no issue in LifeTrac should be more expensive than $250 to fix. Standard steel components (sheet, tubing, shaft, etc.) is used, with no forming or machining outside of minor welding and lathing, for repair and construction of [[OSTrac]].

==General design goals==

*Skid loader concept
*Articulated steering
*4 wheel drive
*2 wheel drive for doubled speed
*Front-end loader
*Backhoe attachment available
*Well-drilling attachment available
*CEB attachment available
*Hybrid between a skid loader, agricultural tractor, and construction tractor

==Specifications==

*5-10 mph in 4 wheel drive
*29 gpm auxiliary hydraulics, 3 channels
*Weight: 3000 lb
*Modular: 2 OSTracs may be mounted together for double traction power
*3500 lb winch
*55 hp Deutz diesel engine
*Four 32 cubic inch hydraulic motors
*3-point hitch
*Power take off, hydraulic - 0-700 rpm

==Maintenance==
*Yearly maintenance costs designed to be no more than $100 with heavy duty usage
:What are the key points in a maintenance check?
:What are the skill sets required to perform a systems check accurately?

==Evolution==
*Flash-steam bladeless turbine drive being explored
*Flash-steam electric hybrid drive being developed

=Versatility=

For us at [http://openfarmtech.org/weblog/ Factor e Farm], LifeTrac will be the backbone of our agricultural, agroforestry, and land stewardship operations. It will also be used in construction, power generation, and possibly other workshop tools. Interestingly, hybrid hydraulic drive also applies to cars - here's an example [http://www.fordmuscle.com/blog/ford-to-build-60-mpg-f150/112114]. The identical hydraulic design, minus agricultural implement features - can be used with a car - simply by using faster, lower-torque wheel motors.

The basic drive is all hydraulic, and all implements are run hydraulically as well. Three hydraulic motors - PTO motor, high torque motor, and winch motor are used for accessory power applications. These can drive the following devices which we are also building contemporaneously:

*Tilt-blade sawmill
*Rototiller
*Post-hole digger/tree planter
*Mixer
*Winch
*Well-drilling rig (future work)

Other implements that we are preparing are:
*[[CEB Press]]
*Backhoe
*Trencher

The unique feature is that the motors can be mounted on the front-end laoder quick-connect plate - which serves, in effect, as an implement attachment mechanism that is much more versatile than a tractor 3 point hitch. All implements may be mounted on the quick-connect

As of 5.24.08, the current working program surrounding LifeTrac is:
[[Image:LifeTrac program.jpg]]

=Articulated Tractor Design=

After examining the function of skid-steering, we decided to add articulated steering with a 2-degree of freedom flexible coupler. The tractor can both bend and rotate around the middle joint. This allows the tractor to minimize impact on the ground when turning. It also allows all 4 wheels to remain on the ground in uneven terrain - where otherwise it is likely that 1 wheel is off the ground often in uneven terrain.

[[Initial LifeTrac design]] is updated here:

==Basic Frame==

Here is the basic frame concept, made of 4x4x1/4" tubing.

[[Image:LifeTrac 2.jpg]]

Here is the frame in practice, starting to be bolted together:

[[Image:frame start.jpg]]

You can see our [http://openfarmtech.org/weblog/?p=201 blog] for additional information.

===Other 2D Drawings===

See [[LifeTrac 2D Drawings]] for other views.

==Engine, Wheel, Hydraulics Addition==

[[Image:lifetrac_bend.jpg]]

==Loader Addition==

[[Image:lifetrac_loader.jpg]]

=Hydraulics Design=

==Design Rationale==

Several aspects must be considered:
*Wheel Motor Control
*Turning Cylinder
*Loader
*Auxiliary Hydraulics
===Wheet Motor Control===
A 50/50 flow divider is recommended to make sure that if the front wheels come off the ground with the loader, the back wheels still have adequate flow. Without using a divider, the wheels that come off the ground will spin fast and back wheels will stop - because hydraulic fluid takes the path of least resistance.

One way to address this is with a 50/50 rotary flow divider. Expensive option - such as this 21 gpm divider from Surpluscenter - [[http://surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2008101313500912&item=9-5120-21&catname=hydraulic]]

What are alternative routes? What about a simple ''adjustable flow control valve''?

Would a 50/50 flow divider work - [[http://surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2008101313500912&catname=hydraulic&qty=1&item=9-1048-c]]

==Schematic==
Here is a schematic for the hydraulic power system:

[[Image:LifeTrac hydraulics.jpg]]

==Hydraulics Part Sourcing==

Here are some of the part numbers from [http://surpluscenter.com Surplus Center]:

[[Image:LifeTrac hydraulics parts.jpg]]

Detail of hydraulic pump from Northerntool - [http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200329724_200329724] - and calculations -
===Hydraulic Pump===
[[Image:hydgearpump.jpg]]

===Hydraulic Motors===

These are used on each of the wheels and on the rototiller:

[[Image:wheelmotors.jpg]]

===Calculations===

*1800 RPM gives 26 gpm, so 2000 rpm engine speed of the Deutz 55 hp diesel yields 29 gpm, at a max of 3300 PSI.

**From Surpluscenter tech support, [http://surpluscenter.com/techhelp.asp?UID=2009012117064247&catname=hydraulic] - we have:

[[Image:hydraulicscalculations.jpg]]

**Calculating engine power requirements for the above pump, we have PSI*GPM/1714=3300*29/1714 = 56 hp - or we won't get absolutely high 3600 PSI, '''but only 3300 PSI''', which is still sufficient for any applications.

==Hydraulics Implementation Steps==

The first step of hydraulics implementation is the wheel drive circuit. This includes the hydraulic pump coupled to the engine, the hydraulic reservoir, wheel motors, control valve, cushion valve, hoses, and hydraulic return line filter. Before the main control valve is activated for driving the wheels, we test the pump by observing proper hydraulic fluid circulation back to the hydraulic reservoir. As a safety measure, the wheels are lifted off the ground, to oberve correct direction of motion of each wheel.

Wheel circuit:

[[Image:wheel drive circuit.jpg]]

Test procedure:

#Connect hydraulic pump, main wheel control valve, cushion valve, return filter, hydraulic reservoir.
#Turn on engine, observe flow through tank
#Connect wheel motors
#Disengage motors from wheels or lift wheels off ground, and test wheel motors
##Observe correct forward and reverse motion
#Connect steering cylinder, priority flow divider, and steering cylinder valve
#Drive the tractor on even ground and test steering

===Cushion Valve Plumbing===

From part [http://surpluscenter.com 9-4019-B] documentation:

[[Image:cushionplumbing.jpg]]

===PTO Motor Connection===

[[Image:ptoplumbing.jpg]]

===Post to [http://forums.hydraulicspneumatics.com/groupee hydraulics-pneumatics forum]===

http://forums.hydraulicspneumatics.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/8641063911/m/5881043582

Posted 24 May 2008 08:37 PM
Hello,

I am looking for suggestions on the design of the hydraulic system for an articulated tractor/loader that I am building.

Please view the hydraulics design. This includes a 55 hp diesel engine, and a series circuit. The circuit includes: (1), 4 reversible wheel motors for the drive; (2), double-acting turning cylinders for articulated steering; (3) front-end loader circuit; (4) 3 pairs of hydraulic take-offs with 12 gpm quick connects. See:

http://openfarmtech.org/index.php?title=LifeTrac#Hydraulics_Design

Please let me know if the design looks sound. In particular:

1. Is this a sufficient pressure release for protecting the wheel motors:
http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2008052417204...35&catname=hydraulic

2. Is it better to do an adjustable priority valve: http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2008052417204...50&catname=hydraulic
or a fixed flow control valve:
http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2008052417204...-5&catname=hydraulic
for the first divider in the circuit?

3. If I have a 24 gpm flow requirement for a load at the hydraulic takeoffs, is it ok to utilize two takeoffs to feed into one load? I am looking to run a 24 gpm reversible motor, with 12 gpm per takeoff channel.

4. Is the 0-25 gpm flow control valve:
http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2008052417204...75&catname=hydraulic
suitable for controlling the amount of flow to the hydraulic takeoffs?

Marcin
----
REPLY:
Margin;

This forum is mainly frequented by persons in the Industrial Hydraulic & Pneumatic field.

Try your request at one of these sites:

http://www.offroadfabnet.com/

http://www.machinebuilders.net/forum

http://www.hydraulicinnovations.com/forum

Bud Trinkel
FP Consultant Retired

===Post to [http://www.hydraulicinnovations.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2932#post2932 Hydraulic Innovations]===

This is my hydraulic circuit for a hydraulic, 4-wheel, articulated tractor:

http://openfarmtech.org/index.php?title=Image:LifeTrac_hydraulics.jpg

Is the priority flow divider and flow control valve, plus pressure relief valve for the wheels, sufficient to regulate the flow/prevent overpressure?

I am using:

1. Pressure release for wheel motors:
http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2008052417204...35&catname=hydraulic

2. If I have a 24 gpm flow requirement for a load at the hydraulic takeoffs, is it ok to utilize two takeoffs to feed into one load? I am looking to run a 24 gpm reversible motor, with 12 gpm coming from each takeoff channel.

Marcin

=Quick Attach Plate=

==Proposed Version==

The Quick Attach Plate converts the loader arms to a quick release mechanism for attachments.

[[Image:quick_attach.jpg]]

[[Image:latch_detail.jpg]]

==Implemented Version==

Here is an easier version, with pins replacing turnable latches. This is the first implementation:

[[Image:quick_quick_attach.jpg]]

=Rototiller=

Initial rototiller design:

[[Image:quick_quick_rototiller.jpg]]

=Tooth Bar=

[[Image:toothbar.jpg]]

[[Image:tooth.jpg]]

[[Image:toothmaking.jpg]]

[[Image:finishedbucket.jpg]]

=Backhoe=

[[Image:Backhoe.jpg]]

=Bill of Materials=

*Wheels
**Shaft collars, 1-7/8", double split - 4 of them - [http://surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2008101413105967&catname=&item=1-2768-193] - $6.75 each
*Tires
**Tire chain quick links, 18 per wheel - 1/4" - [http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=92412] - 60 cents each
*Wheel control
**50/50 divider to allow equal flow to front and back wheels when front wheels come off the ground while doing earth digging with loader - [http://surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2008101413105967&catname=hydraulic&qty=1&item=9-1048-c] - $88

=Bill of Materials for Industrial Counterparts=
*One tire and rim - a flat proof one - costs $500 for skid loaders - [http://www.radmeister.com/m-14765-743ds.aspx]. Compare to $5 used truck tires with $35 for open source chains - under $50 for a tire. The latter affords the same traction, at 10-100 times less cost, depending if you count the chains or not.
**Which is more cost effective over a lifetime?
**I've heard that you can fill a tire with insulation foam - as a dirt-cheap alternative to professional puncture-proofing gels. Has anyone done this.

=Attachments on Other Machines=
*Dingo attachments - [http://www.toro.com/professional/sws/loaderattach/photogallery_attachments.html]

=Cost Comparisons to Industrial Counterparts=

[[Image:lifetraccomparison.jpg]]

*NOTE: Industrial prices are taken largely from Northern Tool catologue - [http://www.northerntool.com/] - your local, global supply chain.
*Commercial hydraulic rotary well drilling rig quote - [http://www.hydra-jett.com/1573687.html]

[[Category:Hydraulics]] [[Category:LifeTrac]]
[[Category:Global_Village_Construction_Set]]
[[Category:OSA]]

Category:Current Events

2009-03-12T18:05:46Z

Dennis: /* Workshop Schedule for March and April, 2009 */

See a [http://openfarmtech.org/index.php?title=Category:Workshops list of workshops] being held.

=2009=

==Workshop Schedule for March and April, 2009==
* [[March 21, 2009 - Heavy Hoe workshop]] - learn to fabricate a heavy hoe
* [[April 4, 2009 - Chicken Incubator workshop]] - learn to build an incubator for hatching your own chicks
* [[April 11, 2009 - Metal Lathe Workshop]] - learn to build a heavy duty metal lathe
* [[April 18, 2009 - MicroTrac Workshop]] - learn to build walk-behind tractor

==August 2009==
===Open Solar 2===
[[Open Solar 2]] is the Second Solar Power Generator Convergenece at Factor e Farm - to be held August 1-31, 2009.

==Open Ecotech 1==
[[First World Conference on Open Source Ecology]] - Open Ecotech 1 - the First World Conference on Open Source Ecology

Open Ecotech 1 is the first worldwide, working conference on [[Open Source Ecology]]. It is being held at Factor e Farm – in the Kansas City area of central USA. This is the longest-lasting conference in the world. It has officially begun with the inception of the [[1000 True Fans - 1000 Global Villages campaign]] - and it lasts until the end of 2010. We aim to complete the entire basic [http://openfarmtech.org/index.php?title=GVCS Global Village Construction Set (GVCS)] as an outcome of the conference.

Open Ecotech 1 is a working conference, where interested participants submit a proposal for 1 month long projects, to be carried out at Factor e Farm. These projects develop individual components of the GVCS – by completing prototype and testing cycles – until product release. You can see the Status of active projects [http://openfarmtech.org/index.php?title=Category:Status here]. You may view a theoretical background for the project in our [http://openfarmtech.org/OSE_Proposal.doc proposal from early 2008].

We are seeking those who are committed deeply to making a better world. We have proposed a campaign for developing the technology and ecology tools for a new civilization. See the [http://openfarmtech.org/weblog/?p=458 1000 True Fans - 1000 Global Villages campaign] on the blog - and view all the [http://openfarmtech.org/index.php?title=Distillations supporting videos here].

Factor E Farm Inventory

2009-03-12T18:03:14Z

Dennis: /* Resources available on site */

=Rationale for this document=
To better understand what can be done, one needs to know what is available in terms of tools and resources available.

=Resources available on site=
cheap plastic 100 liter or larger barrels or containers?
:Specifically for building [[ORB]]s

==natural resources==
rivers or streams?

calcium carbonate?

springs?

geothermal hot spots?

wind?

forest?

==PV panels==
==[[LifeTrac]]==
==[[CEB]]==
==Machinery==
arc welder?

torches?

water treatment?

water heater?

compressor?

cement sprayer?

cement mixer?

hot house?

generators?

video cameras?

wireless router

==hand tools==
==battery operated construction tools==
sawzall?

drill motors?

routers?
==lighting==
portable halogen lights?

=Resources available near site=
scrap metal?

lumber yard?

tool shops?

proximity to 'junk yard'

recycling centers?

==kitchen==
What's in the kitchen?

stove?

refrigerator?

storage?

sink?

running water?

