I am proud to say I am a shopbotter

[donald_smull]

I just took a look at the finished pics of the MOMA house in NY, I feel so good about being part of the shopbot family. Bill you and the guys have made something that will impact so many people,and there lives. Its just GREAT.

[ted]

It may not be obvious anywhere, but besides Bill incredible ShopBotting contribution to making the house, it would never have happened without his logistical efforts and skills that pushed the project along and made it happen.

Ted Hall, ShopBot Tools

[gene]

Where do you see the finished photos at ?

[bill.young]

Hey guys,

You guys give me WAY too much credit, but it really was a fantastic project to be involved in and some great folks to work with...everything you hear about MIT students (and professors) being really bright and hard working is absolutely true! It looks like the project will continue to develop, and I'll be sure to keep y'all updated.

The most recent pictures I have are from the morning of the show opening and are posted on Flickr...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/seaside5592/sets/72157606220971717/

Bill

[zeykr]

Bill,
What is the white material used for trim on the porch etc? Is it a PVC lumber like Kleer or Azek or something?

[bill.young]

Hey Ken,

The trim is just 1/2" ply that's been painted white, but something like pvc would work well and would probably be pretty cost effective if you factored in the cost of painting over the years.

The ground-contact parts in the foundation are 3/4" HDPE, which cut nicely but was both heavy and expensive. I was glad when we were finished with those 40 sheets!

Bill

[evan]

Bill,
A very cool project.
Approx. how many sheets total for the project and how does the waste compare to standard construction?

Edited: Just read your post on evolving (great read), approx. 500 sheets mixed 1/2" & 3/4" still interested in how much waste if you know

[bill.young]

Hey Evan,

It's hard to say. Some sheets were very material-efficient and others were not as much. One reason was that this was a prototype and, in the beginning at least, I was cutting faster than they could generate sheet layouts for me so not as much thought could go into material efficiency...we just needed files ASAP! Another was that the focus was on quick and efficient assembly, which meant that the parts were cut in the order that the house was going to be assembled and you couldn't fill in a sheet with parts that you wouldn't need until later on.

That said, there were lots of small parts that were used to fill in waste areas...the "dogbones" and "jacks" that were used to connect the sheet edges, and the clips that held the panels up on the ceiling and underbelly of the floor. They ate up a lot of odd corners.

If you're interested you can download an AutoCAD file of the sheet layout for the smaller prototype cabin that they built a couple of years ago. The construction details have evolved a lot but it will give you a sense for how it all worked

http://ddf.mit.edu/projects/CABIN/cabin_full_plywood.html

Bill

[evan]

Thanks Bill
I can see how assembly efficiency would take precedence over maximizing material efficiency. The cost of a ten to twenty sheets of ply doesn't compare to the labor involved in shuffling those sheets around looking for the right part. It's a project that had to be highly organized. Very impressive.

[gene]

Very Cool . The shopbot is truely amazing . it is only limited to your mind, if you can think it, it can cut it. Good Job I especially liked the gingerbread trim ..

[zorlack]

Just saw some video of the exhibit at MOMA: http://www.scribemedia.org/2008/07/31/home-delivery/

via MoCo Loco (http://mocoloco.com/)