manual for
XYZ FACTORY
Introduction:
XYZ FACTORY empowers persons to reclaim the production of things we need in our everyday life. XYZ FACTORY
aims to facilitate local environmentally and social sustainable production
XYZ FACTORY is a production facility specialized for the making of XYZ NODES. XYZ NODES is a new construction
system developed and shared by N55, based on an old well-known principle of joining rods together. XYZ NODES
allows persons to design and easily build structures in a low cost and durable way. This includes anything
from houses and furniture to cycles. Things made using the XYZ NODES system are based on the DIY skills and
ingenuity of persons themselves instead of being fully dependent on large-scale manufacturing and distribution
processes. Designs for building all kinds of things will be developed and published continuously at
www.N55.dk
N55 hereby encourage persons to copy the systems and set up their own XYZ FACTORY.
N55 have established a XYZ FACTORY in Copenhagen, Denmark. Join one of our frequent workshops in XYZ NODES
building by sending a mail to n55@n55.dk.
Construction:
The XYZ FACTORY consists of a framework constructed using the XYZ NODES system that provides tables etc and a
series of standard machines. Core machines are a drill press and a saw, both essential to the fabrication of
the basic rods in the XYZ NODES system.
About the XYZ NODES system:
The XYZ NODES is a simple method of building light weight things from durable materials in a low cost way. It
enables persons to build things in a way that is similar to construction set toys like lego or Meccano, that
are based on the principle of a few different parts repeatedly used to create an overall structure. All needed
parts can be produced manually using very basic tools: A drill and a metal saw. Or it can be produced using
advanced CNC technology. XYZ NODES is based on rigid connections between aluminium square tubes that do not
require welding or similar. Structurally the XYZ NODES connection shares similarities with lashed joints used
for example in the traditional wooden frames seen in Inuit kayaks. Or rivet constructions such as airplane
hulls or old ship hulls. It forms rigid corners that becomes flexible when exposed to forces that would break
other joining methods like a welded joint. The XYZ NODES allows rigid frames relying on corner connections to
be build that are not necessarily triangulated for greater strength, hereby leaving a free open space inside
the frame to be used for other purposes hence for example the XYZ SPACEFRAME VEHICLES mechanics build into the
frame. A number of mechanical solutions and special connections have been developed. Please have a look at
various solutions here:
Examples of XYZ designs initiated by N55:
XYZ OPEN CITY ( N55 in collaboration with Till wolfer)
XYZ SPACEFRAME VEHICLES and XYZ CARGO TRIKE og XYZ CARGO BIKE( N55 in collaboration with Till
Wolfer)
XYZ FACTORY ( N55)
XYZ HOUSE ( N55 in collaboration with Anne Romme) ( work in progress)
XYZ LAMPS ( N55 in collaboration with Till Wolfer)
XYZ TABLES ( N55 in collaboration with Till wolfer)
XYZ 3D PRINTER ( N55 in collaboratin with Dane Shea and Tobias Grundtvig)
XYZ OMNICHAIR ( N55 in collaboration with Lærke Thorst Balslev) ( work in progress)
XYZ WASTEBIN ( N55 in collaboration with Lærke Thorst Balslev)
XYZ PUBLIC SPACE ROVER ( N55 in collaboration with Anne Romme, Sam Kronick, Bill Mckenna and Teis Draiby) (
work in progresst)
PARKCYCLE SWARM ( N55 in collaboration with Till Wolfer
and Rebar)
Please note that we do not have the capacity to provide construction drawings for all examples of use of XYZ
NODES. However we are working on getting as many out there as humanly possible. Most things can easily be
copied from a photo because of the simple construction method.
Furthermore some things like the special XYZ SPACEFRAME VEHICLES models, XYZ CARGO TRIKE and the XYZ CARGO
BIKE are based on the Open Source system, but has been developed as a product in order to finance further
research and new things. In these cases persons are allowed to copy the things for non- commercial use and in
compliance with this Creative Commons licence,
but we do not facillitate the proces by providing construction drawings as such.
Example of XYZ NODES connection
Creative Commons and Open Source:
All N55 works are Open Source provided under the rules of Creative Commons as specified here. ( Copies only allowed for non-commercial use) Any use of N55´s works must include proper credits to N55, their collaborators and a link to www.N55.dk. Please feel free to submit new designs by mailing it for publishing to n55@n55.dk
Background:
Large concentrations of power dominate our society. Concentrations of power do not always respect the rights
of persons1. If one denies this fact one gets: Concentrations of power always respect the rights of persons.
This does not correspond with our experiences. Concentrations of power characterize our society.
