Quotegaryhlucas Ed, You know what surprises me about your statement about people not being able to afford an electric chair? I wanted one for my dad, and started looking on Craigslist for a used one. I was amazed, there were tons of them at very low prices! I bought a Jet 7 from a woman that had gotten it for her mother through insurance. She said she drove it once around the neighborhood, neby EdEarl - General
There are many people who could use an electric wheel chair, whose insurance, if they have any, will not pay for the chair because their house has too small doors for the chair to work inside. Such is my situation. I ended up buying my own, for $6K, which many people cannot. IMO an electric wheel chiar made from 3D printed parts or entirely 3D printed is a product that would be good for many peopby EdEarl - General
I finally found an open source adobe brick making machine that is manually operated.by EdEarl - Let's design something! (I've got an idea ...)
I found an open source abobe ram press ready to make with assembly video. It is a hydraulic press that can make 5000 bricks a day. It needs a hydraulic power cube, and there is an optional automatic control assembly. These things make a system that can make bricks for a village or apartment complex, and as such are fairly expensive. They would be a good investment for an non profit organization iby EdEarl - Let's design something! (I've got an idea ...)
I think they treat the mycelium with borax and boric acid to make it resistant to bio attack. Cellulose is another insulation that needs similar treatment. My house, which is older, had been attacked by carpenter ants and many of the 2x4s had to be replaced. We now have fire ants, which killed all the carpenter ants. They like peanut butter spiked with boric acid, and it kills their nests.by EdEarl - Let's design something! (I've got an idea ...)
I'm not sure what 3D printing trees is about, but suppose someone wants to make a complex shape from wood. Grid up some live tree root into sawdust, add root growth hormone, nutrient solution. Pack the sawdust, hormone, nutrient mixture into a form (mold), and let it grow for a few days. If any growth occurs, it should fuse into a sold piece of wood the shape of the form. IDK if it would work.by EdEarl - Tissue Engineering
Mycelium is the root system of mushrooms, and some "mushrooms" are composed entirely of mycelium and do not grow toadstools. Mycelium grown on seed husks makes a good, green insulation that can replace Styrofoam and similar products. search for "Greensulate"by EdEarl - Let's design something! (I've got an idea ...)
The following YouTube video, a Ted Talk, is by an architect who is building with paper, which may be made waterproof and fire resistant. Paper tubes are structural components. In one case, he made a three story apartment complex. Here is Dan, a guy who helps poor people in the US build their own home from recycled material. A DIY to make papercrete bricks, a mixture of paper and portland ceby EdEarl - Let's design something! (I've got an idea ...)
QuoteTraumflug The other thing people are talking here about is a reorganisation of all the groups and the addition of (mostly spam fighting) features. I see no reason to not do this in small steps, like it was done over the last years (with exception of the german RUG). You can add groups, you can remove groups (by joining them with another one), that's all you need for changing/adjusting the orby EdEarl - General
I am new to this forum, like it, and this thread is a bit discouraging. I was a programmer for 30+ years, now retired, so my skills are out of date. One of calcetin's posts said he needed six weeks to convert from Phorum to another, maybe PhpBB3. I suspect he did not mean this forum would be down for six weeks. Perhaps most of the conversion could be done while this one operates. Use a databasby EdEarl - General
Price compare - 3D printers lists well over a hundred FFF printers with various features and prices. Plastic is a really good material for many things, but it is not the only material. The competition in FFF printers will eliminate some of the 100+, and some of them will work on a printer for another material. Some things must be made of various metals and ceramics. Scientists have developed aby EdEarl - General
HDPE, the plastic used in plastic bags, bottle caps, food storage containers, folding chairs and tables, hard hats, hula hoops, and other things, is used to make plastic lumber and some kinds of plastic pipe. It melts about 266 F (130C). It can be recycled to help build homes for the poor. Although, melting it requires energy, perhaps a solar heating system can be designed to melt the HDPE and exby EdEarl - Let's design something! (I've got an idea ...)
I wish you luck with the SLS printer. It helps me sometimes set a project aside and work on something else while my subconscious works out a difficult issue. Perhaps while you convert Focus to 3DP your subconscious will provide an insight for SLS. The €3000 isn't a huge amount, maybe a few hundred people would donate €5, if you have a convincing plan and ask for donations.by EdEarl - General
Is it true that the laser sintering patent will expire in February 2014, which will allow open source 3D printers to be made that can make things from more materials, including metal and ceramic?by EdEarl - General
calcetin, I understand your frustration with building codes. Michael Reynolds and Earthships have made some changes; unfortunately, very small. On the other hand, the poorest neighborhoods are not constrained by building codes. I suppose one's definition of 3D printer will determine whether this project has strayed from 3D printing or not. I'd like to argue the point. The first printers were nby EdEarl - Let's design something! (I've got an idea ...)
Tire Wall Alternative I have attached BrickForm files,which show a form for making adobe bricks. These bricks can be stabilized with either asphalt or cement, but it is not necessary if the soil is compressed until the bricks are rock hard. They can be protected from rain by painting them with latex. Walls should be finished with stucco or plaster, and possibly have a berm of soil on the exterioby EdEarl - Let's design something! (I've got an idea ...)
After looking at the amount of material in each brick form, which for the doghouse are small, I have found the cost in material to be too high to continue this particular line of thought. Thus, I am rethinking the project. I still think something along the lines of Earthship homes is the way to go, using recycled material. As they are being built, the bulk of their buildings are low cost becauseby EdEarl - Let's design something! (I've got an idea ...)
My first brick is for a dog house. There will be a few more parts for the dog house. Suggestions for improvements are welcome. This brick can be insulated by stuffing peanuts, straw, or any other insulating material into the interior cavities. The two round holes are for pop or beer cans, and will be held off the bottom by another (yet to be designed) spool. Thus, the beer cans will protrude froby EdEarl - Let's design something! (I've got an idea ...)
Jared, You ask a very good question. ATM one cannot know all the answers, and the length of time a building lasts varies with many conditions, including materials, maintenance, and nature. The main advantage I envision is for very poor people who cannot afford conventional construction, many of whom make their living by sifting through dumps. They already make shanty towns from found materials, aby EdEarl - Let's design something! (I've got an idea ...)
Greg, A cord trailing behind a vacuum works well in an empty room, but as one adds chairs, tables, lamps, etc. a cord becomes more and more difficult to manage. A robot vacuum would have to wind and unwind a cord as it moved around the room, always making sure not to become tangled. However, without vision that would be almost impossible. And, vision processing requires lots of processing powerby EdEarl - Let's design something! (I've got an idea ...)
INSULATED BUILDING The goal of this project is to design a method of making low-cost, insulated, open-design, public-license buildings. It will require organizing people, and developing building materials, tools, and processes. There will be multiple phases of this project, beginning with small buildings such as a dog house or a shed, and ultimately buildings such as houses for very poor people,by EdEarl - Let's design something! (I've got an idea ...)
The floor traveling algorithm can assume each room is a grid that may be traversed along parallel lines, if there is a straight wall (rather than curved walls) then use a line parallel to a wall; otherwise, select any direction. The traveling salesman problem comes into play when there are obsticales that interfere with traversal in parallel lines. Requirements: Keep a map of walls and obsticalby EdEarl - Let's design something! (I've got an idea ...)
The bot may not know where it is originally, it could make a map of its house and keep track of its location after it knows the house. To figure out the shortest route to clean is a very heavy computatonal load, but would make best use of the battery. If that is not done, then the bot will travel randomly and may never clean some parts of the floor. Working with a camera is complicated, sensingby EdEarl - Let's design something! (I've got an idea ...)