[OLPC library] Manufacturing education

Tue Feb 12 16:06:32 EST 2008

Introductions

Ladies and Gentlemen, please meet Frank Hoose and Chris Wood, great
resources on low-cost but well-made machine shop equipment and related
information, including educational materials.

Frank and Chris, please meet the One Laptop Per Child community, which
is working on the full range of educational software and content for
the OLPC XO computer. The XO is currently (or in some cases, very
soon) going into nine countries (a few locations in the US, Uruguay,
Peru, Haiti, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Cambodia, Afghanistan, Mongolia), with
more being announced at odd intervals. I have just seen a report that
Sri Lanka has signed on. Brazil has had some trouble with its
procurement bidding process, but definitely wants to join in. Also
please meet Stacy, the Librarian Chick, who catalogs Free textbooks.

If you would like to join the OLPC community, you can do so at
http://lists.laptop.org/. Please tell us more about the online
interest groups, besides these.

"One of the best sources of information is the 7x10 interest group
[http://www.egroups.com/group/7x10minilathe], a very knowledgeable and
experienced group of guys who are always ready to welcome and help
newcomers. Discussions are by no means limited to the 7x lathes so
feel free to ask any question even remotely related to machining and
you will get plenty of good advice...The 7x12minilathe group
[http://groups.yahoo.com/group/7x12minilathe] is a spinoff of the 7x10
group, limited to on-topic discussions. While not nearly as active as
the 7x10 group, nearly all of the postings are on-topic...Check the
Home Shops links [http://www.mini-lathe.com/Links.htm#Home_Shops] on
my Links page and you will find lots of great tips from other mini
lathe owners."

I would also like to invite you to share the Earth Treasury booth at
the next Linux World conference (Thanks, Don) and at other events
which will showcase the OLPC XO, or to get your own booths if you
prefer. Others in your community will also be welcome.

Project Proposal

We don't have anything much on the OLPC Wiki about industrial and shop
education, which will be vital to economic growth in our target
countries. I found only this question:

http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Educational_Software#Software_to_create_Equipment_Simulations
"I think this is what we want to emulate: Industrial Equipment
Simulators [1]. An example, Lathe Simulators: [2] Could it be done
using open free country tools:[3]? Can these tools run in the OLPC?
Truly yours: MEXICO/Ags/--Dagoflores 22:37, 7 November 2006 (EST)"

Simulations are good, but there is no substitute for the real thing.
CAD and Numeric Control (NC) software are also very important.
Students will clearly need guidance on design, QA, and other related
topics.

I'm going to start a Wiki page, and I invite discussion of what
software would be appropriate for the XO.

Here is a reference for an inexpensive mini-lathe and other tools,
along with instructions for making numerous upgrades and yet more
tools. This is on Frank's site. Frank refers readers to Chris's site
on another page referenced below.

http://www.mini-lathe.com/Default.htm

"Mini-Lathe    Mini-Mill    Bandsaw   Grinder  Anodizing   Lapping
Links   Safety     Premium Content

"Mini-lathe:  Accessories   Adjustments   Capabilities    Chucks
Dial Indicators   Features
Getting Started   Glossary     Introduction   Materials
Modifications   My Shop   Operation    Reviews     Sieg Factory
Tool Grinding    Troubleshooting   Tuning     Versions"

The manufacturer is http://www.siegind.com/ Sieg Machine Tool Factory
in Shanghai.

Instructional material is at
http://www.mini-lathe.com/Mini_lathe/Start/start.htm

"    * Lathe Safety
    * Facing Operations
    * Drilling Operations
    * Turning Operations
    * Parting Operations

"LittleMachineShop.com is a great source of accessories and
replacement parts for your mini lathe. Chris Wood, the proprietor of
LMS, is a minilathe hobbyist himself, and actively participates in
several of the online interest groups. LMS can be counted on for quick
and courteous service. LMS has put together a very useful manual on
the minilathe which you can download as a PDF file.

"Another great source of training information is Jose Rodriguez's
instructional tapes and DVD's. Jose was one of the first to promote
the potential of the minilathe and he is a wonderful instructor. His
lessons have an informal, homey feel, and are filled with useful
information. I have watched mine several times and pick up a few more
pointers each time I watch."

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Don Marti <dmarti at linuxworld.com>
Date: Feb 12, 2008 8:50 AM
Subject: Mini lathe site
To: Edward Cherlin <echerlin at gmail.com>

Ed,

It was good to run into you at SCALE [Southern California Linux
Expo--Ed] -- here's a
company I would never have heard of if it weren't for
a hobbyist web site:
  http://www.mini-lathe.com/Mini_lathe/Sieg/Sieg.htm

Lots of other good info on getting started
with inexpensive machine tools elsewhere on the
mini-lathe.com site, too.

--
Don Marti                                             office +1 510-814-0932
http://www.LinuxWorld.com/                            mobile +1 415-734-7913
Speak at LinuxWorld San Francisco:
http://www.linuxworldexpo.com/live/12/speakers//callforpapers

-- 
Edward Cherlin
End Poverty at a Profit by teaching children business
http://www.EarthTreasury.org/
"The best way to predict the future is to invent it."--Alan Kay