Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Model Block Press Design, Ben Todd Van Hamersveld, Chester Wong, Alexander Wing-Jon Giannousis

Mechanical Engineering

This project’s goal is to redesign the Center for Vocational Building Technology (CVBT) BP9 earth block press, which makes 1/3 scale compressed earth blocks to build demonstration model homes in Thailand. The full-scale block press, the BP6, provides a sustainable and affordable technique for constructing habitable homes in Thailand. The BP9 serves as a tool to inform the public of the advantages of human-powered earth block presses through demonstration. The BP9 press design has multiple problems: it is too expensive to manufacture, there is too much friction when used, it has several weak points due to users unintentionally applying excessive …