Concentrations of power force persons to concentrate on participating in competition and power games, in order
to create a social position for themselves. When concentrations of power dominate our conscious mind and are
decisive to our personal situations, the significance of our fellow humans diminishes. Our own significance is
characterized by the significance we have for concentrations of power, the growth of concentrations of power,
and the conflicts of concentrations of power.
It is clear that persons should be consciously aware of the rights of persons and therefore must seek to
organize the smallest concentrations of power possible
In other words we ought to produce improved social, political and economical systems, based on as small
concentrations of power as possible, that first and foremost respect the rights of persons. Furthermore:
Persons who produce should try to respect the rights of persons. If we deny this postulate we get: Persons who
produce should not try to respect the rights of persons. This does not make sense: Producing something will
always involve persons and we know that persons should be treated as persons and therefore as having rights. (
please see note no. 1 below). Whenever we refer to producing something we must always refer to persons
meaningful behavior with other persons and things in concrete situations. There is a logical relation between
producing and persons (please see note no. 2 below). Can we imagine products which have
nothing to do with persons?
If we understand the necessity to produce in a way that respects the rights of persons, we can learn that we
must also produce in a way where we look after the natural resources and the environment. Simply because it
makes no sense to talk about persons rights if they are dead because there are no more resources to sustain
their existence or no place for them to exist because of an environment destroyed by pollution and waste
Large concentrations of power control the production of food in most places in the world. Without
consideration for the consequences for the environment or local inhabitants, huge areas are used to produce
genetically modified crops patented by a few companies. Land is taken over by foreign states in poor areas of
the world with no consideration for the rights of the persons living there. Industrial farming is turning
enormous areas into deserts of monoculture with no room for wild animals, plants or persons. Industrial
farming are exploiting water resources for irrigation purposes, and lakes and rivers are dried out.
Salinization processes due to artificial irrigation destroys precious soil. The waste from industrial keeping
of animals pollutes our rivers, lakes and costal environments. Pesticides are used in a way that pollutes the
environment as well as the consumer. Large concentrations of power control fishing vessels in most places in
the world. Overfishing with no consideration for local populations with huge highly efficient factory vessels
has a devastating effect on our long term access to food from the seas.
Furthermore large concentrations of power control the production and distribution of energy and the harvesting
and distribution of raw materials and access to natural resources used by persons in their everyday lives.
Large concentrations of power have taken over the means of production and control the design of things, needed
by persons in their everyday life. By deliberately lowering the quality, things are produced to last only for
a short while. This is not only to diminish production costs and hereby increase the profits, but also to make
sure that consumers buy new things and hereby secure the continued production. Large concentrations of power
aim not only to make a profit on producing the same things over and over again, but also to grow bigger and
increase their power. To produce more and more. Regardless of the needs of persons. Regardless of the
consequences for the environment. Regardless of the misuse of the natural resources. Economic growth is
considered to be the only way to progress not only by large corporations, but also by states. Even by
democratic states.
This system is apparently supported and promoted by all politicians (please see note no. 3
below), regardless of their ideological background. It is considered to be a fact that we cannot improve our
society without economic growth. This results in expanding corporations and repeated production of the same
things over and over again. This is utterly stupid, but nonetheless the basis of all economical policies at
present times. To keep the costs low and to maximize profits, things are produced in the lowest income areas
in the world without any considerations for persons, natural resources or the pollution of the environment.
Unscrupulous governments profit from this situation to gain power over its own people as well as the rest of
the worlds population
A few rich persons, corporations and states are allowed to earn money on economic transactions, shares and
financial speculation in general, without doing any productive work themselves. These parasites are far away
from the exploitation of other persons and can pretend that it has nothing to do with them. They never have to
meet the persons they exploit and suppress. Weapon producers, polluting companies, dictatorial states etc are
just something that persons and companies can invest in and make a profit on.
Persons ought to use the existing democracies and global institutions to stop corporations from expanding,
divide them into small entities that are under the government of direct democracy and reform the financial
system to ban non-productive profiting on other persons and their life. In order to distribute power, persons
also ought to set a limit on how much wealth a company or a person are allowed to accumulate. Concentrations
of power are nourished by the illusion that competition is better than collaboration. It is necessary to
collaborate and share means of production, knowledge and ressources if we want to organize ourselves in as
small concentrations of power as possible.
What if we all really insisted on producing food locally?
What if we all really insisted on only using things in our everyday life that would last and could be repaired if they broke?
What if we all really insisted on building houses that would last, produce energy and were affordable (because nobody could speculate in our basic human needs).
What if we all really insisted on transporting ourselves and goods in non-polluting ways?
What if we all really distributed our power and our knowledge to an extend that living conditions for even the poorest were so good, that they did not need to give birth to numerous children to secure their retirement, and hereby stopped overpopulation?
What if we really started to distribute the world's raw materials and resources in a fair way?