==number of dwellings==

Organoponic Raised Bed Gardening

2009-03-12T18:00:17Z

Dennis:

{{Site header}}

----
Organoponic Raised Bed gardens (ORBs) - the ultimate growing method outdoors would consist of fertigated (irrigated with fertilizer) raised compost beds, replacing poor soil, poor moisture conditions. Fertilizer could be organic or microbial cultures. This is an integration of John Jeavons' bio-intensive growing with hydroponics, both of which are efficient techniques. Food self-sufficiency with minimum weeding is a byproduct. Relationships: if grown in a greenhouse, plastic extrusion of greenhouse glazing is relevant. If ORBs are done outside, then a [[hammer mill]] is relevant for large-scale compost shredding.

=Collaboration=
==Review of Project Status==
==ORB - Current Work==
==ORB - Developments Needed==
Specific plans for a permaculture garden that incorporates aquaponics are needed.

Here is a [http://www.oceanarks.org/img/intervale_diagram_lg.jpg plan for a polyculture greenhouse] from John Todd's work at Intervale Farms in Vermont that produces high value crops like mushrooms, salad greens and fish from waste materials like straw, spent animal bedding and waste grains.

Plans, DIY instructions and parts for small to large aquaponic systems can be found at [http://www.backyardaquaponics.com Backyard Aquaponics].
===ORB - General===
===ORB - Specific===
====ORB - Background Debriefing====
====ORB - Information Work====
====ORB - Hardware Work====

==ORB - Sign-in==
=Development Work Template=
#[[ORB - Product Definition]]
##[[ORB - General]]
##[[ORB - General Scope]]
##[[ORB - Product Ecology]]
###[[ORB - Localization]]
###[[ORB - Scaleability]]
###[[ORB - Analysis of Scale]]
###[[ORB - Lifecycle Analysis]]
##[[ORB - Enterprise Options]]
##[[ORB - Development Approach]]
###[[ORB - Timeline]]
###[[ORB - Development Budget]]
####[[ORB - Value Spent]]
####[[ORB - Value available]]
####[[ORB - Value needed]]
##[[ORB - Deliverables and Product Specifications]]
##[[ORB - Industry Standards]]
##[[ORB - Market and Market Segmentation]]
##[[ORB - Salient Features and Keys to Success]]
#[[ORB - Technical Design]]
##[[ORB - Product System Design]]
###[[ORB - Diagrams and Conceptual Drawings]]
####[[ORB - Pattern Language Icons]]
####[[ORB - Structural Diagram]]
####[[ORB - Funcional or Process Diagram]]
####[[ORB - Workflow]]
###[[ORB - Technical Issues]]
###[[ORB - Deployment Strategy]]
###[[ORB - Performance specifications]]
###[[ORB - Calculations]]
####[[ORB - Design Calculations]]
####[[ORB - Yields]]
####[[ORB - Rates]]
####[[ORB - Structural Calculations]]
####[[ORB - Power Requirements]]
####[[ORB - Ergonomics of Production]]
####[[ORB -Time Requirements]]
####[[ORB - Economic Breakeven Analysis]]
####[[ORB - Scaleability Calculations]]
####[[ORB - Growth Calculations]]
###[[ORB - Technical Drawings and CAD]]
###[[ORB - CAM Files]]
##[[ORB - Component Design]]
###[[ORB - Diagrams]]
###[[ORB - Conceptual drawings]]
###[[ORB - Performance specifications]]
###[[ORB - Performance calculations]]
###[[ORB - Technical drawings and CAD]]
###[[ORB - CAM files whenever available]]
##[[ORB - Subcomponents]]
#[[ORB - Deployment and Results]]
##[[ORB - Production steps]]
##[[ORB - Flexible Fabrication or Production]]
##[[ORB - Bill of materials]]
##[[ORB - Pictures and Video]]
##[[ORB - Data]]
#[[ORB - Documentation and Education]]
##[[ORB - Documentation]]
##[[ORB - Enterprise Plans]]
#[[ORB - Resource Development]]
##[[ORB - Identifying Stakeholders]]
###[[ORB - Information Collaboration]]
####[[ORB - Wiki Markup]]
####[[ORB - Addition of Supporting References]]
####[[ORB - Production of diagrams, flowcharts, 3D computer models, and other qualitative information architecture]]
####[[ORB - Technical Calculations, Drawings, CAD, CAM, other]]
###[[ORB - Prototyping]]
###[[ORB - Funding]]
###[[ORB - Preordering working products]]
###[[ORB - Grantwriting]]
###[[ORB - Publicity]]
###[[ORB - User/Fabricator Training and Accreditation]]
###[[ORB - Standards and Certification Developmen]]
###[[ORB - Other]]
##[[ORB - Grantwriting]]
###[[ORB - Volunteer grantwriters]]
###[[ORB - Professional, Outcome-Based Grantwriters]]
##[[ORB - Collaborative Stakeholder Funding]]
##[[ORB - Tool and Material Donations]]
##[[ORB - Charitable Contributions]]

[[Category:OSA]]

Organoponic Raised Bed Gardening

2009-03-12T17:58:51Z

Dennis:

{{Site header}}

----
Organoponic Raised Bed gardens (ORBs) - the ultimate growing method outdoors would consist of fertigated (irrigated with fertilizer) raised compost beds, replacing poor soil, poor moisture conditions. Fertilizer could be organic or microbial cultures. This is an integration of John Jeavons' biointensive growing with hydroponics, both of which are efficient techniques. Food self-sufficiency with minimum weeding is a byproduct. Relationships: if grown in a greenhouse, plastic extrusion of greenhouse glazing is relevant. If ORBs are done outside, then a [[hammer mill]] is relevant for large-scale compost shredding.

=Collaboration=
==Review of Project Status==
==ORB - Current Work==
==ORB - Developments Needed==
Specific plans for a permaculture garden that incorporates aquaponics are needed.

Here is a [http://www.oceanarks.org/img/intervale_diagram_lg.jpg plan for a polyculture greenhouse] from John Todd's work at Intervale Farms in Vermont that produces high value crops like mushrooms, salad greens and fish from waste materials like straw, spent animal bedding and waste grains.

Plans, DIY instructions and parts for small to large aquaponic systems can be found at [http://www.backyardaquaponics.com Backyard Aquaponics].
===ORB - General===
===ORB - Specific===
====ORB - Background Debriefing====
====ORB - Information Work====
====ORB - Hardware Work====

==ORB - Sign-in==
=Development Work Template=
#[[ORB - Product Definition]]
##[[ORB - General]]
##[[ORB - General Scope]]
##[[ORB - Product Ecology]]
###[[ORB - Localization]]
###[[ORB - Scaleability]]
###[[ORB - Analysis of Scale]]
###[[ORB - Lifecycle Analysis]]
##[[ORB - Enterprise Options]]
##[[ORB - Development Approach]]
###[[ORB - Timeline]]
###[[ORB - Development Budget]]
####[[ORB - Value Spent]]
####[[ORB - Value available]]
####[[ORB - Value needed]]
##[[ORB - Deliverables and Product Specifications]]
##[[ORB - Industry Standards]]
##[[ORB - Market and Market Segmentation]]
##[[ORB - Salient Features and Keys to Success]]
#[[ORB - Technical Design]]
##[[ORB - Product System Design]]
###[[ORB - Diagrams and Conceptual Drawings]]
####[[ORB - Pattern Language Icons]]
####[[ORB - Structural Diagram]]
####[[ORB - Funcional or Process Diagram]]
####[[ORB - Workflow]]
###[[ORB - Technical Issues]]
###[[ORB - Deployment Strategy]]
###[[ORB - Performance specifications]]
###[[ORB - Calculations]]
####[[ORB - Design Calculations]]
####[[ORB - Yields]]
####[[ORB - Rates]]
####[[ORB - Structural Calculations]]
####[[ORB - Power Requirements]]
####[[ORB - Ergonomics of Production]]
####[[ORB -Time Requirements]]
####[[ORB - Economic Breakeven Analysis]]
####[[ORB - Scaleability Calculations]]
####[[ORB - Growth Calculations]]
###[[ORB - Technical Drawings and CAD]]
###[[ORB - CAM Files]]
##[[ORB - Component Design]]
###[[ORB - Diagrams]]
###[[ORB - Conceptual drawings]]
###[[ORB - Performance specifications]]
###[[ORB - Performance calculations]]
###[[ORB - Technical drawings and CAD]]
###[[ORB - CAM files whenever available]]
##[[ORB - Subcomponents]]
#[[ORB - Deployment and Results]]
##[[ORB - Production steps]]
##[[ORB - Flexible Fabrication or Production]]
##[[ORB - Bill of materials]]
##[[ORB - Pictures and Video]]
##[[ORB - Data]]
#[[ORB - Documentation and Education]]
##[[ORB - Documentation]]
##[[ORB - Enterprise Plans]]
#[[ORB - Resource Development]]
##[[ORB - Identifying Stakeholders]]
###[[ORB - Information Collaboration]]
####[[ORB - Wiki Markup]]
####[[ORB - Addition of Supporting References]]
####[[ORB - Production of diagrams, flowcharts, 3D computer models, and other qualitative information architecture]]
####[[ORB - Technical Calculations, Drawings, CAD, CAM, other]]
###[[ORB - Prototyping]]
###[[ORB - Funding]]
###[[ORB - Preordering working products]]
###[[ORB - Grantwriting]]
###[[ORB - Publicity]]
###[[ORB - User/Fabricator Training and Accreditation]]
###[[ORB - Standards and Certification Developmen]]
###[[ORB - Other]]
##[[ORB - Grantwriting]]
###[[ORB - Volunteer grantwriters]]
###[[ORB - Professional, Outcome-Based Grantwriters]]
##[[ORB - Collaborative Stakeholder Funding]]
##[[ORB - Tool and Material Donations]]
##[[ORB - Charitable Contributions]]

[[Category:OSA]]

Hammer Mill

2009-03-12T17:57:38Z

Dennis: /* Operation */

{{Site header}}

==Operation==
The basic principle is straightforward. A hammermill is essentially a steel drum containing a vertical or horizontal roating shaft or drum on which hammers are mounted. The hammers are free to swing on the ends of the cross, or fixed to the central rotor. The rotor is spun at a high speed inside the drum while material is fed into a feed hopper. The material is impacted by the hammer bars and is thereby shredded and expelled through screens in the drum of a selected size.
Hammer mill apple shredder for juicing.

Small grain hammermills can be operated on household current. Large automobile shredders can use one or more 2000 horsepower (1.5 MW) diesel engines to power the hammermill.

The Screenless hammer mill uses air flow to separate small particles from larger ones. It is designed to be more reliable, and is also claimed to be much cheaper and more energy efficient than regular hammermills. (Taken from Wikipedia.)--[[User:Dennis|Dennis]] 15:24, 12 March 2009 (UTC)
----
Hammer Mill (HM) - it appears that CEB walls, wood rafters, and green roofs thrown on top of a roof by a hammer mill are a great method for building with 100% onsite material. Straw or branches are chopped by a hammer mill - and these have a strong ejection port that may throw such biomass on top of a roof to decompose into a green roof. The hammer mill may chop straw or newspaper for straw-clay insulation. The hammer mill is the great aid for any organic farming - with any type of compost chopped for facilitating decay. Critical to soil fertility if enhanced soil building is required. The hammer mill can also chop a large variety of other items, perhaps plastic for recycling. We are using one currently to make mulch for [[Organoponic Raised Bed Gardening]] and to mulch our orchard. May be applicable to mulching wood for making compressed wood gas.

=Collaboration=
==Review of Project Status==
== HM - Current Work==
== HM - Developments Needed==
=== HM - General===
=== HM - Specific===
==== HM - Background Debriefing====
==== HM - Information Work====
==== HM - Hardware Work====
== HM - Sign-in==
=Development Work Template=
#[[HM - Product Definition]]
##[[HM - General]]
##[[HM - General Scope]]
##[[HM - Product Ecology]]
###[[HM - Localization]]
###[[HM - Scaleability]]
###[[HM - Analysis of Scale]]
###[[HM - Lifecycle Analysis]]
##[[HM - Enterprise Options]]
##[[HM - Development Approach]]
###[[HM - Timeline]]
###[[HM - Development Budget]]
####[[HM - Value Spent]]
####[[HM - Value available]]
####[[HM - Value needed]]
##[[HM - Deliverables and Product Specifications]]
##[[HM - Industry Standards]]
##[[HM - Market and Market Segmentation]]
##[[HM - Salient Features and Keys to Success]]
#[[HM - Technical Design]]
##[[HM - Product System Design]]
###[[HM - Diagrams and Conceptual Drawings]]
####[[HM - Pattern Language Icons]]
####[[HM - Structural Diagram]]
####[[HM - Funcional or Process Diagram]]
####[[HM - Workflow]]
###[[HM - Technical Issues]]
###[[HM - Deployment Strategy]]
###[[HM - Performance specifications]]
###[[HM - Calculations]]
####[[HM - Design Calculations]]
####[[HM - Yields]]
####[[HM - Rates]]
####[[HM - Structural Calculations]]
####[[HM - Power Requirements]]
####[[HM - Ergonomics of Production]]
####[[HM -Time Requirements]]
####[[HM - Economic Breakeven Analysis]]
####[[HM - Scaleability Calculations]]
####[[HM - Growth Calculations]]
###[[HM - Technical Drawings and CAD]]
###[[HM - CAM Files]]
##[[HM - Component Design]]
###[[HM - Diagrams]]
###[[HM - Conceptual drawings]]
###[[HM - Performance specifications]]
###[[HM - Performance calculations]]
###[[HM - Technical drawings and CAD]]
###[[HM - CAM files whenever available]]
##[[HM - Subcomponents]]
#[[HM - Deployment and Results]]
##[[HM - Production steps]]
##[[HM - Flexible Fabrication or Production]]
##[[HM - Bill of materials]]
##[[HM - Pictures and Video]]
##[[HM - Data]]
#[[HM - Documentation and Education]]
##[[HM - Documentation]]
##[[HM - Enterprise Plans]]
#[[HM - Resource Development]]
##[[HM - Identifying Stakeholders]]
###[[HM - Information Collaboration]]
####[[HM - Wiki Markup]]
####[[HM - Addition of Supporting References]]
####[[HM - Production of diagrams, flowcharts, 3D computer models, and other qualitative information architecture]]
####[[HM - Technical Calculations, Drawings, CAD, CAM, other]]
###[[HM - Prototyping]]
###[[HM - Funding]]
###[[HM - Preordering working products]]
###[[HM - Grantwriting]]
###[[HM - Publicity]]
###[[HM - User/Fabricator Training and Accreditation]]
###[[HM - Standards and Certification Developmen]]
###[[HM - Other]]
##[[HM - Grantwriting]]
###[[HM - Volunteer grantwriters]]
###[[HM - Professional, Outcome-Based Grantwriters]]
##[[HM - Collaborative Stakeholder Funding]]
##[[HM - Tool and Material Donations]]
##[[HM - Charitable Contributions]]
[[Category:OSA]]

Factor E Farm Inventory

2009-03-12T17:54:32Z

Dennis: /* kitchen */

=Rationale for this document=
To better understand what can be done, one needs to know what is available in terms of tools and resources available.

