African Engineering

[Scishopguy]

I was sent this site from a friend and former aircraft mechanic. He thought it would be of interest to all the tinkerers out there.

http://www.afrigadget.com/2007/03/26...op-for-africa/

You may have to go to the main site (just strip off everything from multimachine to the right) as it didn't come up the at first for me. Look down the page and near the end there is a multimachine based on truck parts.

It would be a challenge to get the tools to do much in that environment and these guys show some clever "workarounds". I especially enjoyed the welder. I knew someone who had one he built that looked something like that. EEK!!! =8^O)

[riceone]

Would you tell me what you can do with it? Looks like a complicated bunch of nothing to me. riceone.

[IOWOLF]

I have another phrase for it, but basically the same meaning.

[dp]

The meat of it is found here on page 6:
http://opensourcemachine.org/mm2html...timachine.html

[IOWOLF]

Wasn't that posted a few days ago.

[Scishopguy]

Originally Posted by riceone

Would you tell me what you can do with it? Looks like a complicated bunch of nothing to me. riceone.

Well, if you live in a dusty hell hole, don't have a pot to pee in or a window to throw it out of, and only have access to used truck parts and scrap, it might just do what you need.

I didn't realize it was the same machine as the other site. You must not have looked at any of the other links on that site. Some are interesting, given the environment.

[Scishopguy]

Originally Posted by IOWOLF

I have another phrase for it, but basically the same meaning.

I believe that would be "Afro American Engineering" but in this case just "Afro Engineering." I can't even imagine living in a place like that with no tools and no way to get them except "&%@ rigging."

[Scishopguy]

Originally Posted by dp

The meat of it is found here on page 6:
http://opensourcemachine.org/mm2html...timachine.html

Now that you mention it, that looks like the same thing but from a different angle. (I recognize the wall behind it). They most have reposted it from the Afrigaget site. I didn't realize the post the other day was the same object.

Did you look at some of the other stuff? The guy that uses his bicycle to power a grinder to sharpen knives? Like I said, the welder was a real piece of work.

[Wirecutter]

I've put some thought into "how to make something from nearly nothing" over the years. When I was younger, it took the form of the "what if I could travel back in time" or even a post-apocalyptic world.

Scishopguy and the links he's brought to our attention put this same problem in a far more practical and useful context.

Originally Posted by Scishopguy

Well, if you live in a dusty hell hole, don't have a pot to pee in or a window to throw it out of, and only have access to used truck parts and scrap, it might just do what you need.

I have to admit that when I saw the post's subject line, I was reminded of the common slur for what the Brits might call a "bodge job". I was prepared to be offended. But this is good stuff. Obviously a lot of thought has gone into it, and I find it all very interesting. I'm interested in seeing or hearing of examples of these kinds of machines in action.

I've been to one or two places that are inhabited by poor and resource-challenged, yet industrious people. We've all heard the stories. I once had a coworker that did volunteer work overseas. He told me of a time he helped repair a broken truck spring with a tree limb, and another where he saw a guy using car batteries as a welder to repair - you guessed it - other car batteries.

Thanks for the link. I find it inspiring and educational. The origin and refinement of nearly any tool can probably be traced back to the same set of questions/problems. Somebody started with "How can I do this one time?" and went on to "Now how can I do this again and again?".

Geez, I'm such a geek for engineering of any kind.

-Mark

[sch]

Current issue of Popular Mechanics has a blurb
on this device and their website goes into its
construction. And yes it is aimed at 4th world
countries but IIRC it was designed and built in
the US.