Open source team creates apocalypse survival kit, page 1

Open source team creates apocalypse survival kit, page

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Topic started on 22-11-2011 @ 08:30 AM by Maxmars

DIY handbook for 50 top civilization-saving tools

www.theregister.co.uk...
opensourceecology.org...
opensourceecology.org...

A team of open source enthusiasts is putting together instructions for how to build 50 tools essential to establishing – or reestablishing – a civilization.

The Global Village Construction Set (GVCS) is being developed by the Open Source Ecology (OSE) group, and includes such basic tools as a well drill, steam engine, and brick making machine, along with more complicated devices such as a bulldozer, 3D printer, and 50kW wind turbine. These can be built from scrap or recycled materials at a fraction of the cost of commercial machinery.

I thought I would add this material for those of you who may be interested in more than scratching out a living off the land, should you be ambitious enough to envision a quicker recovery for mankind, than simply reverting to tribal society.

This organization is attempting to make that possibility more likely. The idea: Give everyone whatever information they can use to make the things we would need to stand a chance at bypassing a new stone age.

Things like:

3d Printer
an additive manufacturing technology where a three dimensional object is printed by laying down successive layers of material, just like a printer except in 3D.

3d Scanner
a device that can generate a 3D digital scan from a real-life object, where the file can be used to reproduce the object in 3D with a device such as the 3D printer or CNC Precision Multimachine.

50 kW Wind Turbine
a device that produces electrical power from wind energy, scalable in units of 50 kW.

Aluminum Extractor from Clay
a device that produces aluminum from clay by dissolving the aluminum from aluminosilicate (clay), and then electrolyzing the resulting compound to form pure aluminum.

Backhoe
a piece of excavating equipment or digger consisting of a digging bucket on the end of a two-part articulated arm for digging trenches or large holes.

Bakery Oven
device for heating various forms of dough into breads and other baked goods.

Baler
a device that compresses hay and other light and dispersed materials into more compact bales.

Bioplastic Extruder
An extruder takes a charge of plastic and extrudes a sheet or other profile of useful form, such as greenhouse glazing or water tubing.

Bulldozer
a high-traction, heavy earth-moving machine indispensible for building ponds, berms, and other permacultural earthforms, as well as for other tasks such as building roads or clearing land.

CEB Press
a high performance machine for producing Compressed Earth Blocks (CEB) from onsite soil, at production rates of up to 16 bricks per minute.

Cement Mixer
a device that homogeneously combines cement, aggregate such as sand or gravel, and water to form concrete.

Chipper/Hammermill
a machine used for reducing wood or other materials into smaller parts, such as chips or shreds.

CNC Circuit Mill
a computer-controlled device that can produce electrical circuits by milling and drilling on copper-clad circuit boards.

CNC Precision Multimachine
a multipurpose, precision CNC machining and metal cutting device for milling, lathing, drilling to make precision parts; includes surface grinding and cold-cut metal sawing.

CNC Torch/Router Table
a computer-controlled cutting table for metal where a moving torch head is used to produce precision metal parts in a fraction of the time that it takes to do so manually .

Dairy Milker
device which harvests milk automatically from milk-producing livestock.

Dimensional Sawmill
a dimensional sawmill is a circular blade sawmill with 2 blades that is used for producing dimensional lumber in one pass.

Electric Motor/Generator
a device that functions as a motor when energized with a voltage, which can also function as an electrical generator when it is spun.

Gasifier Burner
a clean and efficient burner that gasifies the material that is being burned prior to combustion.

Hay Cutter
a device that cuts grass, hay, straw, or other light biomass for haying, baling, or combining.

Hay Rake
a mechanical implement for a tractor that rakes hay or other light materials into windrows or other formations for drying or baling.

Hydraulic Motors
a mechanical actuator that converts high-pressure fluid flow into rotation.

Induction Furnace
an electrical furnace in which the heat is applied by induction heating of metal, providing clean, versatile, compact, energy-efficient, and well-controlled melting compared to flame furnaces.