=Resources available on site=
==natural resources==
rivers or streams?

calcium carbonate?

springs?

geothermal hot spots?

wind?

forest?

==PV panels==
==[[LifeTrac]]==
==[[CEB]]==
==Machinery==
arc welder?

torches?

water treatment?

water heater?

compressor?

cement sprayer?

cement mixer?

hot house?

generators?

video cameras?

wireless router

==hand tools==
==battery operated construction tools==
sawzall?

drill motors?

routers?
==lighting==
portable halogen lights?

=Resources available near site=
scrap metal?

lumber yard?

tool shops?

proximity to 'junk yard'

recycling centers?

==kitchen==
What's in the kitchen?

stove?

refrigerator?

storage?

sink?

running water?

==number of dwellings==

Factor E Farm Inventory

2009-03-12T17:53:50Z

Dennis: /* Resources available near site */

Eric Hunting Resource Guide

2009-03-12T17:33:36Z

Dennis: /* Cast Socket */

I've been mulling this over for a time and I think I can offer a list of some things to get this started. Some of this relates to research I've been doing on a T-Slot sourcebook. The outline order is not that orderly, since I was pulling a lot of things from memory, bookshelves, and loose bookmarks, but it's a start. I tried to find an order by age or sophistication within sub-categories. Other approaches may be better. I've also listed a lot of commercial sources as examples rather than sticking with just open source projects, since there are very few for many areas of technology other than software.

Open Source Tools: (these would ultimately follow the same break-down as the Commercial Tools, only they are very few at the moment)

==[[RepRap]] ==
- The first open source fabber, first to self-replicate - http://reprap.org/bin/view/Main/WebHome

==Fab@Home==
- Second open source fabber - http://fabathome.org/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

==Hextatic==
- Open CNC machine design based on hexapod/Stewart platform structure. Under development, not yet prototyped - http://fennetic.net/machines/hextatic

==NIST RoboCrane==
Relatively simple cable-based Stewart platform system built with T-Slot and suited to numerous very large area machine and robot applications such as extremely large scale CNC. Not intended to be open source technology, but, as a publicly funded research project, potentially readily acquired for such projects and another good example of T-Slot based tool design - http://www.isd.mel.nist.gov/projects/robocrane/

==BugLabs Platform==
Open Source software based (but not hardware) modular electronics platform for personal gadgets - http://buglabs.net/

==Commercial Tools:==
(obviously, this cannot cover all such tools. I'm focussing on a selection of the more advanced tools like that of the Fab Labs that are potentially leveraging independent production)

=== Multi-Tools===
(reconfigurable machine tools based on modular components):

==Unimat-1 - 6== in 1 modular miniature machine tool based on a T-Slot structure. The most advanced model is suited to light metals and potentially adaptable into a CNC platform. A good example of using T-Slot for the design of small tool systems. http://www.unimat-1.com/

==Sign/Vinyl Cutters:==
Laser Cutter/Engravers:
Hydrocutters:
Multi-Axis Milling Machines:

==Sherline==
Line of small adaptable table-top lathes and milling machines with CNC options. http://www.sherline.com/index.html

==CNC Machines:==

==Torchmate== Line of table-based CNC platforms based on T-Slot chassis for DIY assembly. Can employ router and plasma cutter heads. Good example of T-Slot use for large scale machine tool designs. http://www.torchmate.com/

===Flat Bed Printers:===
Rapid Prototyping Systems/3D Printers:

==Z Corp 3D Printers==
- Leading line of rapid prototyping systems with full color capability - http://www.zcorp.com/

===3D Scanners:===
Extruders:

==Design/Engineering Tools:==
Physical Desig, CAD/Visualization, Simulation/Analysis:

==SketchUp==
Free basic 3D modeling package sponsored by Google. Available for Mac and PC platforms. Compatible with 3Dconnexxion space mouse devices. http://sketchup.google.com/
I'm pretty strong with this application, though far from an expert--[[User:Dennis|Dennis]] 17:23, 12 March 2009 (UTC)

==Plumbing/Hydraulics/Pneumatics/Pneudraulics, fluid/pneumatic circuit design :==

Circuit Design, PCB-CAD, SPICE, VHDL, ETL, RTL

==Phonics, optics simulation:==

Software, platforms, languages, editors, APIs:

(there should be a lot of Linux related links for this section)

Fabrication Technologies: (Here we have a breakdown of fabrication technologies which would be used to categorize specific links and references. I am making here the distinction here between fabrication -the creation of largely monolithic objects- and building or construction -the assembly of an artifact from parts)

Spinning/Weaving:
Felting:
Spinning, hand, machine:
Spinneret Extrusion:
Looms, hand, machine, digital:
Knitting, hand, machine, digital:
Embroidery:

Tanning/Leatherworking:

Papermaking:
Parchment:
Vellum:
Pulp Paper:
Synthetic:

Bookbinding:
Hard Cover:
Soft Cover:

==Sculpting:==
Hand Sculpting:
Papier Mache:
Origami:
Potterywork:
Hand Forming:
Coiling:
Throwing (wheel pottery):
Jiggering (wheel lathing):

==Glassmaking:==
Blown:
Free-Form:
Crown:
Cylinder:
Blown formed:
Lampworking:
Caneworking:
Cast:
Pressed:
Rolled:
Float Glass:

==Carving/Grinding:==
Wood/Stone/Crystal:

Smelting:

Machining:
Breaks, Benders:
Die-Cutters:
Milling (drills, saws, grinders, sanders, routers, lathes, multi-axis milling):
CNC:
Flat-Bed Routers:
Sign Cutters:
Hydrocutters:
Laser Cutters, Drills, Engravers:

Forming:
Hammer Shaping/Blacksmithing:
Presses/Stampers:
Casting/Molding:
Investment Casting:
Die Casting:
Embeddment/Suspension Casting:
Compression Molding:
Thermoforming:
Vacuum Forming:
Blow-Molding:
Injection Molding:
Rotomolding:
Laminating:
Extrusion:

Surfacing:
Painting:
Etching, Relief Carving:
Tiling, Mosaic, Inlay:
Decoupage:

Lithography/Printing:
Traditional:
Plate (fixed and rotary):
Photolithography:
Xerography:
Digital Xerography:
Digital Impact:
Thermal Print:
Thermojet (inkjet):
Beam (electron, ion):
Laser Engraving, 3D Engraving:
Laser Bonding:

Fabbing/Rapid Prototyping/Stereo Lithography/3D Printing:

Culturing:
Trained and Pleached Wood/Bamboo Structures:

Modular Building Systems: (here I've put in some descriptions from my work on the T-slot Sourcebook. This is an example of how the fabrication and engineering sections would be fleshed-out)

==Matrix/Box Beam/Grid Beam==
Modular building system invented by designer Ken Isaacs in the 1950s based on square holed wood, aluminum, or steel struts/beams joined with 'trilap' bolted joints and using a scalable regular geometry. One of the earliest deliberately open source building systems.

http://www.gridbeamers.com/
How To Make Your Own Living Structures by ken Isaacs
The Box Beam Sourcebook by Richard Jergensen

==Holed Profile==
Construction based on tubular, 'L' shaped, and flat allow struts with regularly spaced holes. Though the technology is public domain, geometries are not standard from one manufacturer to another, though some are compatible with the geometry of Matrix. Popularized with the classic building toys Mechano and Erector Set. Commonly used for laboratory equipment, prototype machines, and simple home-brew construction before being supplanted by T-Slot.

==Plate Frame Systems==
Plate frame systems are most commonly seen in the electronics industry today but had their origins in the engineering of watches, clocks, and other gear-based mechanical systems and are commonly employed as the basis of electronics and machine 'chassis' structures, though they have often been employed in other uses and have featured in such things as novel furniture designs. They are based on the use of rigid plates of alloy, wood, plastics, and composites which are formed into stacks through the use of pins, posts, or blocks held in place by screws. This structure forms the basis of a frame holding static and movable components between the plates which, through the use of holes and surface-mounted fittings, hold parts in place from one or two sides. In electronics plates are usually formed of composite circuit board materials -and in earlier times materials known as 'phenolics' or 'phenolic composites' such as the well known Bakelite. In mechanical systems such as clocks alloys are the norm and may often be cut with openings for variably sized parts held in multiple stacks or to minimize weight or simply to create 'reveals' of the works for decoration. In decorative or educational machines such as 'visible' clocks clear plastic plates are sometimes used. Not strictly a true modular building system in the past, the use of plate materials with regular quadratic hole grids have sometimes been employed, particularly for the prototyping of electronics circuits and for some construction toys based on the technology. Though greatly declining in use in machine design in the late 20th century, it has seen a revival specifically in the maker movement as a result of the limitation of many early fab tools to cutting sheet material, thus inspiring new invention with plate frame designs.

==Rod & Clamp Framing==
Currently typified by its use as a framing system for the [[RepRap]] open fabber, this very old modular building system has obscure origins, possibly originating earlier than even the 19th century and may have derived from early scientific instrumentation. Very likely the origin of the concept of ball socket space frames. Based on the use of blocks with holes that clamp rods in place using a set-screw, the angle and placement of holes on the blocks determine the type of joint with 'trilap' joints supporting box frame structure common but with endless other possibilities such as octet and geodesic space frames. Blocks are typically equipped with additional fittings to support other components or cladding panels but rods can also be used to attach lighter objects or cladding using clips or simple 'C' clamps. Rods and blocks can also be used as parts of linear actuators and are sometimes precision ruled and engraved with ruling lines to allow for precision adjustable sliding elements. Produced with an endless assortment of materials but works best with alloy rods and alloy, plastic, or wood blocks and is usually limited to small light structures.

==Pipe Fitting Systems==
Possibly a derivative of Rod & Clamp systems, this common modular building system originated in the early 20th century and today has numerous producers worldwide. Popularized in the US under the brand name KeeKlamp. Public domain as a technology, but without an open source or public domain component set. Pipe Fitting Systems combine common galvanized pipe normally used for plumbing with sets of modular cast steel joints that clamp the pipes in place using a hex nut. Commonly used for institutional hand railing, playground equipment, industrial shelving, and greenhouse structures as well as many home-brew and temporary structures. Experimented with by Ken Isaacs in the 1960s as the basis of external support superstructures for lighter habitat structures.

==Space Frame Systems==
Appearing early in the 20th century, these systems were a particular fascination for Modernist designers but have never lived up to their early promise of being cheap and ubiquitous due to the inability -or refusal- of manufacturers to standardized on components across the industry. Used for everything from building toys to the largest clear-span buildings in the world, space frames are used as space-filling structures often based on octet geometry, planar trusses used for roof and floor decks, and as space enclosure systems such as the classic geodesic sphere or dome. Though once characterized as symbolic of Machine Age efficiency and expected to become ubiquitous, all commercial architectural uses of the technology to date have been based on manufacture-on-demand at outrageous cost premiums. Space frame systems come in the following types;

==Ball Socket==
uses nodal joints based on precision fabricated alloy balls with screw sockets that interface to screws on the ends of tubular alloy struts. The most common form of commercial space frame, popularized by the German Mero corporation. Often considered the strongest of the space frame joint schemes, typically only available as standardized off-the-shelf parts for very light systems used for kiosks and indoor store displays. Also considered the most sophisticated of space frame systems, it can employ the broadest range of materials for struts, including wood, plastic, FRP, fiberglass and carbon fiber composites, high-strength ceramics, and even solid wood or laminates. Even super-pressure pneumatic membrane struts have been used with this. Can be highly decorative with various anodized or powder coat treatments of parts or the use of wood or wood veneer over struts. The high precision needed for ball socket fabrication has long been a barrier to hobbyist or home-brew use of the type.

==Novum (formerly Mero)==
http://www.novumstructures.com/novum/
==Cast Socket==
uses nodal joints based on cast or milled alloys to which struts attach by bolts perpendicular to the strut. Very often uses square or rectangular tubular profiles for struts, offering more cladding options over ball socket systems but at a cost in aesthetics. Also often uses modular units for nodes to simplify their fabrication and allow for some variation of geometry from a smaller set of parts. Easier to fabricate than ball socket but still challenging for home-brew development.

==Crimp and Clamp: ==
Specific to the use of enclosure space frames such as geodesic domes and to the use of light alloy tubular struts, is based on crimping the ends of struts then rolling their flattened ends to create a precision angled pin that is clamped in slotted tubular or solid cylinder node joints. Has the great advantage of reducing the node parts to simple standard shapes but the crimping and rolling of the struts tends to limit them to malleable steel alloys and highly stressed the metal, leading to potential fatigue failures that limits its use to light structures. Very common for playground domes and tent domes.

==Plate Node==
The simplest of space frame systems, is based on stamped alloy nodes that hold struts by perpendicular bolts. Largely the same as cast sockets save for the use of flat plate alloy that is stamped, folded, and rolled into the necessary shapes and sometime based on multiple pieces in order to sandwich struts between two or more plates for increased strength. Very commonly used for home-brew geodesic domes, is very commonly employed by DIY builders and is one of the few types that can effectively use wood as a strut material, thus it is standard for wood framed dome home products.

==Plate Module: ==
A departure from traditional systems and a derivative of plate truss systems, plate module systems employ plates as both node AND strut, using a large triangulated piece of flat material that interfaces to others, often with the use of an alloy plate or other interface. Plates are often fashioned with an open space in their inner area but are also used 'closed web'. The approach is typified by the Fly's Eye Dome devised by Fuller but can be stronger when used as the basis of box trusses and planar truss structures. Typically based on stamped alloys, it can also use common sheet materials like plywood. Has recently been studied as the basis of robotic self-assembling space frames based on equipping each plate modular with active components that allow them to climb over each other and link into place with powered locking hinges.

==Glue Socket:==
A recent invention intended to find ways of using bamboo as a strut material in space frame structutres, glue socket space frames are inspired by classic wooden construction toys. Wooden blocks are precision milled to form nodal joins with hole sockets similar to ball socket nodes but shaped more like cast nodes. Struts of wood, engineered lumber, or bamboo are then inserted into the sockets and a high performance adhesive is pressure-injected into the socket to glue the strut permanently in place. High natural uniformity is necessary when using bamboo members.

==Tensegrity: ==
First devised by Kenneth Snelson but often wrongly attributed to Buckminster Fuller who adopted the concept as an expression of his Synergetics concept, this class of space frame structures is based on combining tension cables and rigid struts in self-tensioned networks where struts join only to tension cables. One of the most sophisticated of space frame types, their full potential remains unexploited despite being well suited to Maker experimentation. Introduction of nanofiber cable materials is likely to see great expansion of this form of structure.

