GridBeam 🏗📏🌈

once upon a time (7 years ago?), i discovered a modular building system called Grid Beam, and i became obssessed, spending hundreds of hours making Grid Beam from wood, even making small 3d printable versions.

fast forward to the present, i've re-discovered my obssession and i want to support the future of Grid Beam. 😺

(part of the village kit journey )

gridbeam.xyz : what is Grid Beam?

so, as per my usual playbook where i try to support a project by making a friendly website,

i made gridbeam.xyz! 🌟

to describe the concept: Grid Beam is a modular construction system where the primary building blocks are square beams (commonly 1½" x 1½" or 40mm x 40mm wood beams) with a repeating hole pattern: the distance between each hole is equal to the width of the beam (so holes repeat every 1½" or 40mm).

to create a structure, you connect 3 beams together to form a tri-joint:

the system can be applied to many different purposes, and each beam can be re-used again and again for your various projects:

for more details, see gridbeam.xyz or the original Grid Beam book 🙈

play.gridbeam.xyz : share Grid Beam designs

to bring Grid Beam into the next level, i've also made a web-based CAD tool to create and share Grid Beam designs.

• https://play.gridbeam.xyz/#1bc_BCoAwDAPQUIaMIRJ66kGGn-Bx__9lc3N4qL0-EpoWzdAtg2JquHCjsbx2EsZp0vKyysMwLbWyTIIcHvM5BN0a5sTEbQH3n419yd2VwEb3-43o

i've spent ~3 months working on these websites so far, but there's still heaps more to go until they are decent enough for everyday folx.

my goal is to evolve Grid Beam to a stage where i'm able to support businesses to manufacture and sell Grid Beam, so that i can buy some in New Zealand. 😉

any and all feedback and support is much appreciated. ❤️

#villagekit #gridbeam #diy #opensource #openhardware #openfurniture #solarpunk #manufacturing

@mikey

This is cool! I've been super interested in projects in this space and I'm excited to see how much work you've put into this. Could you compare Grid Beam to something like OpenStructures, for the uninitiated?

Also, is Grid Beam related to N55? Your bike photo reminds me of their spaceframe vehicles.

This is the best imaginable use of the .xyz top level domain.

Could you compare Grid Beam to something like OpenStructures, for the uninitiated?

GridBeam is a building system where the primary component is a beam (e.g. 40mm x 40mm x 2000mm), with a repeating hole pattern where the distance for each hole is equal to the width of the beam. these beams are joined together with nuts and bolts into tri-joints. there are also secondary components called skins (panels), for example a sheet of plywood, which is bolted to the beams using the existing holes. for both beams and bolts, the strategy is to use common sizes as much as possible, to reduce any need to cut and increase re-usability. there are also tertiary components called accessories (for example a wheel), which plug into the beams, often using an adapter component to fit into the hole pattern.

OpenStructures, as far as i understand, is a grid system for component designers to follow, in order for components to share the same hole patterns. the grid is 40mm x 40mm and is fractal (scales up and down).

the components can be anything, as long as they follow the grid system for any sockets and plugs.

from a rough glance, i reckon 40mm x 40mm GridBeam and 40mm x 40mm OpenStructures are compatible, as the hole spacings align. so i reckon the ideas could be a good match for each other, keen to continue exploring as we progress in practice.

(will answer the other question later, brb..)

@mikey

I'd be especially interested in manufacturing Grid Beam with hand tools rather than power tools, if this is something you know how to do.

cc: @kira, in case hand tool woodworking falls under urban bushcraft.

@Christian Bundy

I’d be especially interested in manufacturing Grid Beam with hand tools rather than power tools, if this is something you know how to do.

yay more Grid Beam'ers!

however you make Grid Beam, what matters is that the beams are cut straight to size with minimal warps (i.e. a table saw), and the holes are drilled straight (i.e. a drill press) with correct spacing (i.e. a tool to measure the distance between any two holes, not just the next and previous, otherwise you will have compounding errors). if you're able to have a setup where you can hand-cut like a table saw and hand-drill like a drill press, then you should be able to make it work.

however, i must admit that i'm personally not interested in manually creating beams, even with power tools!

when i started this journey some odd 8 years ago or so, i used a table saw to cut some beams (which turned to be warped), then proceeded to drill with a drill press, then a CNC machine, then back to a drill press, probably spending at least a hundred hours just to make enough beam for a desk, and even then it was warped, so became a struggle to use. only last year, when i bought some Grid Beam from the OG creators (gridbeam.com), did i see what a delight properly manufactured beams could be.