Industrial Robot
a robotic arm which can perform certain human tasks – such as welding or milling – for performing tasks that are not better done by humans.

Ironworker Machine
a device that can instantly cut steel and punch holes in metal thicknesses of 1".

Laser Cutter
an industrial machine that can make precision, finish cuts in a wide array of substrates, such as metal, wood, or plastic.

Linear Solar Concentrator
an infinitely-scalable, linear device which concentrates solar radiation onto a linear target for generating heat or steam to produce electricity.

Loader
a bucket attachment to a tractor that can be used for digging or loading of soil and other loose materials.

Metal Rolling
a metal forming process in which metal stock is passed through a pair of rolls to produce a desired shape, such as flat bar, angle, or u-channel.

Microcombine
a small-scale harvester-thresher for mechanical harvesting of any grain crops, with a cutting swath of about 3 feet in width.

Microtractor
a small, 18 hp version of the full-sized tractor for powering a wide range of implements in agriculture and utility duties.

Modern Steam Engine
an engine where an external heat source is used to turn water into steam, and the steam in turn moves reciprocating pistons to provide shaft power.

Nickel Iron Batteries
long-life batteries that have a track record of lasting 50 or more years.

Open Source Automobile
a wheeled motor vehicle for transporting people.

Open Source Truck
a larger version of an automobile with a bed for transporting loads.

Open Source Welder
a device used to make strong, permanent bonds in metal by melting and fusing the metal.

Pelletizer
a device that compresses shredded pieces of biomass or other substances to compact, flowable pellets.

Plasma Cutter
a device to cut metal using a plasma torch.

... and many more.

Check out the links....... and I apologize if this has been discussed before.

reply posted on 22-11-2011 @ 08:42 AM by TsukiLunar

reply to post by Maxmars

It seems to me that with all the raiders that will be roaming post apocalypse that these things will be more of a liability rather than an overwhelming advantage. I've seen people get shot at for less.

Besides, where the hell ya gonna get the money for all of this?

reply posted on 22-11-2011 @ 08:46 AM by FonsoHarman

reply to post by TsukiLunar

you took the words right from my mouth.
too much of a liability.
keep it simple.

reply posted on 22-11-2011 @ 08:47 AM by ManFromEurope

I don't think you have to use an "open source welder" - based on those grounds you could use the prefix "open source" for every single of those devices.

I'm also not quite sure where all the needed energy is coming from.

And the thing I'm most concerned about: What about sustainability? What would happen if one of these hi-tech-tools breaks down? Why not start with simple, sturdy tools which could be repaired with raw materials?

You need a chain of production to sustain a developed civilization, not one single 3d-scanner with a 3d-plotter.. Where do you get the raw materials used in those plotters?

I don't like this survival kit. It's shiny but inapt for real survival in an uncivilized environment.

edit on 22-11-2011 by ManFromEurope because: typo

edit on 22-11-2011 by ManFromEurope because: typotypo

reply posted on 22-11-2011 @ 08:49 AM by AnIntellectualRedneck

I think the point of this is to give some kind of survival kit to actual communities because there will invariably be small communities that spring up at some point in time.

reply posted on 22-11-2011 @ 08:49 AM by AnIntellectualRedneck

edit on 22-11-2011 by AnIntellectualRedneck because: (no reason given)

reply posted on 22-11-2011 @ 08:55 AM by ManFromEurope

reply to post by AnIntellectualRedneck

So... it's not a survival kit but a tool to privilege this community against the others? How does a community survive better with a 3d-plotter than without it - as long as there is no special need for 3d-printed items (which can only be achieved by printing them on this plotter) and there is an virtually unlimited supply of raw materials for this printer?

I can agree on the basics - but not on the hi-tech-tools.

reply posted on 22-11-2011 @ 08:59 AM by FonsoHarman

reply to post by AnIntellectualRedneck

i think people have become too reliant on technology. if we just did it the old fashioned way....
when's there gonna be a thread about how many potatoes it takes to run a laptop?

edit on 22-11-2011 by FonsoHarman because: had to fix that..

reply posted on 22-11-2011 @ 09:13 AM by CaptChaos

I've seen this project. It's cool, but rather silly to think of this as a plan for a SHTF scenario. You must have all these high tech items BEFORE anything happens, and they are all extremely susceptible to attack when the zombies come or whatever. It is a very eco friendly plan, but not too good for TSHTF.