==N55 Space Frame - ==
A unique variant of 'L' profile based holed profile systems using specially formed galvanized steel struts bolted together at nested ends to create and octet space frame structure. Can integrate roto-molded/blow-molded polyethylene containers also designed by N55 and open source. N55 Space Frame has a relatively high parts count for its structures but has been used to produce large and complex structures including buildings, floating platforms able to support buildings, suspended/hanging platforms, pontoon boats, and an endless variety of machines, furniture, and even sculptural objects.

http://www.n55.dk/MANUALS/SPACEFRAME/spaceframe.html

==Modular Wooden Post & Beam==
The oldest of modular framing systems with examples thousands of years old, this building system is typified by pre-industrial architecture but is not exclusive to architectural uses. The most refined of the traditional Post & beam systems may come from the Japanese tradition with housing based on the 'ken' system of modularity based on the dimensional standards of tatami floor matting. Japanese architecture and furniture were often a source of inspiration to early Modernist designers. Wooden Post & Beam framing is usually based on simple rectilinear geometry and employs wooden posts and beams with integral carved wooden tongue & groove joint elements locked with sometimes hidden wooden pegs. Contemporary systems have employed steel plate secured by bolts. X and Y axis posts typically must employ different planes to interface at common posts, but Japanese and more contemporary joinery have sometimes overcome this limitation. Despite its age and natural modularity, no true standardized mass-produced systems have ever evolved. The Japanese systems came closest to realizing this before being supplanted by western building system with industrialization. Many modular systems have been developed on a per-design basis, but not as a generalized building system, though no technical obstacles exist for this. The chief obstacles for its common use today are the high skill required for fabrication of its joinery, the increasing scarcity and cost solid lumber of large dimensions, and the high mass of its components as architectural scales.

==Bali-T Houses Polynesian-Modern style kit homes==
http://www.balithouse.com/
Shelter Kit - post & beam kit homes based on bolted joint systems - http://www.shelter-kit.com/
Kure-Tec steel plate joinery system for post & beam framing. (also used with Volkshaus system) - http://www.tatsumi-web.com/hp/home/new-index.htm

==Modular Block Masonry==
Traditional block masonry, originating with the adobe block, is a very ancient building technology with the production of such blocks often considered the first form of mass production industry. But while such blocks are inherently modular themselves, this form of building has not often been regarded as a modular building system owing to the lack of direct interface between blocks. Adhesive mortar holds brick/block walls together, thus masonry has typically been seen as a means to create monolithic structures from small units. However, in the 20th century the ability to machine-produce blocks with much higher precision than before has lead to the use of direct block-to-block mechanical interfacing intended to reduce or eliminate the need for mortar in construction. This has also expanded the range of materials and uses for this beyond the architectural. However, as with many other forms of modular building, no definitive standard systems have ever evolved and one is usually limited to systems designed by a particular block manufacturer. Typified today by the construction toy Lego, modular block systems are characterized by the reliance upon a mechanical interface between blocks to hold them together rather than any kind of glue or mortar -though these may be used to create a water-proof seal- and the use of blocks of different shape to support the varying topology and features of a structure. Blocks may fit together in multiple planes of interface like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle or they may rely on a separate system of tie-rods, bolts, or pins which link them together. Traditional materials such as earth, clay, concrete, and stone are common -since this is still dominated by architectural uses- but many more materials are now used such as engineered lumber, engineered (cast) stone, gypsum composites, ceramics, cast and molded glass, shaped alloy profiles, and plastics. Recently, the use of blocks featuring active robotic systems allowing for self-assembly of structures and machines have been explored among robotics designers. Though a public domain technology in general, the only modular block systems to get close to an open source building system standard have been precision compressed earth block systems such as the Auram system. (http://www.earth-auroville.com/?nav=menu&pg=auram&id1=7)

==FRP Frame & Panel==
A very recently introduced technology, FRP frame and panel systems are based on the use of fiberglass reinforced pultruded plastics extruded in systems of self-interlocking posts, beams and corrugated panels held together mechanically. Emerging mostly in industrial building uses, has been experimented with as the basis of housing on the premise that plastic is actually more environmentally sound than it has long been given credit for based on its use of recycled cellulose and the low energy overhead of its production compared to alloys and concrete. Currently no open source or public domain systems exist nor are there any truly standard systems independent of any one manufacturer, though there may be no obstacles to the creation of these. Little explored because of its newness, FRP has has much potential as a maker technology owing to the relatively small scale and low energy of pultrusion systems compared to alloy extrusion and the potential to develop epoxies that are low-toxic and plant sourced.

==Modular Stressed Skin Systems==
Stressed skin systems are typified by the semi-monocoque structures common to early aircraft and boats as well as 'woven panel domes' where a kind of geodesic dome is made by layered panels and tension structures where a tent-like membrane is tensioned by a system of frames or piers. Stressed skin systems are generally based on the combination of a 'skin' or 'hull' structure that is tensioned by either its own material stiffness or by a frame structure so as to translate localized compression forces into distributed tension forces. In effect. working in the manner of a 'closed web' or 'box' truss or a 'tensegrity' structure employing a skin rather than tension cables. Though a common structural technique, very few attempts have been made to modularize these systems on anything but a self-contained macrostructural element level -in effect using these kinds of structures as a whole unit element of a much larger structure. The International Space Station is a good example of this approach. However, in a few instances attempts at modularizing the component elements of a stressed skin structure have been explored, most commonly in the form of contemporary tents and tension structures and in the use of plywood or SIP (structural insulated panel) shell structures. Plywood domes (http://www.sover.net/~triorbtl/rd18.html), hypoid or conics roof systems (http://www.fishrock.com/conics/), and systems like Vinay Gupta's Hexayurt (http://hexayurt.com/) may be some of the best current examples of this. In the 1960s designer Ken Isaacs experimented with stressed skin plywood cabin or 'microhouse' designs that employed standardized modular panel and spar elements connected by small block joints or alloy angles, the edge seams sealed with aluminum tape. Some of the more LEM-spacecraft-like designs Isaacs employed have been revived recently with new geometry in work by N55 (http://www.n55.dk/MANUALS/MICRO_DWELLINGS/micro_dwellings.html) Conventional wood frame systems for housing have evolved into a kind of stressed skin system based on the reliance on external cladding (and to a lesser extent internal cladding) for structural integrity. These, however, have only recently begun being used in any modular way on the level of panel module systems using factory produced panels or OSB based SIPs. No standardized systems have developed for this in the conventional housing industry in the western world, but one potential standardized system does exist, however, in the form of the Volkshaus system developed in Japan by the design group Landship (http://www.landship.co.jp/) and marketed commercially by several companies. (http://www.a-kit.com/) An evolution in some ways of the traditional Japanese 'ken' system, Volkshaus uses steel plate joined post and beam framing with prefabricated stressed skin composite wall, floor, and roofing panels. In spite of its heritage, the resulting sophisticated homes have more in common with Scandinavian contemporary housing in their appearance. The system is potentially feasible in both a DIY and factory setting, though currently its use is dominated by several companies in Japan. Its developers have produced books and even design software for builders, but only in Japanese.

==T-Slot Aluminum Profile Framing==The premier modular building system today, is based on the use of extruded aluminum alloy profiles that feature integral T-shaped channels to which bolt connectors are attached to link them into simple post and beam frame structures to which can be attached an endless assortment of modular fittings and equipment. Fittings allow for surface-mount attachment as well as integral of attachment based on fitting mounted inside the ends of profiles. Profiles also often feature multiple hollow interior channels both for reinforcement and to serve as the basis pneumatic and hydraulic power distribution or can serve as cable runs. Truss systems have also been made with these, based on open and closed web trusses assembled as composites of several profiles and connecting parts. In a few cases space frames have been produced. Appearing sometime in the 20th century, T-Slot was introduced in the late 1960s or early 1970s for the construction of custom industrial automation systems, offering a powerful solution for the high cost for the development and adaptation of automated systems. It quickly became ubiquitous for laboratory equipment and prototype robotics and eventually supplanted Box Beam as the most popular building system among eco-technology experimenters. With very high strength to weight performance and a growing variety of profile shapes, new alternative materials such as carbon fiber, FRP, and wood, and a huge worldwide catalog of accessory parts, today its list of uses are endless and with the recent introduction of large scale profiles it has begun being used for housing and plug-in architecture systems based on post and beam structures. With most new digital machine tools commonly being prototyped using T-Slot, the variety of sources very numerous, and the variety of the off-the-shelf parts very high, T-Slot represents one of the best choices for maker projects. However, it remains somewhat costly due to manufacturer pricing focused on a typically spendthrift technical/industrial business market. Curiously, as ubiquitous as it is, T-Slot remains little known at the DIY enthusiast level, largely due to a lack of any media about its use. Similarly, most manufacturers of T-Slot products are so culturally focused on the industrial market they are largely oblivious to the huge variety of other uses their own products have actually been put to.

MK Profiles - http://www.mkprofiles.com/default.asp
Bosch Profiles - http://www.boschrexroth-us.com/country_units/america/united_states/en/products/brl/product_overview1/mge/index.jsp
80:20 - http://www.8020.net/
Tslots -http://www.tslots.com/index.html
Jeriko House - http://www.jerikohouse.com/
iT House - http://www.tkithouse.com/
Tomahouses - http://www.tomahouse.com/

=Non-Modular Building Systems:=

==Traditional Carpentry==
Supported by the vast majority of off-the-shelf tools and contemporary DIY literature, traditional wood carpentry remains the most common set of techniques used for independent manufacture in the western world. However, it is also entirely limited to wood and engineered wood materials, severely limiting the range of practical artifacts it is capable of producing. Though decorative techniques can be extremely elaborate, wooden assemblies are commonly based on fitted box panel and box frame structures using tab, biscuit, mortice and tendon, dovetail, small nail and screw, small metal fitting, glue, and slot/key joinery at the small scale and post and beam, stressed skin, and 'light wood' or 'platform' framing using mortice and tendon, nail, and bolt joiner at the large scale. More sophisticated techniques include the use of space frames and formed/bent wood and laminates. Without the benefits of modularity, traditional carpentry tends to demand high skill levels and labor to compete in quality with factory products and can be wasteful of an increasingly unsustainable resource, particularly at large scales. Sustainability has improved to a small degree with the increased use of engineered lumber materials using formerly waste material, though sometimes at the compromise of latent toxicity from chemicals. The introduction of materials like wheatboard and new bamboo and other more renewable lumber alternatives offers some hope for improving this further, though most of these new materials remain beyond the means of small scale production and unavailable from typical lumber sources.

==Welded Profile Spaceframe Systems==
Welded profile space frame systems employ tubular alloy profiles in typically round or square profile shapes as the basis of a structure assembled with welded joints. They usually employ either rectilinear box frames -typical of housing uses and machine structures/enclosures, or triangulated trusses but can be elaborated into complex free-form shapes through the custom-bending of frame members, as demonstrated by the space frame chassis of some vehicles. Though not modular in themselves due to their welded connections and often non-regular topology, when standardized over a whole form they can serve very well as the foundation for modular retrofit components, as also well demonstrated by their vehicle applications. Indeed, this is the most-likely basis of the design and production of larger open source artifacts such as automobiles, given that the technology offers superior performance characteristics to the more conventional pressed steel welded unibody construction of factory-produced automobiles (hence its common use in race cars and military vehicles) while still being suited to the scale of production of a very small machine shop. Welded profile space frame structures based on structural steel profiles have also been a mainstay for housing applications among Modernist architects and have proven very effective. Such housing has often seen an attempt by designers to modularize their structures through standardized component dimensions and the use of large modular sectional frames that are partly prefabricated and partly site assembled.

==Composite Shells==Composites shells are rigid shell structures which are made of a combination of resins and fiber reinforcement, commonly in the forms of fiberglass, polyester, and carbon fiber. Though employed in such advanced applications as aircraft structures, the basic techniques used may have their origins in the simple techniques of papier-mache; the method of making sculptures from layers of glue/starch-soaked paper strips. Several techniques are common; formed, foam-core, free-form, and wound. Formed composite shells are made by creating removable forms, usually of plywood or corrugated cardboard, in an either concave or convex shape to which resin-soaked mats or tape are applied in multiple layers to build up a rigid shell finished in a smooth coating of resin. Small structures are usually self-rigid but larger more complex shapes can often be reinforced by bonding in flat or tubular spars of pre-made composite to create a monocoque or stressed skin structure. Large structures are sometimes produced in sections which are mechanically assembled along facing edge spars before being 'knit' together to seal their seams. This allows for the build-up of large structures by using assemblages of thin unfinished sectional shells as permanent forms for thicker shells built-up on top of them. Foam core shells are made by carving blocks of polyurethane or polystyrene foam into the desired shape then applying the resin-soaked fiber layers leaving the foam permanently in place. This technique is commonly employed in the creation of surf boards and pontoon hulls. The technique allows for intricate shapes based on the density of foam used but is best suited to structures that are intended to be monolithic in character, as surf boards are. Double-sided finished shell structures are possible based on using hollow foam structures sculpted to shape on both exterior and interior surfaces. Free-form shells are based on the use of wire mesh as a sacrificial form to construct a desired shape which is then covered in layers of resin-soaked fiber. This technique allows for very intricately detailed sculptural forms over very large areas. Wound shells are made by mounting a form structure on a large axial spindle which allows it to be rotated whole as fiber is applied as a continuous string or tape in a continuous semi-automated process. Rigs are sometimes designed to allow windings in multiple directions for each layer or wound layers may alternate with matted layers. This most sophisticated composite shell technique is used almost exclusively by the aerospace industry to make composite carbon fiber aircraft structures and fuel tanks but has also been used for the creation of super-pressure pneumatic tanks used for compressed air powered vehicles and energy storage systems.

Monocoque and Stressed Skin Structures - Typically associated with ships and aircraft, this class of structures is also common to structures using composite shell construction and and is characterized by the use of skin materials tensioned by their own stiffness and/or the use of an internal framework. In a stressed skin system, or semi-monocoque, the skin material may have no stiffness and rely entirely on a frame structure combining spars with perpendicular stringers or triangulated struts. This internal frame is intended to translate internal and external loads into tension on the skin material. In a true monocoque the stiffness of the skin material alone, usually employing rounded shapes, is relied on for strength but may be supplemented by spars, whose chief job is to communicate internal loads to the exterior shell without concentrating them on any one skin point. Favored for their strength-to-weight performance, these structures can be some of the most complex to build combining many techniques and using many different materials. Key among the engineering challenges is the means to interface skin materials of limited dimensions. Limited by the practical dimensions of lumber, early ships employed complex mortice and tendon system to join relatively thin planks into large area shells that behaved as though they were monolithic. Of course, they were never entirely waterproof. Later techniques based on lamination of wood, the gluing of fabrics, and riveting and welding of alloys emerged. Today, continuous welding of alloys and laminate polymer/fiber composites are common. True monocoque structures represent the highest challenge for casual makers owing to the very large skill sets and precision they require. Stressed skin systems are much less challenging in this respect and can be produced with fairly simple materials.

