CNC Panel Joinery Notebook

I’ve been collecting clever ways of slotting flat stock together since I first read Nomadic Furniture back in 1999, well before the advent of the accessible hobby-class CNC tools that, today, make manufacturing parts like these pretty easy. Now, the world is full of people designing models, project enclosures, sculpture, furniture, and all kinds of other cool stuff to be assembled from parts made on laser cutters and CNC routers, and I keep expecting a definitive book or website to emerge that covers the “bag of tricks” in an organized way. So far, I haven’t found it. I may have missed it. Or maybe this article can serve as a jumping-off point. In any case, I think it’s time to open up my file. In presenting this material, I want to first acknowledge my respect for the world’s established and ancient traditions of joinery. I may abuse some terms, without meaning to, and I am glad to be corrected by those who are in the know about traditional joinery. Laser vs. Biasing Cross (“X”) Joints Related: FAB HOUSE • Play Project

The Otic Oasis Flexible Stream • Digital Wood Joints Wood Joints are fascinating! They embellish old furniture and wood constructions of ancient Japanese temples alike. Everytime we come across them, we are filled with admiration: Admiration for the skill of the master craftsman, as their creator, but also admiration for the balance between function and beauty, which turns the furniture or temple into a work of art. With the onset of industrialisation, the traditional wood joints have been banned more and more to the background. As computer-controlled wood processing machines move into the cabinet-makers' workshops, the way two pieces of wood are joined together in a construction needs to be reconsidered. The result of this research are 50 digital wood joints, divided into frame joints, board joints and carcass joints. We are looking forward for the submission of your modifications and pictures of implementation. Arto from Finland has done some Davetone Mixcubes:

80/20 Guarding & Enclosure Solutions Home Contact Us Careers Product Catalog Distributor Login Made With 80/20 Stuff Case Studies Guarding & Enclosures Workstations Material Handling Automation Displays & Exhibits Furniture Linear Motion Robotic Fixtures Out of The Box Mailing List E-Mail Address: Full Name: Format Hexayurt Project - incredibly cheap shelter for those in need Urbio - Get Started CNC Robotics - CNC ROBOTICS LTD Facit Homes 10 Air Purifying Plants For Homes & Offices Even in huge, busy cities, outdoor air is cleaner and preferable to indoor air. Why is that? One reason is that trees and plants are constantly cleaning the air outside. This suggests that the eco-minded homeowner or office dweller should go out and buy some plants – but which ones? The Areca Palm (Images via Plant Directions, EnvicoGarden) NASA Purifying Score: 8.5 The top air purifying plant as ranked by NASA’s study is the Areca palm tree. The Lady Palm (Images via Livick’s Palms, TyTy) Neck and neck with the Areca palm tree for NASA’s top-ranked air purifying plant is the Lady palm (or Rhapis excelsa.) The Bamboo Palm (Images via Blue Moon Candles, Plant Importers) NASA Purifying Score: 8.4 Just a notch below the top 2 air purifying palms is the Bamboo palm (or Chamaedorea seifrizii.) The Rubber Plant (Image via HowStuffWorks, Great House Plants) NASA Purifying Score: 8.0 Fourth on NASA’s scoring is the rubber plant (or Ficus robusta.) The Dracaena NASA Purifying Score: 7.8 English Ivy

Global Village Construction Set by Marcin Jakubowski Open Source Ecology is a network of farmers, engineers, and supporters building the Global Village Construction Set - a modular, DIY, low-cost, open source, high-performance platform that allows for the easy fabrication of the 50 different industrial machines that it takes to build a small, sustainable civilization with modern comforts. The aim of the GVCS is to lower the barriers to entry into farming, building, and manufacturing. Its a life-size lego set that can create entire economies, whether in rural Missouri, where the project was founded, or in the developing world. So Far we’ve prototyped 8 of the 50 Machines and we’ve been expanding rapidly. Please watch these videos if you are new to the project: What Makes the Global Village Construction Set so special? Why should I help fund this project? This toolkit will establish a new high benchmark of efficiency for green, low-cost housing construction - making natural building FAST and CHEAP, rather than SLOW and EXPENSIVE. Absolutely!

Flatpack Smackdown: KitKat Vs. D. E. Sellers JWT New Zealand Fast Company shows us an advertising campaign from New Zealand where Kit Kat asks: "In the Kiwi summer of 2010, large crowds gathered at outdoor events and concerts. But how could we capture the imagination of this captive audience, give them a break from the ordinary and bring the iconic Kit Kat brand to life?" They answer by offering a free flatpack Kit Kat chair. D. Designer D. I am looking forward to seeing Sellers' new eDesk at ICFF. The eDesk is a designer's approach to helping the developing world attain education. More at D. More D. Lilac - Affordable strawbale housing community in Bramley. Leeds