This guy: www.lindsaybks.com... has been teaching this for years. How to make a complete metal shop, starting with charcoal and some scrap metal. Stuff that will be laying all around after the napalm stops burning, or all the zombies are dead, or the rampaging starving hordes have all died off, and it's time to try to rebuild civilization. Once you have a metal shop, you can make just about anything, and over the years rebuild without getting knocked back to the Stone Age.

It would only take two generations of starvation survival and ignorance to set us back to the Stone Age. Two generations of "too busy finding food to survive to do anything else" and everything is forgotten.

reply posted on 22-11-2011 @ 09:38 AM by Maxmars

I understand your objections... but am a bit surprised by the feedback.

First off - you may be content with the idea of returning to a simple life foraging and gathering for your sustenance. But that will not restore the ability of mankind to reestablish himself in a manner that allows for communities to grow and thrive.

I understand your self-reliance focus of survival... and that's swell, if your intention is to be out to to protect yourself and your own. I suspect our continuity is not based upon how many rounds you can pump into a target, how much use you can get out of tree bark, or how effectively you can amputate a limb in an emergency. If so, perhaps this forum should be renamed to "Personal Survival".

This is intended to address the survival or resurgence of civilization. All of which hinges on our ability to collectively and most importantly, "cooperatively" survive - as opposed to competing for resources we could more easily harness as a team.

Second - the idea of the "Open Source" designation is a sad nod to the fact that in our current society, there may be better ways, more efficient designs, and even less resource-intensive means to create something as useful as certain farming equipment, tool-making machinery, or vehicular devices, but we can't even talk about them because the designs are "property" and not being shared by commercial interests out of a need to compete.

So these people are trying to convey that the right knowledge can quickly allow an enterprising and devoted community to make at least some progress against the sudden isolation and lack of support from larger institutions after a major disruptive event.

Third - Again, I thought the idea of a collection of knowledge to encourage those who don't feel like the Mad Max world is something we would actually want to engender would be less rejected. So I pointed out this collection to apply to those who envision recreating a society and culture ... not just running around like rustic savages for whom everyone in the world other than themselves and their group is either foe or prey. Yes there will be a need for all the knowledge you share here.... but is that it? Is that the end of the equation? Omega Man redux? Is the idea that from that point forward civilization consists of people living like the Huns of old? Nothing you can't carry goes with you? In that case it will be another 2,000 years before we come back from the brink. I wonder if anyone will know how to read?

Fourth - the repeated comments about the 3D plotter seem very childish to me, there are a million reasons to want to throw one of these things together: for example, fasteners, hinges, tools, containers, nuts, bolts, washers, slugs..., or do you think those will be in abundance at just the right time when you need them?

I think some of you may not have actually read the material, or seen the TED video, but if you had you might get some more answers...

Perhaps this is all because my focus wasn't on the the idea of kill or be killed... I can imagine those of you who will not be looking to establish a community will not be interested....

edit on 22-11-2011 by Maxmars because: (no reason given)

reply posted on 22-11-2011 @ 10:02 AM by TheRealTruth84

reply to post by Maxmars

Great info thanks for posting! I believe many peoples views of a post apocalyptic world are skewed. It is asinine to think that everyday is going to be a firefight with raiders and the likes. Will it be a situation that needs dealing with? Yes. But to think that we will not attempt to rebuild community, power, and the basics of living in society is far from logical.
The reason humans are considered to be at the top of the food chain, is because of our mind and a unique ability to adapt and overcome. There will be plenty whom come together, and share their skills to survive. Some will fend off the would be "raiders," some will work on creating that wind turbine from scraps. Money? What money? Sure some people will want to barter and trade over an item that is found on their property or, the claim as their own. But in a post apocalyptic world, you will be likely to find abandoned and desolate regions to scavenge with little to no human contact.