Pressed Alloy Shell Structures - A derivative of monocoque structures, this class of structures is typified by the humble soup can and the welded steel unibody construction as commonly employed in automobile manufacture. Essentially, curved or corrugated shapes are pressed out of flat sheet alloy stock and roll-seam-joined or welded together into a self-rigid structure. Rigidity is dependent largely on the curving forms employed in the component shapes, but simple sharp-edged forms are possible where flat surface areas are minimal. Ubiquitous in the production of many Industrial Age products prior to the introduction of plastics, the technology remains common for automobiles and large appliances and is often exploited by manufacturers as a means to control competition by industry standardization of production equipment of extreme scale and capital overhead. This generally imposes a great barrier to Maker use of this form of structure except at scale suited to parts fabrication by very small hydraulic presses or hammer-forming of pieces by hand.

Cast/Milled Block/Chassis Structures - Structures of this class are based on the use of a block or frame chassis structure which is cast whole or milled from a single or small set of blocks and used as the foundation for attachment of other components to build-up an overall structure. Casting and milling are, of course, fabrication techniques, not building methods, but when a cast or milled structured is used as the foundation of an assemblage of parts, it becomes a building system, sometimes suited to modularization. As with many other non-modular building methods, this type of structures has generally been very limited in its potential use by Makers owing to the large scales and high skill overhead of the base fabrication methods needed for its parts. But at small scales one can function within the limits of digital CNC which makes this a more practical option. Commonly based on alloys, this type of structure can employ any material that is millable or castable and can support the attachment of components by bolts, welding, or adhesives.

Masonry Structures - This class of structures falls into three basic categories; monolithic structures usually relying on bi-state plastic materials like concretes relying on formwork to control form during state transition of the material, stacked or rubble structures which rely on found materials like stones with human skill relied on to control form through selection, and block systems which rely on the regular geometry of prefabricated blocks to control form. Many forms of hybridization exist between these three basic categories as well as the use of conventional carpentry. Originating with the use of hand-formed clay/mud structures, this represents one of the oldest of all known building technologies, with a legacy suggested at over 10,000 years old and strongly associated with the development of the related technologies of pottery fabrication and ceramics. However, it is also a technology that has long resisted improvement of its basic limitation; high labor overhead. It is also a technology generally limited to architectural applications, though in some cases can be employed in the creation of furniture, sculpture, low-tech appliances like wood stoves, and some stationary machines like kilns, furnaces, stationary engines and pumps, and the like. For most of history masonry construction has been dominated by the materials of clay-bearing earth and stone with some use of primitive geopolymers and fired bricks in Roman times. With industrialization came expanded use of fired bricks and the emergence of portland cement based concretes but earth still dominated in much of the world. In modern times fired brick has been largely eliminated as economically impractical and concrete and prefabricated concrete block have been dominant but accompanied by a great diversity of other technologies and materials including extruded clay panels and blocks, gypsum block and plank, engineered stone, glass block, advanced geopolymers, and in-situ machine extruded masonry. Modular slip-formed and factory-precast concrete remain the current leaders in low-labor technology but may soon find competition from in-situ extrusion technologies offering the prospects of 'fabbing' masonry structures by computer control. Since the latter part of the 20th century earthen construction has seen a revival of use in developed countries based on its environmental characteristics, yet has seen little improvement in labor overhead beyond the use of hydraulically compressed earth block. earth bag/superadobe, and slip-formed cast earth techniques.

Ferro-cement - Most commonly employed in the creation of concrete sculptures and free-form organic architecture, ferro-cement was originally invented in the early 20th century as a means to make yacht hulls from cement. The basic technique involves the use of a wire mesh or mesh lathing (as used in plasterwork) as foundation for an application of hand-applied or sprayed concrete, known commonly as 'shotcrete' because it's 'shot' from a hose under pressure using a peristaltic concrete pump or by compressed air using a plaster spraying device known as a tirolessa. The technique produces very thin but strong cement shell structures and, though sometimes used with tension frames to create a kind of tilt-up masonry panel, it is most commonly used to create domes, spheres, hypoid, conic shells shapes or large flowing sculptural shapes based on the use of free-form wire mesh, sometimes employing double-shell structures with a core of pumicecrete or polymer foam as insulation. Recently, manufacturers have introduced prefabricated ferro-cement foundation panels combining wire mesh over and through a polymer foam core which can be used flat or cut and bent to some degree into more fluid shapes. (see http://www.tridipanel.com/) Ferro-cement is the mainstay of the Free-Form Organic school of architecture, whose buildings feature elaborate complexes of non-euclidean shapes with formed-in-place furnishings and which is often regarded as the closest current analogy to architecture likely to result with the advent of advanced nanotechnology.

Ferrocement.com - http://www.ferrocement.com/
Flying Concrete - http://www.geocities.com/flyingconcrete/steve.htm
Vetsch Architecture - http://www.erdhaus.ch/main.php?fla=y&lang=en&cont=start

Pneumatic Structures - This class of structure is a derivative of stressed skin or tension structures based on non-rigid material that rely on internal pressure to provide them with rigidity. They are typically formed of welded/glued panels of polymer or polymer-composite materials fashioned so as to hold a relatively high internal pressure. Commonly seen in pool toys and inflatable novelty furniture, this technology is suited to very serious tasks such as the construction of airships, winged aircraft, and very large span building enclosures. With new membrane materials such as mylar, kevlar, tefzel, and in the future nanomembranes extremely high permanent internal pressures are now possible, allowing this fairly simple technology to produce very strong structures as rigid and solid as any more conventional material. Though still experimental, such materials have been used as wall and window panels in buildings and for struts in space frame structures.

Tension Structures - Similar to stressed skin systems, tension structures are typified by tensioning of a non-rigid material by perimeter edge anchoring to various forms of internal or external framework, anchor points, or piers. Though most commonly used as the basis of light enclosures -sometimes of enormous areas- they can also be used as the basis of tensegrity structures like bicycle wheels and geodesic tents and used as the basis of various machines and hybrid transforming structures such as Hoberman structures. One of the few forms of non-modular structures that are extremely well suited to Maker exploration.

Xanadome large area tefzel structures - http://www.xanadome.com/
Birdair large area tension structures based on PTFE - http://www.birdair.com/
Shelter Systems tend domes based on GripClip skin attachment - http://www.shelter-systems.com/

==Textile Structures==Commonly seen in the creation of clothing, furniture upholstery, toys, and the like this class of structure has evolved to include a complex assortment of hybrids where sewn and welded textiles are rigidized through internal filler material and frameworks that sometimes border on tension structure or stressed skin systems. Most exploration of this form of structure has been limited to furniture and toy design and 'soft sculpture' art but with the advent of sophisticated variable density structural foam polymers many new possibilities are emerging and we may soon see this form of structure commonly used in a growing variety of artifacts including such applications as personal housing on orbit, relief shelters, and vehicle bodies.

=Engineering:=

Chemical:
Inorganic:
Organic:
Biochemical:
Mechanical:

Hydrodynamics/Aerodynamics:

Plumbing/Sewerage:

Pneudraulics:

Electrical:

Heating/Cooling/HVAC:

Electronics/Radio:

Computers/Networking/Telecommunications:
Software:

Photonics/Optics:
Fiber Optics:
Lasers:

Energy:
Combustion Engine Systems:
Rankin Cycle Systems:
Solar-Dynamic:
Photovolatic:
Heliostat Lighting Systems:
Wind:
Hydro:
Marine:
Geothermal:
Biofuels:
Cogeneration:
Energy Storage/Transport:
Battery:
Redox:
Hydrogen:
Hydrides:

Biotechnology:
Selective Breeding/Culturing:
Cell/Tissue Culturing:
Industrial Bioreactors:

Waste/Recycling:
Waste To Feedstock Reduction:
Design For Reuse:
Upcycling:
Waste To Energy Conversion:

Nanotechnology:
Chemosynthesis:
Protein Systems:
Statistical Assembly/Sequencers/Mixer Plants:
Mechanosynthesis:
Desktop ATM Systems/NanoLathes:
Biosynthesis:

Agricultural Techniques:

Conventional:

Organic:

Container Farming:

Hydroponics:

Living Machine Systems:
Air:
Plant Air Purifiers:
Water:
Graywater Systems:
Sewerage Systems:
Natural Swimming Pools:
Abatement Barges/Floats:
CELSS (closed environment life support systems):
Drip Irrigation:
Flood/Drain:
NFT:
Aeroponics:
Semi-Permeable Pressurized Grow-Structures:
Curtain Systems:
Raft/Trough Systems:
Rotating/Moving Frame Systems:

Cold-Bed Farming:

Permaculture:

Terra Preta:

Mariculture:

Mono-Species:
Pen:
Tank:
Containerized:
Frame:

Poly-Species:

==Deep Water Fed Poly-Species:==

Free-Range Fish Farming:

==Algaeculture:==
Trough:
Tank:
Solar Panel:
Flex Tube or Curtain:

Animal Husbandry:

Other Open Source Projects:

SourceForge - http://www.sourceforge.com/
Linux OS - http://www.linux.com/
Access Grid open teleconferencing - http://www.accessgrid.org/
DevShed open web tutorials - http://www.devshed.com/
Gridbeamers - http://www.gridbeamers.com/
Hexayurt Project - http://hexayurt.com/
Open Source Ecology - http://openfarmtech.org/
OSKOMAK - http://oscomak.net/
OScar - http://www.theoscarproject.org/
Openmoko - http://www.openmoko.com/
Arduino - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arduino
Global Peace Containers - http://www.gbs-gpc.com/
Bamboo Bike - http://www.bamboobike.org/Home.html

=General Resources:=

==Books:==

Bolo`Bolo - P.M.
Cohousing - Kathryn McCamant and Charles Durrett
How to Survive Without a Salary: Learning How to Live the Conserver Lifestyle - Charles Long
The Velvet Monkeywrench - John Muir and Peter Aschwanden
How To Keep Your Volkswagen Alive - Muir, Gregg, and Aschwanden
The Septic System Owner's Manual - Kahn, Allen, Jones, and Aschwanden
How To Make Your Own Living Structures - Ken Isaacs
The Box Beam Sourcebook - Richard Jergensen
Nomadic Furniture 1 & 2 - Hennessey and Papanek
High-Tech: The Industrial Style and Source Book For the Home - Joan Kron and Suzanne Slesin
Original Whole Earth Catalog, Special 30th Anniversary Issue - Peter Warshall and Stewart Brand
Foxfire 1, 2, and 3 - Eliot Wigginton
The Findhorn Garden - The Findhorn Community and William Irwin Thompson
Permaculture One and Two - Bill Mollison , David Holmgren
Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability - David Holmgren
The Owner-Built Home - Ken Kern
The Timeless Way of Building - Christopher Alexander
Ceramic Houses and Earth Architecture: How to Build Your Own - Nader Khalili
Emergency Sandbag Shelter - Nader Khalili
Building With Earth - Paulina Wojciechowska
Earth Construction Handbook: The Building Material Earth in Modern Architecture - Gernot Minke
Home Work: Handbuilt Shelter - Lloyd Kahn
Earth Building and the Cob Revival: A Reader - The Cob Cottage Company
The Cob Builders Handbook - Becky Bee
The Craft of Modular Post & Beam: Building log and timber homes affordably - James Mitchell
Low-Cost Pole Building Construction - Ralph Wolfe
Measure and Construction of the Japanese House - Heino Engel
Japanese Homes and Their Surroundings - Edward S. Morse
Independent Builder: Designing & Building a House Your Own Way (Real Goods Independent Living Books) - Sam Clark
Growing Clean Water : Nature's Solution to Water Pollution - John D. Wolverton and B. C. Wolverton
How to Grow Fresh Air: 50 House Plants that Purify Your Home or Office - B. C. Wolverton
Application of vascular aquatic plants for pollution removal, energy and food production in a biological system
(NASA technical memorandum) - B. C Wolverton
Aquatic plant/microbial filters for treating septic tank effluent - B. C Wolverton
Aquatic plants for ph adjustment and removal of toxic chemicals and dissolved minerals from water supplies - B. C Wolverton
Envisioning Information - Edward R. Tufte
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, 2nd edition - Edward R. Tufte
Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative - Edward R. Tufte
Structure in Nature is a Strategy for Design - Peter Pearce
Fab: The Coming Revolution on Your Desktop--from Personal Computers to Personal Fabrication - Neil Gershenfeld
Shaping Things - Bruce Sterling
Design Like You Give a Damn - Architecture for Humanity, Kate Stohr, and Cameron Sinclair
Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century - Alex Steffen, Al Gore, and Stephan Sagmeister

Magazines:

Make - http://makezine.com/
Ready Made - http://readymademag.com/blog/
Desktop Engineering - http://www.deskeng.com/
NASA Tech Briefs - http://www.techbriefs.com/
Dwell - http://www.dwell.com/
Growing Edge - http://www.growingedge.com/magazine/
Mother Earth News - http://www.motherearthnews.com/
Robot Magazine - http://www.botmag.com/

Web Sites:

Blogs:

Make Blog - http://blog.makezine.com/
Instructibles - http://www.instructables.com/
Ready Made Blog - http://readymade.com/blogs/rmblog
Finkbuilt - http://www.finkbuilt.com/blog/
DIY Life - http://www.diylife.com/
Fab Prefab - http://www.fabprefab.com/
BldBlog - http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/
Apartment Therapy - http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/
Inhabitat - http://www.inhabitat.com/
Dezeen - http://www.dezeen.com/
Design.nl - http://design.nl/
NotCot - http://www.notcot.org/
Design Zen - http://designzen.wordpress.com/
MocoLoco - http://mocoloco.com/
Treehugger - http://www.treehugger.com/index.php
Metaefficient - http://www.metaefficient.com/
Eco-Geek - http://www.ecogeek.org/
Life @ Arcsanti - http://arcosanti.wordpress.com/
KurzweilAI.net - http://www.kurzweilai.net/
Technovelgy - http://www.technovelgy.com/
Other:
Greenpages - http://www.eco-web.com/
OIKOS Green Building Sources - http://oikos.com/
Global Eco-Village Network - http://gen.ecovillage.org/
Earthship Biotecture - http://www.earthship.net/
Earth-Auroville Labs - http://www.earth-auroville.com/
Cal-Earth - http://www.calearth.org/
Arcosanti - http://www.arcosanti.org/
Foresight Institute - http://www.foresight.org/index.html
MIT Center for Bits and Atoms - http://cba.mit.edu/
Biomimicry Institute - http://www.biomimicryinstitute.org/
Buckminster Fuller Institute - http://bfi.org/
DaVinci Institute - http://www.davinciinstitute.com/
Institut für Baubiologie + Oekologie Neubeuern (IBN) - http://www.baubiologie-ibn.de/
Dave Gingery Publishing (legendary Gingery Machines) - http://www.lindsaybks.com/dgjp/index.html
Lindsay Technical Books (legendary DIY tech publications) - http://www.lindsaybks.com/index.html
Small Parts (popular inventors/researcher's supply) - http://www.smallparts.com/
American Science & Surplus (legendary tech surplus store) - http://www.sciplus.com/
GripClips - http://shelter-systems.com/gripclips/index.html
Wood Central woodworker's on-line portal - http://www.woodcentral.com/
How-To Hydroponics kit plans - http://www.howtohydroponics.com/
Hydroponics free DIY plans - http://members.mailaka.net/norm34/
Garden of Delights exotic fruit plants supply - http://www.gardenofdelights.com/default.htm

Eric Hunting
erichunting@gmail.com

Eric Hunting Resource Guide

2009-03-12T17:30:12Z

Dennis: /* Non-Modular Building Systems: */

I've been mulling this over for a time and I think I can offer a list of some things to get this started. Some of this relates to research I've been doing on a T-Slot sourcebook. The outline order is not that orderly, since I was pulling a lot of things from memory, bookshelves, and loose bookmarks, but it's a start. I tried to find an order by age or sophistication within sub-categories. Other approaches may be better. I've also listed a lot of commercial sources as examples rather than sticking with just open source projects, since there are very few for many areas of technology other than software.

