Final Project

 Brochure explaining the project briefly

 In my final project I decide to make mango containers using the material we were provided with. These containers are meant to be used when the mangoes are being carried from the field area to the packaging area. The system that my product fits in is made up of 4 sections: 1.Gathering 2. Education 3. Production 4. Implementation

The Historic Slater Mill

Cotton Gin

Machine for making bales

Cotton Bale

The trip to the Slater Mill was very interesting. As we were learning about the early industrial ways of how machines used to work I compared them to the ones we use today. I realized that the core structure in the machines stayed the same through the century while the system of energy distribution and the improvements in the engineering of the machines changed.

I was very interested in the Cotton Gin we saw at the entrance because for me it symbolized the industrial revolution and mass production. Before the discovery of this machine workers used to separate the cotton seeds from the fibers by hand which meant that they could only produce 1 pound of seedless cotton everyday. After this invention the production of the end product became 1000 pounds per day per person. This meant faster paced production which is a fundamental element of a successful manufacturing chain.
When I am designing the manufacturing process of my product speed and time of production have been the two important factors I have kept in consideration. Easy and fast manufacturing means that you have an efficient process. Designing the simplest process possible will always provide a better result.  Also the facts that the machine is simply powered by hand and can be used by one person are related to my approach of 'do-it-yourself' production.

Possible Systems

After reviewing the possibilities of the material, I started thinking about how the products that could be manufactured would fit into the existing frameworks in Costa Rica. I approached the system in 3 ways. From the smallest possible scale to the biggest that would involve the production facilities of Earth University. Option 1 is the 'Do-it-yourself' system where the people of the community can be trained by Earth University students and use the communal facilities that are equipped with the necessary machinery to make the small scale production. The outcomes could be containers, handicrafts(maybe sold for personal financial gain) or products related to hydroponics. The machinery can be rented or a time slot can be reserved in the facility where the person would manufacture their individual needs.
Option 2 would a bigger scale system which would include small community business start-ups that would have the facilities and buy the materials from Earth University or farmers. Every community could have the a business that would relate to their need. Again Earth University can collaborate in the creation of the business and educate the workers about the machines and how to run a business.(This could be integrated into their 7 week program where each student goes into a community to collaborate with their local projects)
Option 3 would be the biggest scale system where Earth University would be using their own resources to manufacture products that would be sold to the community or exported outside the country. Considering their network and their facilities, it would be a much bigger scaled production. Also the products could be bigger scaled too.(They could manufacture building materials for houses)

Material Possibilities

After coming back from Costa Rica I made a mind map trying to organize my thoughts about the existing problems that can be addressed with the material I had created. My focus was on the weather conditions(insulation/building material), easy and fast production, replacing plastics in their lives..
The 4 options I came up with are Transportation(food container), Building material for houses, Hydroponics and Container for water. I would like to take advantage of the material's properties of being lightweight, water-resistant, floatable on water, (in the cases that it contains silica) bug repellant and fire resistant.
For transportation, I thought it could just replace plastic or raw wood as the material for the boxes that were being used.
For building material for houses, it could replace the corrugated metal sheets that are being used to build the walls for the houses. Instead this material could provide much better insulation while being water-resistent so the houses could stay safe.
For hydroponics, the flat pressed material can be used as the base which holds the plants. It could have holes which the plants can be placed on, and it could be floating on the nutrient solution.
For the water containers, instead of using plastic (possibly that have been in contact with toxic fluids) the community can build their own containers with this recycled material which is also lightweight and water-resistant.

Research Matrix & Material Samples

Here is the process I have been through so far with the 4 types of material. After the MDF research I focused on one way of manufacturing(ACRODUR+taco press) and now I am playing around with molding techniques. My next step is going to be finding ways to put the pieces together, either having mechanical joints or gluing them together.

COSTA RICA part4

rice field

quality testing of rice

Tio Pelon factory

transport of mangoes

During the last part of our trip we visited the Tio Pelon rice factory and got a chance to see the process of manufacturing rice from start to finish. Seeing it live helped me to understand the process better. The way the factory has created a self-sustainable energy cycle was very impressive. (They burn the rice straw to create energy and use the CO2 that is produced during this burning process when growing the rice)
We also visited a mango transportation facility where we saw a million mangoes! and the need for a more eco-friendly container(at the moment they are using plastic boxes to transport)

COSTA RICA part3

Martina Bustus area/The white city

people getting water for their homes

cutest kid in the world

community garden

sugarcane field

bio-digestor

 

We travelled to the Martina Bustus area to help the students build a community garden. We got an introduction to the area and the needs of the community.(clean water, lack of income..)
This was a great experience, I learned how hydroponics work and their benefits in a community like this one which lacks the possesion of rich soil.
In another trip we made to a farm, we learned about the system of bio-digestors. The idea of creating energy from waste material is incredible and would be very beneficial in every community. The technology it requires isn't complicated at all and the production cost of the 'machine' is very low when you compare it to the profit you are going to make. So it is a very wise way of producing energy.