User:Lex Berezhny/Microfactory
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Microfactory is a set of tools and machines that can be reasonably acquired or built from abundant materials with the goal of enabling humanity to transcend scarcity and poverty.
A factory has inputs and outputs. A microfactory needs to built around inputs which are abundant and outputs which are life sustaining and socially transformative.
inputs
Criteria for selecting inputs for the microfactory:
- abundant: it should be easy to acquire useful amounts of the material for free or at insignificant cost
- safe: acquiring, handling and processing the material should not be inherently dangerous, common mistakes should be relatively forgiving
- appropriate: see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appropriate_technology
Selected materials to be inputs into the microfactory:
- wood
- renewable material that is abundant and free if harvested from your own property
- wood has been used by humans for thousands of years and can be safely worked with primitive tools
- PET, HDPE, other plastics
- soda bottles and milk jugs are everywhere
- used for storing food, it's expected to be safe
- aluminum
- soda cans are everywhere, aluminum scraps are also abundant
- much lower melting temperature than steel, home made foundries for aluminum are popular
aluminum forge to melt aluminum cans and other scrap
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2FuvKTyRMQ
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2RYYBRFu1A
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZo5o1Y0h9o
make wire out of ingots
circuit "printer"
- 3d print board with groves for wire and components
- place aluminum wire into grooves: http://reprap.org/wiki/SpoolHead
- apply solder paste
- pick'n'place components
- melt solder in oven
aluminum extruder
- heat billets to 900F
- push through die
- cool consistently
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y75IQksBb0M
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8BWQBP4Vhk
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ch1zEPDcg7E
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MG3Ls7jrr2o&t=5m53s