Open Source Tools: (these would ultimately follow the same break-down as the Commercial Tools, only they are very few at the moment)

==[[RepRap]] ==
- The first open source fabber, first to self-replicate - http://reprap.org/bin/view/Main/WebHome

==Fab@Home==
- Second open source fabber - http://fabathome.org/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

==Hextatic==
- Open CNC machine design based on hexapod/Stewart platform structure. Under development, not yet prototyped - http://fennetic.net/machines/hextatic

==NIST RoboCrane==
Relatively simple cable-based Stewart platform system built with T-Slot and suited to numerous very large area machine and robot applications such as extremely large scale CNC. Not intended to be open source technology, but, as a publicly funded research project, potentially readily acquired for such projects and another good example of T-Slot based tool design - http://www.isd.mel.nist.gov/projects/robocrane/

==BugLabs Platform==
Open Source software based (but not hardware) modular electronics platform for personal gadgets - http://buglabs.net/

==Commercial Tools:==
(obviously, this cannot cover all such tools. I'm focussing on a selection of the more advanced tools like that of the Fab Labs that are potentially leveraging independent production)

=== Multi-Tools===
(reconfigurable machine tools based on modular components):

==Unimat-1 - 6== in 1 modular miniature machine tool based on a T-Slot structure. The most advanced model is suited to light metals and potentially adaptable into a CNC platform. A good example of using T-Slot for the design of small tool systems. http://www.unimat-1.com/

==Sign/Vinyl Cutters:==
Laser Cutter/Engravers:
Hydrocutters:
Multi-Axis Milling Machines:

==Sherline==
Line of small adaptable table-top lathes and milling machines with CNC options. http://www.sherline.com/index.html

==CNC Machines:==

==Torchmate== Line of table-based CNC platforms based on T-Slot chassis for DIY assembly. Can employ router and plasma cutter heads. Good example of T-Slot use for large scale machine tool designs. http://www.torchmate.com/

===Flat Bed Printers:===
Rapid Prototyping Systems/3D Printers:

==Z Corp 3D Printers==
- Leading line of rapid prototyping systems with full color capability - http://www.zcorp.com/

===3D Scanners:===
Extruders:

==Design/Engineering Tools:==
Physical Desig, CAD/Visualization, Simulation/Analysis:

==SketchUp==
Free basic 3D modeling package sponsored by Google. Available for Mac and PC platforms. Compatible with 3Dconnexxion space mouse devices. http://sketchup.google.com/
I'm pretty strong with this application, though far from an expert--[[User:Dennis|Dennis]] 17:23, 12 March 2009 (UTC)

==Plumbing/Hydraulics/Pneumatics/Pneudraulics, fluid/pneumatic circuit design :==

Circuit Design, PCB-CAD, SPICE, VHDL, ETL, RTL

==Phonics, optics simulation:==

Software, platforms, languages, editors, APIs:

(there should be a lot of Linux related links for this section)

Fabrication Technologies: (Here we have a breakdown of fabrication technologies which would be used to categorize specific links and references. I am making here the distinction here between fabrication -the creation of largely monolithic objects- and building or construction -the assembly of an artifact from parts)

Spinning/Weaving:
Felting:
Spinning, hand, machine:
Spinneret Extrusion:
Looms, hand, machine, digital:
Knitting, hand, machine, digital:
Embroidery:

Tanning/Leatherworking:

Papermaking:
Parchment:
Vellum:
Pulp Paper:
Synthetic:

Bookbinding:
Hard Cover:
Soft Cover:

==Sculpting:==
Hand Sculpting:
Papier Mache:
Origami:
Potterywork:
Hand Forming:
Coiling:
Throwing (wheel pottery):
Jiggering (wheel lathing):

==Glassmaking:==
Blown:
Free-Form:
Crown:
Cylinder:
Blown formed:
Lampworking:
Caneworking:
Cast:
Pressed:
Rolled:
Float Glass:

==Carving/Grinding:==
Wood/Stone/Crystal:

Smelting:

Machining:
Breaks, Benders:
Die-Cutters:
Milling (drills, saws, grinders, sanders, routers, lathes, multi-axis milling):
CNC:
Flat-Bed Routers:
Sign Cutters:
Hydrocutters:
Laser Cutters, Drills, Engravers:

Forming:
Hammer Shaping/Blacksmithing:
Presses/Stampers:
Casting/Molding:
Investment Casting:
Die Casting:
Embeddment/Suspension Casting:
Compression Molding:
Thermoforming:
Vacuum Forming:
Blow-Molding:
Injection Molding:
Rotomolding:
Laminating:
Extrusion:

Surfacing:
Painting:
Etching, Relief Carving:
Tiling, Mosaic, Inlay:
Decoupage:

Lithography/Printing:
Traditional:
Plate (fixed and rotary):
Photolithography:
Xerography:
Digital Xerography:
Digital Impact:
Thermal Print:
Thermojet (inkjet):
Beam (electron, ion):
Laser Engraving, 3D Engraving:
Laser Bonding:

Fabbing/Rapid Prototyping/Stereo Lithography/3D Printing:

Culturing:
Trained and Pleached Wood/Bamboo Structures:

Modular Building Systems: (here I've put in some descriptions from my work on the T-slot Sourcebook. This is an example of how the fabrication and engineering sections would be fleshed-out)

==Matrix/Box Beam/Grid Beam==
Modular building system invented by designer Ken Isaacs in the 1950s based on square holed wood, aluminum, or steel struts/beams joined with 'trilap' bolted joints and using a scalable regular geometry. One of the earliest deliberately open source building systems.

http://www.gridbeamers.com/
How To Make Your Own Living Structures by ken Isaacs
The Box Beam Sourcebook by Richard Jergensen

==Holed Profile==
Construction based on tubular, 'L' shaped, and flat allow struts with regularly spaced holes. Though the technology is public domain, geometries are not standard from one manufacturer to another, though some are compatible with the geometry of Matrix. Popularized with the classic building toys Mechano and Erector Set. Commonly used for laboratory equipment, prototype machines, and simple home-brew construction before being supplanted by T-Slot.

==Plate Frame Systems==
Plate frame systems are most commonly seen in the electronics industry today but had their origins in the engineering of watches, clocks, and other gear-based mechanical systems and are commonly employed as the basis of electronics and machine 'chassis' structures, though they have often been employed in other uses and have featured in such things as novel furniture designs. They are based on the use of rigid plates of alloy, wood, plastics, and composites which are formed into stacks through the use of pins, posts, or blocks held in place by screws. This structure forms the basis of a frame holding static and movable components between the plates which, through the use of holes and surface-mounted fittings, hold parts in place from one or two sides. In electronics plates are usually formed of composite circuit board materials -and in earlier times materials known as 'phenolics' or 'phenolic composites' such as the well known Bakelite. In mechanical systems such as clocks alloys are the norm and may often be cut with openings for variably sized parts held in multiple stacks or to minimize weight or simply to create 'reveals' of the works for decoration. In decorative or educational machines such as 'visible' clocks clear plastic plates are sometimes used. Not strictly a true modular building system in the past, the use of plate materials with regular quadratic hole grids have sometimes been employed, particularly for the prototyping of electronics circuits and for some construction toys based on the technology. Though greatly declining in use in machine design in the late 20th century, it has seen a revival specifically in the maker movement as a result of the limitation of many early fab tools to cutting sheet material, thus inspiring new invention with plate frame designs.

==Rod & Clamp Framing==
Currently typified by its use as a framing system for the [[RepRap]] open fabber, this very old modular building system has obscure origins, possibly originating earlier than even the 19th century and may have derived from early scientific instrumentation. Very likely the origin of the concept of ball socket space frames. Based on the use of blocks with holes that clamp rods in place using a set-screw, the angle and placement of holes on the blocks determine the type of joint with 'trilap' joints supporting box frame structure common but with endless other possibilities such as octet and geodesic space frames. Blocks are typically equipped with additional fittings to support other components or cladding panels but rods can also be used to attach lighter objects or cladding using clips or simple 'C' clamps. Rods and blocks can also be used as parts of linear actuators and are sometimes precision ruled and engraved with ruling lines to allow for precision adjustable sliding elements. Produced with an endless assortment of materials but works best with alloy rods and alloy, plastic, or wood blocks and is usually limited to small light structures.

==Pipe Fitting Systems==
Possibly a derivative of Rod & Clamp systems, this common modular building system originated in the early 20th century and today has numerous producers worldwide. Popularized in the US under the brand name KeeKlamp. Public domain as a technology, but without an open source or public domain component set. Pipe Fitting Systems combine common galvanized pipe normally used for plumbing with sets of modular cast steel joints that clamp the pipes in place using a hex nut. Commonly used for institutional hand railing, playground equipment, industrial shelving, and greenhouse structures as well as many home-brew and temporary structures. Experimented with by Ken Isaacs in the 1960s as the basis of external support superstructures for lighter habitat structures.

==Space Frame Systems==
Appearing early in the 20th century, these systems were a particular fascination for Modernist designers but have never lived up to their early promise of being cheap and ubiquitous due to the inability -or refusal- of manufacturers to standardized on components across the industry. Used for everything from building toys to the largest clear-span buildings in the world, space frames are used as space-filling structures often based on octet geometry, planar trusses used for roof and floor decks, and as space enclosure systems such as the classic geodesic sphere or dome. Though once characterized as symbolic of Machine Age efficiency and expected to become ubiquitous, all commercial architectural uses of the technology to date have been based on manufacture-on-demand at outrageous cost premiums. Space frame systems come in the following types;

==Ball Socket==
uses nodal joints based on precision fabricated alloy balls with screw sockets that interface to screws on the ends of tubular alloy struts. The most common form of commercial space frame, popularized by the German Mero corporation. Often considered the strongest of the space frame joint schemes, typically only available as standardized off-the-shelf parts for very light systems used for kiosks and indoor store displays. Also considered the most sophisticated of space frame systems, it can employ the broadest range of materials for struts, including wood, plastic, FRP, fiberglass and carbon fiber composites, high-strength ceramics, and even solid wood or laminates. Even super-pressure pneumatic membrane struts have been used with this. Can be highly decorative with various anodized or powder coat treatments of parts or the use of wood or wood veneer over struts. The high precision needed for ball socket fabrication has long been a barrier to hobbyist or home-brew use of the type.

==Novum (formerly Mero)==
http://www.novumstructures.com/novum/
==Cast Socket==
uses nodal joints based on cast or milled alloys to which struts attach by bolts perpendicular to the strut. Very often uses square or rectangular tubular profiles for struts, offering more cladding options over ball socket systems but at a cost in aesthetics. Also often uses modular units for nodes to simplify their fabrication and allow for some variation of geometry from a smaller set of parts. Easier to fabricate than ball socket but still challenging for home-brew development.

Crimp and Clamp: Specific to the use of enclosure space frames such as geodesic domes and to the use of light alloy tubular struts, is based on crimping the ends of struts then rolling their flattened ends to create a precision angled pin that is clamped in slotted tubular or solid cylinder node joints. Has the great advantage of reducing the node parts to simple standard shapes but the crimping and rolling of the struts tends to limit them to malleable steel alloys and highly stressed the metal, leading to potential fatigue failures that limits its use to light structures. Very common for playground domes and tent domes.

==Plate Node==The simplest of space frame systems, is based on stamped alloy nodes that hold struts by perpendicular bolts. Largely the same as cast sockets save for the use of flat plate alloy that is stamped, folded, and rolled into the necessary shapes and sometime based on multiple pieces in order to sandwich struts between two or more plates for increased strength. Very commonly used for home-brew geodesic domes, is very commonly employed by DIY builders and is one of the few types that can effectively use wood as a strut material, thus it is standard for wood framed dome home products.

Plate Module: A departure from traditional systems and a derivative of plate truss systems, plate module systems employ plates as both node AND strut, using a large triangulated piece of flat material that interfaces to others, often with the use of an alloy plate or other interface. Plates are often fashioned with an open space in their inner area but are also used 'closed web'. The approach is typified by the Fly's Eye Dome devised by Fuller but can be stronger when used as the basis of box trusses and planar truss structures. Typically based on stamped alloys, it can also use common sheet materials like plywood. Has recently been studied as the basis of robotic self-assembling space frames based on equipping each plate modular with active components that allow them to climb over each other and link into place with powered locking hinges.

==Glue Socket:==A recent invention intended to find ways of using bamboo as a strut material in space frame structutres, glue socket space frames are inspired by classic wooden construction toys. Wooden blocks are precision milled to form nodal joins with hole sockets similar to ball socket nodes but shaped more like cast nodes. Struts of wood, engineered lumber, or bamboo are then inserted into the sockets and a high performance adhesive is pressure-injected into the socket to glue the strut permanently in place. High natural uniformity is necessary when using bamboo members.

==Tensegrity: ==First devised by Kenneth Snelson but often wrongly attributed to Buckminster Fuller who adopted the concept as an expression of his Synergetics concept, this class of space frame structures is based on combining tension cables and rigid struts in self-tensioned networks where struts join only to tension cables. One of the most sophisticated of space frame types, their full potential remains unexploited despite being well suited to Maker experimentation. Introduction of nanofiber cable materials is likely to see great expansion of this form of structure.