for my next adventure, i'm interested in simple automation tools to facilitate Grid Beam production. by simple i mean "can be made with the smallest set of easy-to-find parts" not "can be made with the most primitive parts". (see transitional solarpunk)

for example, to automate the drilling process, we need a few (abstract) components:

1. something that holds a beam and only lets the beam travel along the length-wise axis
2. something to push the beam along to the next intended position
3. something to measure how far the beam has traveled (in order to calculate the next hole position)
4. something to drill holes
5. something to move the drill down into the beam and back up out of the beam
6. something to hold the beam in a fixed position while drilling
7. something to control the other components

as a first pass, i could imagine the abstract components being implemented with:

1. an aluminum angle
2. wheels with a low-RPM bi-directional motor
3. optical sensor (hat tip @dominic)
4. drill bits, drill chuck arbor, and a high-RPM uni-directional motor
5. linear actuator (to do dynamic moves)
6. linear actuator (to do static holds)
7. a micro-controller!

if anyone is interested in collaborating on such an automation system, i'm keen!

It may also be worth visiting joinery shops that specialise in manufacturing kitchens. They drill precise rows of holes for adjustable shelves etc, and will have machinery that does that. -- @IBob

@mikey in Wellington, I recommend visiting Cut To Size in Lyall Bay. Patrick is really friendly and open to weird requests. They do a lot of work with uni students.

He made a bunch of cabinets for an exhibition I co-hosted in 2011. He let me come into the factory and contribute labour to reduce the cost.

Top dude!

@IBob

A possible alternative would be to supply a drill bit, a simple clamp on jig which allowed the DIYer to accurately drill perpendicular holes, and a premarked measuring strip to get the spacing right.

I'd be super into this.

Like @nanomonkey said, most of the holes will never be used, and in my [very short] explorations I've only been drilling the holes I knew I'd use (usually eight holes per beam (four on each end (two in each dimension))).

I don’t really understand the appeal of Grid Beams [...] T-slotted extruded aluminum is just as easy to work with, and much more versatile

For me, the appeal is that it's a simple framework for building modular structures from materials that are unbelievably easy to find. I used a tape measure, a backpacking saw, a cordless drill, and some toggle bolts on some 2x2 to make a monitor stand with almost zero woodworking experience.

My intuition is that assuming you already have access to a makerspace it's probably just as easy to find and develop with metals, but as a guy with an apartment and an office space I'd be surprised if I have the tools to make my own aluminum beams.

FWIW, the problems I've encountered so far:

• My local department store doesn't have bolts longer than 3 inches (80 mm) and there aren't any hardware stores within ~1 mile. I'm using toggle bolts I found at my coworking space but there aren't even simple options on Amazon (which, of course, wouldn't be ideal anyway).
• Clamps and a proper saw would probably go a long way. So far I've been holding things down with my hands and knees and just ignoring the shoddy cuts from a backpacking saw.
• I don't have a rasp, which I think would be useful in cleaning up my crappy cuts. Coarse sandpaper would probably work fine, but I'd rather avoid buying disposable "tools" if possible.
• The biggest pain point is that I don't have a drill press. When I get a hole that's straight and centered I'll often use it as a guide to make more holes, but the guide obscures my view of the point I'm drilling and makes it easy to drill off-center. I think a jig would go a long way but I'm not experienced enough to know what I need to build. Ideally a jig would:
  • Keep my holes centered in the wood.
  • Keep my holes evenly spaced.
  • Hopefully be portable and usable without taking the structure apart. This may be unreasonable and I'd be happy with only the above.

Unrelated: (cc: @mikey) what's the intellectual property status of Grid Beam™? I didn't realize it was trademarked until today, which makes me wonder whether I should be evangelizing someone else's trademark. Would it be wise to develop an open standard to describe Grid Beam™ and OpenStructures™ and other modular building systems without invoking a commercial trademark? Or am I being paranoid about intellectual property rights?

The urban bushcraft version of this is just lashing sticks together. Maybe the more urban version is to use strips of bicycle tube rather than rope, as making rope is hard work, but every bike shop has a bin full of old tubes they'll happily give you if you ask.

http://lakemeadetroop88.org/lashings/

@christianbundy @kira

@christianbundy I'm visiting @iRobert today with lil'z. I informed him you live in oregon, and said I'd chip in to posting a jig if he made you one!

The things he'd need to know are "what is that standard size of wood you're gonna be using"... because determines a bunch of how it would be made.

That is actually awesome! Does it operate in Spain?

I mean, do u know if there are any small businesses or communities manufacturing it here already?

If you're in new Zealand I would think https://www.wetaworkshop.com/ at least would be interested in check out your project, they seem like cool people :)