Thanks again for the post S&F!!

edit on 11/22/2011 by TheRealTruth84 because: (no reason given)

reply posted on 23-11-2011 @ 02:12 AM by ManFromEurope

reply to post by Maxmars

Define "civilization" first.

I sense that there are many different versions of this definition right here in this thread - one says that civilization is the survival of anything we know RIGHT NOW, regardless the number of living people or communities. I don't think that this is working in a Super-SHTF-scenario, when everyone is really only working for his/her own survival under the harshest conditions.
The other one is a definition of people living together without slaughtering each other over a can of beans. In a Super-SHTF-scenario (large meteor, iceage, nuclear winter, etc.) we should be happy for surviving alone, and really could do without this "childish" 3d-printer - yes, mankind survived long long long enough without this technology. Hinges are to be build from a dozen natural ressources.

Absolutely necessary for a faster rebuild of culture and sustainability after a Super-SHTF-scenario is KNOWLEDGE. Store books, not ebooks. Print them on acid-free papers, like they did in the medieval (made of rags!), then they will last for hundreds of years. Use a way to store information without the need of storing technology to even READ this information - are you able to decipher a jpg-file by looking at its hex-codes? Yes, it is possible but completely bullocks.

edit on 23-11-2011 by ManFromEurope because: i hate my typos!

reply posted on 23-11-2011 @ 02:19 AM by Shadowalker

All of those things already exist. Most people cant afford them and if they need them they rent them.

The whole thing sounds like city nerds sitting around at starbucks......

Like the southpark underwear gnomes...

step one: steal underwear

step four: profit.

reply posted on 23-11-2011 @ 09:03 AM by Maxmars

Originally posted by ManFromEurope

Define "civilization" first.

Of course, let us entertain two definitions; because I am obviously out of place here; and it's clear that my OP was not of interesting to most.

My first definition of civilization would go something like this: A civilization is an enduring socially and culturally developed way of expressing a population's presence in the world. Technology is its footprint. To be civilized, is to accept that there is a civic aspect to human engagement, implicitly accepting the social contract demanded by the paradigms of the particular civilization. Most civilizations develop internal bodies of thought and discipline, like institutions (marriage. common law, spirituality, et al.) which are tended to by specialists, (and whose practice are usually protected by traditionalists.)

Our second, less wordy definition comes from the dictionary of expedience: A civilization is any collection of society (or societies) that maintains its own existence through defending and propagating it's paradigms, traditions, and cultural metrics.

In either case, it seems to be something which can only be considered from a collective or cooperative effort... in other words the predatory, adversarial, and competitive aspects of the population's nature becomes secondary to immediate self-gratification.

This is of course easily rejected by those who court the romantic notion of the imagery associated with hard-core survival-ism against a perpetually predatory foe (thank you Hollywood.)

I sense that there are many different versions of this definition right here in this thread .....

This is obviously true. I wrongly estimated that this forum would be receptive to the idea of reestablishing a world where children didn't represent a liability. Where the elderly and or sick weren't better off being 'put down.' Clearly I a m out of synch with the glorious ideas of blasting enemies with lethal force, setting booby traps, avoiding death from exposure,and the definition of 'survival' being being limited to being able to find grubs and berries to eat.

In a Super-SHTF-scenario (large meteor, iceage, nuclear winter, etc.) we should be happy for surviving alone...,

In fact, in a Super SHFT-scenario, I would have thought this kind of approach ('restoring civilization') to survival would be even more relevant. It was admittedly my mistake.

.... we should be happy for surviving alone, and really could do without this "childish" 3d-printer - yes, mankind survived long long long enough without this technology. Hinges are to be build from a dozen natural resources.

We are tool-builders. We need tools. Surviving of the minimums of nature is great; but it does not protect the specifies from extinction as well as the cooperation of an entire community to care for itself and it's posterity. You think the 3D printer is childish? I find that very interesting. So much so that I would say you missed the entire point of the project.