N55 Space Frame - A unique variant of 'L' profile based holed profile systems using specially formed galvanized steel struts bolted together at nested ends to create and octet space frame structure. Can integrate roto-molded/blow-molded polyethylene containers also designed by N55 and open source. N55 Space Frame has a relatively high parts count for its structures but has been used to produce large and complex structures including buildings, floating platforms able to support buildings, suspended/hanging platforms, pontoon boats, and an endless variety of machines, furniture, and even sculptural objects.

http://www.n55.dk/MANUALS/SPACEFRAME/spaceframe.html

==Modular Wooden Post & Beam -==The oldest of modular framing systems with examples thousands of years old, this building system is typified by preindustrial architecture but is not exclusive to architectural uses. The most refined of the traditional Post & beam systems may come from the Japanese tradition with housing based on the 'ken' system of modularity based on the dimensional standards of tatami floor matting. Japanese architecture and furniture were often a source of inspiration to early Modernist designers. Wooden Post & Beam framing is usually based on simple rectilinear geometry and employs wooden posts and beams with integral carved wooden tongue & groove joint elements locked with sometimes hidden wooden pegs. Contemporary systems have employed steel plate secured by bolts. X and Y axis posts typically must employ different planes to interface at common posts, but Japanese and more contemporary joinery have sometimes overcome this limitation. Despite its age and natural modularity, no true standardized mass-produced systems have ever evolved. The Japanese systems came closest to realizing this before being supplanted by western building system with industrialization. Many modular systems have been developed on a per-design basis, but not as a generalized building system, though no technical obstacles exist for this. The chief obstacles for its common use today are the high skill required for fabrication of its joinery, the increasing scarcity and cost solid lumber of large dimensions, and the high mass of its components as architectural scales.

==Bali-T Houses Polynesian-Modern style kit homes==
http://www.balithouse.com/
Shelter Kit - post & beam kit homes based on bolted joint systems - http://www.shelter-kit.com/
Kure-Tec steel plate joinery system for post & beam framing. (also used with Volkshaus system) - http://www.tatsumi-web.com/hp/home/new-index.htm

==Modular Block Masonry==
Traditional block masonry, originating with the adobe block, is a very ancient building technology with the production of such blocks often considered the first form of mass production industry. But while such blocks are inherently modular themselves, this form of building has not often been regarded as a modular building system owing to the lack of direct interface between blocks. Adhesive mortar holds brick/block walls together, thus masonry has typically been seen as a means to create monolithic structures from small units. However, in the 20th century the ability to machine-produce blocks with much higher precision than before has lead to the use of direct block-to-block mechanical interfacing intended to reduce or eliminate the need for mortar in construction. This has also expanded the range of materials and uses for this beyond the architectural. However, as with many other forms of modular building, no definitive standard systems have ever evolved and one is usually limited to systems designed by a particular block manufacturer. Typified today by the construction toy Lego, modular block systems are characterized by the reliance upon a mechanical interface between blocks to hold them together rather than any kind of glue or mortar -though these may be used to create a water-proof seal- and the use of blocks of different shape to support the varying topology and features of a structure. Blocks may fit together in multiple planes of interface like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle or they may rely on a separate system of tie-rods, bolts, or pins which link them together. Traditional materials such as earth, clay, concrete, and stone are common -since this is still dominated by architectural uses- but many more materials are now used such as engineered lumber, engineered (cast) stone, gypsum composites, ceramics, cast and molded glass, shaped alloy profiles, and plastics. Recently, the use of blocks featuring active robotic systems allowing for self-assembly of structures and machines have been explored among robotics designers. Though a public domain technology in general, the only modular block systems to get close to an open source building system standard have been precision compressed earth block systems such as the Auram system. (http://www.earth-auroville.com/?nav=menu&pg=auram&id1=7)

==FRP Frame & Panel==
A very recently introduced technology, FRP frame and panel systems are based on the use of fiberglass reinforced pultruded plastics extruded in systems of self-interlocking posts, beams and corrugated panels held together mechanically. Emerging mostly in industrial building uses, has been experimented with as the basis of housing on the premise that plastic is actually more environmentally sound than it has long been given credit for based on its use of recycled cellulose and the low energy overhead of its production compared to alloys and concrete. Currently no open source or public domain systems exist nor are there any truly standard systems independent of any one manufacturer, though there may be no obstacles to the creation of these. Little explored because of its newness, FRP has has much potential as a maker technology owing to the relatively small scale and low energy of pultrusion systems compared to alloy extrusion and the potential to develop epoxies that are low-toxic and plant sourced.

==Modular Stressed Skin Systems==
Stressed skin systems are typified by the semi-monocoque structures common to early aircraft and boats as well as 'woven panel domes' where a kind of geodesic dome is made by layered panels and tension structures where a tent-like membrane is tensioned by a system of frames or piers. Stressed skin systems are generally based on the combination of a 'skin' or 'hull' structure that is tensioned by either its own material stiffness or by a frame structure so as to translate localized compression forces into distributed tension forces. In effect. working in the manner of a 'closed web' or 'box' truss or a 'tensegrity' structure employing a skin rather than tension cables. Though a common structural technique, very few attempts have been made to modularize these systems on anything but a self-contained macrostructural element level -in effect using these kinds of structures as a whole unit element of a much larger structure. The International Space Station is a good example of this approach. However, in a few instances attempts at modularizing the component elements of a stressed skin structure have been explored, most commonly in the form of contemporary tents and tension structures and in the use of plywood or SIP (structural insulated panel) shell structures. Plywood domes (http://www.sover.net/~triorbtl/rd18.html), hypoid or conics roof systems (http://www.fishrock.com/conics/), and systems like Vinay Gupta's Hexayurt (http://hexayurt.com/) may be some of the best current examples of this. In the 1960s designer Ken Isaacs experimented with stressed skin plywood cabin or 'microhouse' designs that employed standardized modular panel and spar elements connected by small block joints or alloy angles, the edge seams sealed with aluminum tape. Some of the more LEM-spacecraft-like designs Isaacs employed have been revived recently with new geometry in work by N55 (http://www.n55.dk/MANUALS/MICRO_DWELLINGS/micro_dwellings.html) Conventional wood frame systems for housing have evolved into a kind of stressed skin system based on the reliance on external cladding (and to a lesser extent internal cladding) for structural integrity. These, however, have only recently begun being used in any modular way on the level of panel module systems using factory produced panels or OSB based SIPs. No standardized systems have developed for this in the conventional housing industry in the western world, but one potential standardized system does exist, however, in the form of the Volkshaus system developed in Japan by the design group Landship (http://www.landship.co.jp/) and marketed commercially by several companies. (http://www.a-kit.com/) An evolution in some ways of the traditional Japanese 'ken' system, Volkshaus uses steel plate joined post and beam framing with prefabricated stressed skin composite wall, floor, and roofing panels. In spite of its heritage, the resulting sophisticated homes have more in common with Scandinavian contemporary housing in their appearance. The system is potentially feasible in both a DIY and factory setting, though currently its use is dominated by several companies in Japan. Its developers have produced books and even design software for builders, but only in Japanese.

==T-Slot Aluminum Profile Framing==The premier modular building system today, is based on the use of extruded aluminum alloy profiles that feature integral T-shaped channels to which bolt connectors are attached to link them into simple post and beam frame structures to which can be attached an endless assortment of modular fittings and equipment. Fittings allow for surface-mount attachment as well as integral of attachment based on fitting mounted inside the ends of profiles. Profiles also often feature multiple hollow interior channels both for reinforcement and to serve as the basis pneumatic and hydraulic power distribution or can serve as cable runs. Truss systems have also been made with these, based on open and closed web trusses assembled as composites of several profiles and connecting parts. In a few cases space frames have been produced. Appearing sometime in the 20th century, T-Slot was introduced in the late 1960s or early 1970s for the construction of custom industrial automation systems, offering a powerful solution for the high cost for the development and adaptation of automated systems. It quickly became ubiquitous for laboratory equipment and prototype robotics and eventually supplanted Box Beam as the most popular building system among eco-technology experimenters. With very high strength to weight performance and a growing variety of profile shapes, new alternative materials such as carbon fiber, FRP, and wood, and a huge worldwide catalog of accessory parts, today its list of uses are endless and with the recent introduction of large scale profiles it has begun being used for housing and plug-in architecture systems based on post and beam structures. With most new digital machine tools commonly being prototyped using T-Slot, the variety of sources very numerous, and the variety of the off-the-shelf parts very high, T-Slot represents one of the best choices for maker projects. However, it remains somewhat costly due to manufacturer pricing focused on a typically spendthrift technical/industrial business market. Curiously, as ubiquitous as it is, T-Slot remains little known at the DIY enthusiast level, largely due to a lack of any media about its use. Similarly, most manufacturers of T-Slot products are so culturally focused on the industrial market they are largely oblivious to the huge variety of other uses their own products have actually been put to.

MK Profiles - http://www.mkprofiles.com/default.asp
Bosch Profiles - http://www.boschrexroth-us.com/country_units/america/united_states/en/products/brl/product_overview1/mge/index.jsp
80:20 - http://www.8020.net/
Tslots -http://www.tslots.com/index.html
Jeriko House - http://www.jerikohouse.com/
iT House - http://www.tkithouse.com/
Tomahouses - http://www.tomahouse.com/

=Non-Modular Building Systems:=

==Traditional Carpentry==
Supported by the vast majority of off-the-shelf tools and contemporary DIY literature, traditional wood carpentry remains the most common set of techniques used for independent manufacture in the western world. However, it is also entirely limited to wood and engineered wood materials, severely limiting the range of practical artifacts it is capable of producing. Though decorative techniques can be extremely elaborate, wooden assemblies are commonly based on fitted box panel and box frame structures using tab, biscuit, mortice and tendon, dovetail, small nail and screw, small metal fitting, glue, and slot/key joinery at the small scale and post and beam, stressed skin, and 'light wood' or 'platform' framing using mortice and tendon, nail, and bolt joiner at the large scale. More sophisticated techniques include the use of space frames and formed/bent wood and laminates. Without the benefits of modularity, traditional carpentry tends to demand high skill levels and labor to compete in quality with factory products and can be wasteful of an increasingly unsustainable resource, particularly at large scales. Sustainability has improved to a small degree with the increased use of engineered lumber materials using formerly waste material, though sometimes at the compromise of latent toxicity from chemicals. The introduction of materials like wheatboard and new bamboo and other more renewable lumber alternatives offers some hope for improving this further, though most of these new materials remain beyond the means of small scale production and unavailable from typical lumber sources.

==Welded Profile Spaceframe Systems==
Welded profile space frame systems employ tubular alloy profiles in typically round or square profile shapes as the basis of a structure assembled with welded joints. They usually employ either rectilinear box frames -typical of housing uses and machine structures/enclosures, or triangulated trusses but can be elaborated into complex free-form shapes through the custom-bending of frame members, as demonstrated by the space frame chassis of some vehicles. Though not modular in themselves due to their welded connections and often non-regular topology, when standardized over a whole form they can serve very well as the foundation for modular retrofit components, as also well demonstrated by their vehicle applications. Indeed, this is the most-likely basis of the design and production of larger open source artifacts such as automobiles, given that the technology offers superior performance characteristics to the more conventional pressed steel welded unibody construction of factory-produced automobiles (hence its common use in race cars and military vehicles) while still being suited to the scale of production of a very small machine shop. Welded profile space frame structures based on structural steel profiles have also been a mainstay for housing applications among Modernist architects and have proven very effective. Such housing has often seen an attempt by designers to modularize their structures through standardized component dimensions and the use of large modular sectional frames that are partly prefabricated and partly site assembled.

==Composite Shells==Composites shells are rigid shell structures which are made of a combination of resins and fiber reinforcement, commonly in the forms of fiberglass, polyester, and carbon fiber. Though employed in such advanced applications as aircraft structures, the basic techniques used may have their origins in the simple techniques of papier-mache; the method of making sculptures from layers of glue/starch-soaked paper strips. Several techniques are common; formed, foam-core, free-form, and wound. Formed composite shells are made by creating removable forms, usually of plywood or corrugated cardboard, in an either concave or convex shape to which resin-soaked mats or tape are applied in multiple layers to build up a rigid shell finished in a smooth coating of resin. Small structures are usually self-rigid but larger more complex shapes can often be reinforced by bonding in flat or tubular spars of pre-made composite to create a monocoque or stressed skin structure. Large structures are sometimes produced in sections which are mechanically assembled along facing edge spars before being 'knit' together to seal their seams. This allows for the build-up of large structures by using assemblages of thin unfinished sectional shells as permanent forms for thicker shells built-up on top of them. Foam core shells are made by carving blocks of polyurethane or polystyrene foam into the desired shape then applying the resin-soaked fiber layers leaving the foam permanently in place. This technique is commonly employed in the creation of surf boards and pontoon hulls. The technique allows for intricate shapes based on the density of foam used but is best suited to structures that are intended to be monolithic in character, as surf boards are. Double-sided finished shell structures are possible based on using hollow foam structures sculpted to shape on both exterior and interior surfaces. Free-form shells are based on the use of wire mesh as a sacrificial form to construct a desired shape which is then covered in layers of resin-soaked fiber. This technique allows for very intricately detailed sculptural forms over very large areas. Wound shells are made by mounting a form structure on a large axial spindle which allows it to be rotated whole as fiber is applied as a continuous string or tape in a continuous semi-automated process. Rigs are sometimes designed to allow windings in multiple directions for each layer or wound layers may alternate with matted layers. This most sophisticated composite shell technique is used almost exclusively by the aerospace industry to make composite carbon fiber aircraft structures and fuel tanks but has also been used for the creation of super-pressure pneumatic tanks used for compressed air powered vehicles and energy storage systems.

Monocoque and Stressed Skin Structures - Typically associated with ships and aircraft, this class of structures is also common to structures using composite shell construction and and is characterized by the use of skin materials tensioned by their own stiffness and/or the use of an internal framework. In a stressed skin system, or semi-monocoque, the skin material may have no stiffness and rely entirely on a frame structure combining spars with perpendicular stringers or triangulated struts. This internal frame is intended to translate internal and external loads into tension on the skin material. In a true monocoque the stiffness of the skin material alone, usually employing rounded shapes, is relied on for strength but may be supplemented by spars, whose chief job is to communicate internal loads to the exterior shell without concentrating them on any one skin point. Favored for their strength-to-weight performance, these structures can be some of the most complex to build combining many techniques and using many different materials. Key among the engineering challenges is the means to interface skin materials of limited dimensions. Limited by the practical dimensions of lumber, early ships employed complex mortice and tendon system to join relatively thin planks into large area shells that behaved as though they were monolithic. Of course, they were never entirely waterproof. Later techniques based on lamination of wood, the gluing of fabrics, and riveting and welding of alloys emerged. Today, continuous welding of alloys and laminate polymer/fiber composites are common. True monocoque structures represent the highest challenge for casual makers owing to the very large skill sets and precision they require. Stressed skin systems are much less challenging in this respect and can be produced with fairly simple materials.

Pressed Alloy Shell Structures - A derivative of monocoque structures, this class of structures is typified by the humble soup can and the welded steel unibody construction as commonly employed in automobile manufacture. Essentially, curved or corrugated shapes are pressed out of flat sheet alloy stock and roll-seam-joined or welded together into a self-rigid structure. Rigidity is dependent largely on the curving forms employed in the component shapes, but simple sharp-edged forms are possible where flat surface areas are minimal. Ubiquitous in the production of many Industrial Age products prior to the introduction of plastics, the technology remains common for automobiles and large appliances and is often exploited by manufacturers as a means to control competition by industry standardization of production equipment of extreme scale and capital overhead. This generally imposes a great barrier to Maker use of this form of structure except at scale suited to parts fabrication by very small hydraulic presses or hammer-forming of pieces by hand.

