User:Conor

Problem statement

OSE is supposed to be an open-source hardware project, but none of the hardware here is actually open-source. Open-source means that replicable plans are available freely online; this site has fragments of information, but no one could possibly build hardware from the scattered information here. These are examples of open-source hardware:

• http://www.applied-sciences.net/library/data/zoetrope-wind-turbine.pdf
• http://reprap.org/wiki/Mendel_Build_Manual

Every Internet success story - Wikipedia, YouTube, Google, FaceBook - have something in common: none of them have given people content; they have given people platforms on which they can build content. If OSE is to be a successful open-source hardware project, we need to stop focusing so much on creating content, and start focusing on building a platform.

My take on the GVCS

I was pleasantly surprised to find that once you get clarity on what tools are needed, open-source or DIY designs can be found online for the majority of them. The task of the Open Ecology Network, as I see it, is as much about collecting and organizing existing solutions as it is about inventing new machines. We need to take existing instructions and turn them into out-of-the-box solutions. This is true especially for food/agriculture. In the digital manufacturing area, some open-source designs still have to be done from scratch, but several of them are already under development by other people, like Lasersaur.

It is important to realize that if there are to be replicable ecovillages, they will each have different requirements. So some may use wind turbines, while others use solar. Some may farm hydroponically while others use permaculture. Some will be urban and some rural. So the toolkit is to be used on a pick-and-mix basis. We can't say that all 40 tools and 40 tools only will be needed to build a particular village.

Each of these tools must fulfil the following requirements.

• Open documentation
• Instructional videos or similar
• Bill of materials with sourcing info
• Low cost
• Lifetime design
• Modular design for easy disassembly and repair

• Housing
  • CEB press
  • Sawmill
  • Modular building system. GridBeam is an open-source modular building system. http://www.n55.dk/MANUALS/MICRO_DWELLINGS/micro_dwellings.html - These are open-source modular geodesic octahedral structures that can be stuck together to form a variety of forms.
  • Geodesic domes. Plenty of instructions online on how to build these

• Energy
  • Microbial fuel cell.
  • Run-of-the-river hydroelectric generator.
  • Geothermal. SHPEGS heat pump can be adapted for geothermal use
  • Steam engine
  • Inverter
  • Battery
  • Stirling engine. http://openstirlingengine.blogspot.com/ In alpha phase
  • Electric motor

• Food
  • Organoponic Raised Bed Gardening
  • Vertical hydroponic units
  • Scalable aquaponic system
  • Beehives. All that needs to be done is for someone to turn Langstroth or National hives into CAD files so that they can be 3D printed.
  • Wormery. Many complete open-source designs exist: [1], [2]
  • Small modular fish farm. Complete open source design exists: http://www.n55.dk/manuals/fishfarm/fishfarm.html
  • Open Source Crop Planning Software
  • Spirulina
  • Mushrooms. Again, a lot of information online about how to do it, but no complete out-of-the-box design.
  • Tractor

• Water
  • Atmospheric water generator. We need a prototype, bill of materials, instructional videos and design documentation. Can be done either with hygroscopic materials or recirculating cold water. http://sculptors.com/~salsbury/Articles/atmospheric-condensing.html Gives a verbal description of a prototype
  • Living Machines
  • Combined slow sand and UV filter
  • Well Drilling Rig

• Digital fabrication
  • CAD software
  • 3D scanner
  • Laser cutter.
  • 3D printer. RepRap
  • CNC torch table RepTab
  • CNC drill-mill-lathe MultiMachine
  • MIG welder
  • Spectroscope
  • Induction furnace
  • Plasma cutter
  • Waterjet cutter. To attach to the RepTab
  • Multimeter / Computer oscilloscope. http://www.opencircuits.com/Oscilloscope#PC_Oscilloscopes
  • Robotic arm
  • Metal saw
  • Metal roller
  • Metal press, shear and hole puncher