Most people here are assuming that this "kit" is some kind of consumerism nonsense... like "buy this Coleman product" or "my high caliber rounds are more effective than yours" and "which hunting knife should I buy?"

This IS in fact an information product - FREE OF CHARGE (hence open source) and it is not a product to buy like the link provided earlier. It is an initiative to ensure that the possibility becomes more reasonable that a cluster of survivors of a major disruptive event in our civilization can overcome the crisis without having to spend decades reinventing technologies....

By the way, I agree that books are way more important than e-books - but only at the onset of the recovery... after that books will only matter insofar as people can have a place to collect, share, and access them.

reply posted on 23-11-2011 @ 09:06 AM by getreadyalready

reply to post by Maxmars

I haven't seen this on ATS before, but I have seen it. A man that works for me also does a lot of mission work in Haiti and Mexico. His church takes up fund raisers to buy and produce things from that site and introduce them into un-industrialized settings. It is pretty interesting.

Thanks for posting!! I had seen the site, but I didn't have the link.

reply posted on 23-11-2011 @ 09:08 AM by Maxmars

Originally posted by Shadowalker
All of those things already exist. Most people cant afford them and if they need them they rent them.

The whole thing sounds like city nerds sitting around at starbucks......

Like the southpark underwear gnomes...

step one: steal underwear

step four: profit.

Then I suggest you, and the member who starred your post, are simply unwilling to engage in the conversation I was attempting to begin. There will be no 'buying' of equipment in the survival scenarios which I intended to address with this OP. This is about rebuilding some level of our civilization from scratch.

It has, however, been quite a slice....

Shame really, I was hoping to learn something more here....

reply posted on 23-11-2011 @ 07:29 PM by Shadowalker

Well to be upfront if it all goes down its not coming back up the same way. Fukushima was the primary lesson. plants around the world will be holes that corium burned into the ground. If your going to make it any time at all you need gamma tools.

Without power we will drop down to a steampunk age for 5-10 years as we get basic machine tools running again off of steam to rebuild our basic services.

Those larger items...I ran an iron worker for 6 months. if you dont have all your dies cut before hand its just a metal shear.

The whole idea is not realistic at all. I think a good book to read might be Lights Out. they scavenge and trade for basic items.

Its a lot tougher just to eat than people think. Count on food and water being the focus.

reply posted on 24-11-2011 @ 02:43 AM by ManFromEurope

Originally posted by Maxmars

Originally posted by ManFromEurope

Define "civilization" first.

Of course, let us entertain two definitions; because I am obviously out of place here; and it's clear that my OP was not of interesting to most.

Okay, this is your first impression of good old Passive-Aggressism. I will try to ignore that the whole of my posting, as it is showing through several of your lines as seen below.

My first definition of civilization would go something like this: A civilization is an enduring socially and culturally developed way of expressing a population's presence in the world. Technology is its footprint. To be civilized, is to accept that there is a civic aspect to human engagement, implicitly accepting the social contract demanded by the paradigms of the particular civilization. Most civilizations develop internal bodies of thought and discipline, like institutions (marriage. common law, spirituality, et al.) which are tended to by specialists, (and whose practice are usually protected by traditionalists.)

Okay, there is nothing here for technology. Morale, ethic, all is well and should be preserved as best as possible. This distinguishes us from the beasts.

Our second, less wordy definition comes from the dictionary of expedience: A civilization is any collection of society (or societies) that maintains its own existence through defending and propagating it's paradigms, traditions, and cultural metrics.

Defending here means also that there is time in every days life left to have a civilized life in those precious minutes. This is due to a community with members who don't have to fight for every aspect of their daily lifes. Seems luxurious for people fighting to survive in a harsh environment, but should be possible.

In either case, it seems to be something which can only be considered from a collective or cooperative effort... in other words the predatory, adversarial, and competitive aspects of the population's nature becomes secondary to immediate self-gratification.

This is of course easily rejected by those who court the romantic notion of the imagery associated with hard-core survival-ism against a perpetually predatory foe (thank you Hollywood.)

