The global village construction set (GVCS) is an interesting effort that takes the existing tech of farm and industrial machinery and open sources it, optimizing the design and manufacture by using open source design, open manufacturing, and community-supported manufacturing. The group has plans to design and manufacture 40 do-it-yourself machines. To date, eight have been prototyped with drawings, schematics, parts lists, budgets, and instructional videos available online from Open Source Ecology. The machines use interchangeable parts, motors and power, and are built from standard components and steel that are widely available.
The extension of the open source software paradigm to machines, is compelling. The emphasis is on self-reliance, but also affordability. The cost of building the machines that have been prototyped is on average 8 times cheaper than buying the same equipment from a manufacturer. Watch the video below for an overview.