Cast/Milled Block/Chassis Structures - Structures of this class are based on the use of a block or frame chassis structure which is cast whole or milled from a single or small set of blocks and used as the foundation for attachment of other components to build-up an overall structure. Casting and milling are, of course, fabrication techniques, not building methods, but when a cast or milled structured is used as the foundation of an assemblage of parts, it becomes a building system, sometimes suited to modularization. As with many other non-modular building methods, this type of structures has generally been very limited in its potential use by Makers owing to the large scales and high skill overhead of the base fabrication methods needed for its parts. But at small scales one can function within the limits of digital CNC which makes this a more practical option. Commonly based on alloys, this type of structure can employ any material that is millable or castable and can support the attachment of components by bolts, welding, or adhesives.

Masonry Structures - This class of structures falls into three basic categories; monolithic structures usually relying on bi-state plastic materials like concretes relying on formwork to control form during state transition of the material, stacked or rubble structures which rely on found materials like stones with human skill relied on to control form through selection, and block systems which rely on the regular geometry of prefabricated blocks to control form. Many forms of hybridization exist between these three basic categories as well as the use of conventional carpentry. Originating with the use of hand-formed clay/mud structures, this represents one of the oldest of all known building technologies, with a legacy suggested at over 10,000 years old and strongly associated with the development of the related technologies of pottery fabrication and ceramics. However, it is also a technology that has long resisted improvement of its basic limitation; high labor overhead. It is also a technology generally limited to architectural applications, though in some cases can be employed in the creation of furniture, sculpture, low-tech appliances like wood stoves, and some stationary machines like kilns, furnaces, stationary engines and pumps, and the like. For most of history masonry construction has been dominated by the materials of clay-bearing earth and stone with some use of primitive geopolymers and fired bricks in Roman times. With industrialization came expanded use of fired bricks and the emergence of portland cement based concretes but earth still dominated in much of the world. In modern times fired brick has been largely eliminated as economically impractical and concrete and prefabricated concrete block have been dominant but accompanied by a great diversity of other technologies and materials including extruded clay panels and blocks, gypsum block and plank, engineered stone, glass block, advanced geopolymers, and in-situ machine extruded masonry. Modular slip-formed and factory-precast concrete remain the current leaders in low-labor technology but may soon find competition from in-situ extrusion technologies offering the prospects of 'fabbing' masonry structures by computer control. Since the latter part of the 20th century earthen construction has seen a revival of use in developed countries based on its environmental characteristics, yet has seen little improvement in labor overhead beyond the use of hydraulically compressed earth block. earth bag/superadobe, and slip-formed cast earth techniques.

Ferro-cement - Most commonly employed in the creation of concrete sculptures and free-form organic architecture, ferro-cement was originally invented in the early 20th century as a means to make yacht hulls from cement. The basic technique involves the use of a wire mesh or mesh lathing (as used in plasterwork) as foundation for an application of hand-applied or sprayed concrete, known commonly as 'shotcrete' because it's 'shot' from a hose under pressure using a peristaltic concrete pump or by compressed air using a plaster spraying device known as a tirolessa. The technique produces very thin but strong cement shell structures and, though sometimes used with tension frames to create a kind of tilt-up masonry panel, it is most commonly used to create domes, spheres, hypoid, conic shells shapes or large flowing sculptural shapes based on the use of free-form wire mesh, sometimes employing double-shell structures with a core of pumicecrete or polymer foam as insulation. Recently, manufacturers have introduced prefabricated ferro-cement foundation panels combining wire mesh over and through a polymer foam core which can be used flat or cut and bent to some degree into more fluid shapes. (see http://www.tridipanel.com/) Ferro-cement is the mainstay of the Free-Form Organic school of architecture, whose buildings feature elaborate complexes of non-euclidean shapes with formed-in-place furnishings and which is often regarded as the closest current analogy to architecture likely to result with the advent of advanced nanotechnology.

Ferrocement.com - http://www.ferrocement.com/
Flying Concrete - http://www.geocities.com/flyingconcrete/steve.htm
Vetsch Architecture - http://www.erdhaus.ch/main.php?fla=y&lang=en&cont=start

Pneumatic Structures - This class of structure is a derivative of stressed skin or tension structures based on non-rigid material that rely on internal pressure to provide them with rigidity. They are typically formed of welded/glued panels of polymer or polymer-composite materials fashioned so as to hold a relatively high internal pressure. Commonly seen in pool toys and inflatable novelty furniture, this technology is suited to very serious tasks such as the construction of airships, winged aircraft, and very large span building enclosures. With new membrane materials such as mylar, kevlar, tefzel, and in the future nanomembranes extremely high permanent internal pressures are now possible, allowing this fairly simple technology to produce very strong structures as rigid and solid as any more conventional material. Though still experimental, such materials have been used as wall and window panels in buildings and for struts in space frame structures.

Tension Structures - Similar to stressed skin systems, tension structures are typified by tensioning of a non-rigid material by perimeter edge anchoring to various forms of internal or external framework, anchor points, or piers. Though most commonly used as the basis of light enclosures -sometimes of enormous areas- they can also be used as the basis of tensegrity structures like bicycle wheels and geodesic tents and used as the basis of various machines and hybrid transforming structures such as Hoberman structures. One of the few forms of non-modular structures that are extremely well suited to Maker exploration.

Xanadome large area tefzel structures - http://www.xanadome.com/
Birdair large area tension structures based on PTFE - http://www.birdair.com/
Shelter Systems tend domes based on GripClip skin attachment - http://www.shelter-systems.com/

==Textile Structures==Commonly seen in the creation of clothing, furniture upholstery, toys, and the like this class of structure has evolved to include a complex assortment of hybrids where sewn and welded textiles are rigidized through internal filler material and frameworks that sometimes border on tension structure or stressed skin systems. Most exploration of this form of structure has been limited to furniture and toy design and 'soft sculpture' art but with the advent of sophisticated variable density structural foam polymers many new possibilities are emerging and we may soon see this form of structure commonly used in a growing variety of artifacts including such applications as personal housing on orbit, relief shelters, and vehicle bodies.

=Engineering:=

Chemical:
Inorganic:
Organic:
Biochemical:
Mechanical:

Hydrodynamics/Aerodynamics:

Plumbing/Sewerage:

Pneudraulics:

Electrical:

Heating/Cooling/HVAC:

Electronics/Radio:

Computers/Networking/Telecommunications:
Software:

Photonics/Optics:
Fiber Optics:
Lasers:

Energy:
Combustion Engine Systems:
Rankin Cycle Systems:
Solar-Dynamic:
Photovolatic:
Heliostat Lighting Systems:
Wind:
Hydro:
Marine:
Geothermal:
Biofuels:
Cogeneration:
Energy Storage/Transport:
Battery:
Redox:
Hydrogen:
Hydrides:

Biotechnology:
Selective Breeding/Culturing:
Cell/Tissue Culturing:
Industrial Bioreactors:

Waste/Recycling:
Waste To Feedstock Reduction:
Design For Reuse:
Upcycling:
Waste To Energy Conversion:

Nanotechnology:
Chemosynthesis:
Protein Systems:
Statistical Assembly/Sequencers/Mixer Plants:
Mechanosynthesis:
Desktop ATM Systems/NanoLathes:
Biosynthesis:

Agricultural Techniques:

Conventional:

Organic:

Container Farming:

Hydroponics:

Living Machine Systems:
Air:
Plant Air Purifiers:
Water:
Graywater Systems:
Sewerage Systems:
Natural Swimming Pools:
Abatement Barges/Floats:
CELSS (closed environment life support systems):
Drip Irrigation:
Flood/Drain:
NFT:
Aeroponics:
Semi-Permeable Pressurized Grow-Structures:
Curtain Systems:
Raft/Trough Systems:
Rotating/Moving Frame Systems:

Cold-Bed Farming:

Permaculture:

Terra Preta:

Mariculture:

Mono-Species:
Pen:
Tank:
Containerized:
Frame:

Poly-Species:

==Deep Water Fed Poly-Species:==

Free-Range Fish Farming:

==Algaeculture:==
Trough:
Tank:
Solar Panel:
Flex Tube or Curtain:

Animal Husbandry:

Other Open Source Projects:

SourceForge - http://www.sourceforge.com/
Linux OS - http://www.linux.com/
Access Grid open teleconferencing - http://www.accessgrid.org/
DevShed open web tutorials - http://www.devshed.com/
Gridbeamers - http://www.gridbeamers.com/
Hexayurt Project - http://hexayurt.com/
Open Source Ecology - http://openfarmtech.org/
OSKOMAK - http://oscomak.net/
OScar - http://www.theoscarproject.org/
Openmoko - http://www.openmoko.com/
Arduino - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arduino
Global Peace Containers - http://www.gbs-gpc.com/
Bamboo Bike - http://www.bamboobike.org/Home.html

=General Resources:=

==Books:==

Bolo`Bolo - P.M.
Cohousing - Kathryn McCamant and Charles Durrett
How to Survive Without a Salary: Learning How to Live the Conserver Lifestyle - Charles Long
The Velvet Monkeywrench - John Muir and Peter Aschwanden
How To Keep Your Volkswagen Alive - Muir, Gregg, and Aschwanden
The Septic System Owner's Manual - Kahn, Allen, Jones, and Aschwanden
How To Make Your Own Living Structures - Ken Isaacs
The Box Beam Sourcebook - Richard Jergensen
Nomadic Furniture 1 & 2 - Hennessey and Papanek
High-Tech: The Industrial Style and Source Book For the Home - Joan Kron and Suzanne Slesin
Original Whole Earth Catalog, Special 30th Anniversary Issue - Peter Warshall and Stewart Brand
Foxfire 1, 2, and 3 - Eliot Wigginton
The Findhorn Garden - The Findhorn Community and William Irwin Thompson
Permaculture One and Two - Bill Mollison , David Holmgren
Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability - David Holmgren
The Owner-Built Home - Ken Kern
The Timeless Way of Building - Christopher Alexander
Ceramic Houses and Earth Architecture: How to Build Your Own - Nader Khalili
Emergency Sandbag Shelter - Nader Khalili
Building With Earth - Paulina Wojciechowska
Earth Construction Handbook: The Building Material Earth in Modern Architecture - Gernot Minke
Home Work: Handbuilt Shelter - Lloyd Kahn
Earth Building and the Cob Revival: A Reader - The Cob Cottage Company
The Cob Builders Handbook - Becky Bee
The Craft of Modular Post & Beam: Building log and timber homes affordably - James Mitchell
Low-Cost Pole Building Construction - Ralph Wolfe
Measure and Construction of the Japanese House - Heino Engel
Japanese Homes and Their Surroundings - Edward S. Morse
Independent Builder: Designing & Building a House Your Own Way (Real Goods Independent Living Books) - Sam Clark
Growing Clean Water : Nature's Solution to Water Pollution - John D. Wolverton and B. C. Wolverton
How to Grow Fresh Air: 50 House Plants that Purify Your Home or Office - B. C. Wolverton
Application of vascular aquatic plants for pollution removal, energy and food production in a biological system
(NASA technical memorandum) - B. C Wolverton
Aquatic plant/microbial filters for treating septic tank effluent - B. C Wolverton
Aquatic plants for ph adjustment and removal of toxic chemicals and dissolved minerals from water supplies - B. C Wolverton
Envisioning Information - Edward R. Tufte
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, 2nd edition - Edward R. Tufte
Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative - Edward R. Tufte
Structure in Nature is a Strategy for Design - Peter Pearce
Fab: The Coming Revolution on Your Desktop--from Personal Computers to Personal Fabrication - Neil Gershenfeld
Shaping Things - Bruce Sterling
Design Like You Give a Damn - Architecture for Humanity, Kate Stohr, and Cameron Sinclair
Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century - Alex Steffen, Al Gore, and Stephan Sagmeister

Magazines:

Make - http://makezine.com/
Ready Made - http://readymademag.com/blog/
Desktop Engineering - http://www.deskeng.com/
NASA Tech Briefs - http://www.techbriefs.com/
Dwell - http://www.dwell.com/
Growing Edge - http://www.growingedge.com/magazine/
Mother Earth News - http://www.motherearthnews.com/
Robot Magazine - http://www.botmag.com/

Web Sites:

Blogs:

Make Blog - http://blog.makezine.com/
Instructibles - http://www.instructables.com/
Ready Made Blog - http://readymade.com/blogs/rmblog
Finkbuilt - http://www.finkbuilt.com/blog/
DIY Life - http://www.diylife.com/
Fab Prefab - http://www.fabprefab.com/
BldBlog - http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/
Apartment Therapy - http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/
Inhabitat - http://www.inhabitat.com/
Dezeen - http://www.dezeen.com/
Design.nl - http://design.nl/
NotCot - http://www.notcot.org/
Design Zen - http://designzen.wordpress.com/
MocoLoco - http://mocoloco.com/
Treehugger - http://www.treehugger.com/index.php
Metaefficient - http://www.metaefficient.com/
Eco-Geek - http://www.ecogeek.org/
Life @ Arcsanti - http://arcosanti.wordpress.com/
KurzweilAI.net - http://www.kurzweilai.net/
Technovelgy - http://www.technovelgy.com/
Other:
Greenpages - http://www.eco-web.com/
OIKOS Green Building Sources - http://oikos.com/
Global Eco-Village Network - http://gen.ecovillage.org/
Earthship Biotecture - http://www.earthship.net/
Earth-Auroville Labs - http://www.earth-auroville.com/
Cal-Earth - http://www.calearth.org/
Arcosanti - http://www.arcosanti.org/
Foresight Institute - http://www.foresight.org/index.html
MIT Center for Bits and Atoms - http://cba.mit.edu/
Biomimicry Institute - http://www.biomimicryinstitute.org/
Buckminster Fuller Institute - http://bfi.org/
DaVinci Institute - http://www.davinciinstitute.com/
Institut für Baubiologie + Oekologie Neubeuern (IBN) - http://www.baubiologie-ibn.de/
Dave Gingery Publishing (legendary Gingery Machines) - http://www.lindsaybks.com/dgjp/index.html
Lindsay Technical Books (legendary DIY tech publications) - http://www.lindsaybks.com/index.html
Small Parts (popular inventors/researcher's supply) - http://www.smallparts.com/
American Science & Surplus (legendary tech surplus store) - http://www.sciplus.com/
GripClips - http://shelter-systems.com/gripclips/index.html
Wood Central woodworker's on-line portal - http://www.woodcentral.com/
How-To Hydroponics kit plans - http://www.howtohydroponics.com/
Hydroponics free DIY plans - http://members.mailaka.net/norm34/
Garden of Delights exotic fruit plants supply - http://www.gardenofdelights.com/default.htm

Eric Hunting
erichunting@gmail.com