Ok, there is the core-problem: WHAT is Survival? Which level of survival are we talking about? As far as I understood your OP, there was a great catastrophe and you searched for a list of items to survive that catastrophe and the following problems with the highest possible propability.

reply posted on 24-11-2011 @ 03:12 AM by ManFromEurope

Originally posted by Maxmars
..

I sense that there are many different versions of this definition right here in this thread .....

This is obviously true. I wrongly estimated that this forum would be receptive to the idea of reestablishing a world where children didn't represent a liability. Where the elderly and or sick weren't better off being 'put down.' Clearly I a m out of synch with the glorious ideas of blasting enemies with lethal force, setting booby traps, avoiding death from exposure,and the definition of 'survival' being being limited to being able to find grubs and berries to eat.

Now you (or we) are talking about two different worlds: One, where there is an intact jurisdiction so every sane person would follow given laws. Then the other, where there is only complete anarchy and survival-of-the-strongest. What kind of world do you want to talk about?

In the first, you would send this kit to, for example, an underdeveloped country to build a community which performs better than its neighbors to set an example. From several examples that I know of in terms of foreign aid, I would guess that its working fine and every one will want to look at all those shiny machines - as long as the money flows. Just months after stoping the funding of the project it will go south. Why? Because the parameters where miles too high for their neighbors to be able to follow or achieve them.
Start with small steps, really small steps - education is always good.
Kill all goats, because nearly no other animal eats as haphazardly as a goat whatever grows there. You have people with lots of goats and an arid environment = you will get a desert ecosystem unable to sustain the people. Yes, I know that goats are nice animals, but they are also a huge problem. Try to establish less gorging animals, maybe sheep or camels, so SOME plants might survive.

In the second scenario, well, I thought we were talking about a SHTF-scenario before. You do find my thoughts in postings above.

In a Super-SHTF-scenario (large meteor, iceage, nuclear winter, etc.) we should be happy for surviving alone...,

In fact, in a Super SHFT-scenario, I would have thought this kind of approach ('restoring civilization') to survival would be even more relevant. It was admittedly my mistake.

What mistake?

.... we should be happy for surviving alone, and really could do without this "childish" 3d-printer - yes, mankind survived long long long enough without this technology. Hinges are to be build from a dozen natural resources.

We are tool-builders. We need tools. Surviving of the minimums of nature is great; but it does not protect the specifies from extinction as well as the cooperation of an entire community to care for itself and it's posterity. You think the 3D printer is childish? I find that very interesting. So much so that I would say you missed the entire point of the project.

Mankind did survive most of its time by the minimums. Agriculture didn't come from nothing, it had to be developed. What do you eat as long as those fruits weren't ripe? You didn't make it clear in your OP what you want to talk about - helping underdeveloped countries or trying to survive in a mass-extinction-level-event? In the latter I would always trade your 3D printer for seeds or fertiliser.

Most people here are assuming that this "kit" is some kind of consumerism nonsense... like "buy this Coleman product" or "my high caliber rounds are more effective than yours" and "which hunting knife should I buy?"

This IS in fact an information product - FREE OF CHARGE (hence open source) and it is not a product to buy like the link provided earlier. It is an initiative to ensure that the possibility becomes more reasonable that a cluster of survivors of a major disruptive event in our civilization can overcome the crisis without having to spend decades reinventing technologies....

By the way, I agree that books are way more important than e-books - but only at the onset of the recovery... after that books will only matter insofar as people can have a place to collect, share, and access them.

You don't understand the word "sustainability", do you? What happens if your wind turbine, to let the 3D-printer out of this, breaks down by melting part of the insulation of its conductor in its generator? Are you able to produce a new, working insulation?
Or do you put your turbine with all your electricity-depending tools aside and try to live without them? Or would you wish to have a "plan B" for living without electricity?

Fact is, our civilization DEPENDS ON chains of production - even a simple pencil is a product of several, actually difficult steps of fabrication. The more precise and advanced these chains are, the more advanced are your endproducts. Without chains, there will be only tools of wood until the forge is build. Find iron first..

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