Open Source Ecology Blog

Automatic CEB Controls v1.0

The last remaining step of our open source CEB Press Prototype II development is installation of automatic controls. This means that instead of a person actuating the hydraulic cylinders in the proper sequence as seen before, we will do this with electric...

One Month Project Visit: Take Two

The second month of my Dedicated Project Visit started last week. This month will focus on three main tasks that each build on the work completed successfully last month. Work out any problems in the torch table built last month, now referred to as Prototype...

CEB Automation

The next phase of CEB development is automation, and October is the month to do it. We’ll be publishing video of the manual CEB II in action with Soil Pulverizer and Slurry Mixer in operation – within a week. We will try this with stack-as-you...

Torch Table Progress

I’ve been working fast and furious on another one month project proposal and finishing up the Torch Table. Saturday I hit a milestone which I thought I would share. We have possibly the largest, open source, computer controlled drawing table! See...

TED Fellows and Milestones

One of our supporters nominated me for the TED Fellows program. I just got an email from the program officer, inviting me to apply. The application is due by September 25. My schedule this week is tight, and we have an important visitor arriving Friday....

Open Source Torch Table – 1 Month Update

Exactly one month has passed since Lawrence arrived. Here is an update, continuing from the last post on the project, up to the progress of one week ago: Torch Table Build Part 3 – Rails from Marcin Jakubowski on Vimeo. For those interested, here...

Steam Meet Report

Here are 7 videos from the steam meet, plus other conslusions on our involvement with steam power. We will build a hydronic heating stove with allowance for a steam engine electrical generator – even if we don’t install the steam engine before...

Steam Meet Update

I suggest that if someone wants to build a steam engine, the first thing that they should do is visit a Steam Automobile Club of America (SACA) meeting. The steam club meeting is filled with amazing talent – from former NASA engineers, present Detroit...

Steam Dreams and Stoves Continued

I am now in Berrien Springs, Michigan, for a 2 day visit at the Steam Automobile Club of America (SACA) annual meeting in Chicagoland. I am staying with Tom Kimmel, club president – a jovial fellow who also runs a significant plant propagation nursery...

On the Nature of One Month Project Visits

The Table Project was detailed here, and you can see my commitments for the project here. Here is a choppy update of the Torch Tables progress: Torch Table Build Part 1 from Marcin Jakubowski on Vimeo. I wanted to say a little something about what this...