MicroTrac is the craziest power tool that I’ve seen. A powered unicycle? Mobile replacement wheel for LifeTrac, the open source tractor? Universal power source? It’s perhaps best to call it a walk-behind tractor. See the development from the drawing board by Jeremy:
to reality:
Its parts, including the Power Cube, are interchangeable with LifeTrac. We can take the wheel off MicroTrac and put it on LifeTrac. We can take off the wheel motor from MicroTrac, and use it to power shop tools. The even more crazy universal machining center is forthcoming. We’re thinking it may be called MegaRep – the Mega version (8×8 feet) of the cubic RepRap structure – now for handling heavy machining of all sorts.
How much did MicroTrac cost? With design-for-disassembly, modular construction – it’s hard to tell. The Power Cube, wheel, quick-attach motor and cylinder are totally interchangeable with other devices. Does that mean that MicroTrac cost about $125 for the virgin steel, shaft, bearings, and bolts – which went into its basic frame, up to the two quick attach plates. Such ecological economics break norms of standard cost accounting.
With the CEB 2 power source now done, we’re moving on to the soil and slurry preparation equipment, and finally CEB 2.
Amazing! You are really talented. Making all this stuff by yourself is impressing.
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[…] may have seen our prior report on PowerCube as the power source for MicroTrac. The question is – how flexible can the PowerCube be? We ask this question from the […]
[…] MicroTrac is a scaled-down, a walk-behind version of the the full-sized LifeTrac to address the need for a microtractor. We are using most of the same components as LifeTrac, except we are shrinking the structural members – to retain part interchangeability between MicroTrac and LifeTrac. […]
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[…] MicroTrac as a power source, and possibly for moving Liberator 2 from place to place […]
[…] MicroTrac achieved zero turn motion. If one walks around rapidly, one can turn the walk-behind tractor around in place. MicroTrac is turning out to be a beautiful freak: […]