CEB Prototype 1 Fab

Here are most of the details for fabricating CEB Prototype 1.

We start with raw metal. Drill holes in the structure pieces, 7/16" x 6 inch u-channel:



Begin putting the frame together:



Use 1/2", grade 8 bolts, and the frame is complete:



Cut Nylon 6/6 liner to size, and use it for abrasion resistance for the compression chamber:



Install the Nylon liner in the compression chamber:



Add the plate for the compression chamber box, with the Nylon underneath:



Put in spacers for the bottom of the frame, as the 5 inch cylinder that we used was fatter than 6 inches of the frame width:



Assemble and stand the machine:

  

Take out the acetylene torch:



And slice up metal pieces for the pressing plate:



Grind and prepare pressing plate assembly:

  

We used a 20 kW tractor power-take-off (PTO) genearator to feed the welder.



Here is the prepared pressing plate assembly with cylinder pin:



Add the 5 inch, 2.5 inch rod, ~20 ton hydraulic cylinder:



Fit the pressing plate assembly on the cylinder:



Prepare sides of the compression plate, so the compression plate assembly moves straight vertically:

  

Here is the finished press plate and cylinder mount before assembly:



Here is the assembled press plate, with rubber liner on top:



Note how the two pieces are bolted together:



Now we fit the compression box assembly in the frame, attach the cylinder and hydraulics, and test motion of the cylinder:

  

Now we fit the cylinder and press plate into the frame:



We close up the compression box:



Here we show other details of mounting the cylinder in the frame:

  

Thy cylinder is mounted and the pin holder is ready for welding:



Winter came, so we moved operations into the greenhouse:



We attached the hopper table to the frame:



And we are ready to test the pressing of the first brick:



We filled the compression chamber with soil:

We covered the latch, and fixed it in place (not shown):



And we pressed the first brick:



Here is the first block ejected:

 <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/VIi_4cX0M2E"> <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/VIi_4cX0M2E" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350">

We show the block and the earth it's made from:



Next comes the hopper assembly. Here is the hopper cylinder:



Here is the liner for the hopper table:



Here is the hopper assembly in the making. Soil enters the compression chamber through the hole in the bottom plate:



And here is the finished hopper assembly, ready for testing:



We gather a pile of semi-frozen dirt:



And pack the compression chamber, first manually:



Then we fill the hopper. The soil was too wet, but here are some sample bricks:

<object width="425" height="350"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/WmKj9D3enpM"> <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/WmKj9D3enpM" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350">

And that's it for Phase 1. Now we'll be testing the machine and building an improved prototype with an XYZ torch table to facilitate metal preparation.