What if we produced friendly machines that would take care of our daily needs without polluting and misusing the planet's scarce resources, and free our time to be nice to each other, think and play?
To save the environment and to save ourselves, Its increasingly important that we all realize how much our behavior and the decisions we make in our everyday life matters. It is a matter of survival for us and planet earth
N55 propose that we concentrate on producing improved social, political, and economical systems, that are based on as small concentrations of power as possible, and first and foremost respects the rights of persons rather than concentrating on finding ways to produce economic growth. We propose that we produce in a way that respect the rights of persons, the resources and the environment that persons are depending on to survive.
Notes:
1)
Persons
A person can be described in an infinite number of ways. None of these descriptions can be completely
adequate. We therefore can not describe precisely what a person is. Whichever way we describe a person, we do
however have the possibility to point out necessary relations between persons and other factors. We have to
respect these relations and factors in order not to contradict ourselves and in order to be able to talk about
persons in a meaningful way.
One necessary relation is the logical relation between persons and bodies (please see
note no. 2 below). It makes no sense to refer to a person without referring to a body. If we for example say:
here we have a person, but he or she does not have a body, it does not make sense. Furthermore, there are
necessary relations between persons and the rights of persons. Persons should be treated as persons and
therefore as having rights. If we deny this assertion it goes wrong: here is a person, but this person should
not be treated as a person, or: here is a person, who should be treated as a person, but not as having rights.
Therefore we can only talk about persons in a way that makes sense if we know that persons have
rights.
2)
Logic
Most of our thinking and our discussions are conducted on a level where we repeat and repeat our habitual
conceptions to each other. We assume that there are no other conditions to decide whether something is right
or wrong, except that one does not contradict oneself nor is inconsistent with facts. Beyond this there exists
only more or less thoroughly grounded subjective opinions. However, there is a level so basic that it normally
does not appear in our conscious mind, where everything does not revolve around subjective opinions. At this
level things are simply right or wrong.
Logical relations are the most basic and most overlooked phenomenon we know. Nothing of which we can talk
rationally can exist, can be identified or referred to, except through its logical relations to other things.
Logic is necessary relations between different factors, and factors are what exist by the force of those
relations. The decisive thing about logical relations is that they can not be reasoned. Nevertheless, they do
constitute conditions necessary for any description, because they can not be denied without rejecting the
factors of the relations. Persons are, for example, totally different from their bodies. Persons can go for a
walk and they can make decisions. Bodies can not do that. Nevertheless, we can not refer to persons without
referring to their bodies. If we say: here we have a person, but he or she unfortunately is lacking a body, it
does not make sense. Persons are totally different from the concrete situations they are in. Nevertheless, we
can not refer to persons without referring to the situations they are in. If we say: here we have a person,
but this person has never been in a concrete situation, it does not make sense. Language is totally different
from reality. Nevertheless, we have to perceive language as something that can be used to talk about reality.
If we say: here we have a language, but this language can not be used to talk about reality, it does not make
sense. Logical relations have decisive significance. The absence of logical relations would mean that nothing
could be of decisive significance: as long as one does not contradict oneself nor is inconsistent with facts,
any point of view may be as good as the next, one can say and mean anything. Logical relations are conditions
for talking rationally together. The part of the world we can talk rationally about, can thus be defined as
the part we can talk about using logical relations. But we do not have any reason to assume that the world is
identical with what we can talk rationally about. Logic is something more basic than language. Logical
relations are what makes language a language and what assigns meaning to words. Therefore, it is impossible to
learn a language, without learning to respect logical relations. But as we grow up and learn to master
language, logical relations are not present on a conscious level. If we are conscious of logical relations, it
is possible for us to decide whether something is right or wrong and not to allow ourselves to be ruled by for
example habitual conceptions and subjective opinions.
3)
Politics
The fundamental purpose of politics is to protect the rights of persons. If we deny this assertion we get:
the fundamental purpose of politics is not to protect the rights of persons. This suggests that one of the
basic tasks of politicians could be, for example, to renounce the rights of themselves and of others. This has
no meaning. Or that there is a more important purpose to politics which does not have anything to do with
persons and therefore also has nothing to do with the rights of persons. That is plain nonsense. Therefore, we
now know that the basic purpose of politics is to protect the rights of persons. In other words we can not
talk about politics in a way that makes sense without the assumption that the fundamental purpose of politics
is to protect the rights of persons. Concentrations of power do not always respect the rights of persons. If
one denies this fact one gets: concentrations of power always respect the rights of persons. This does not
correspond with our experiences. It is obvious that if we want to protect the rights of persons we have to
organize in as small concentrations of power as possible. Since the fundamental purpose of politics is to
protect the rights of persons it is of decisive importance to politics that we seek to organize in as small
concentrations of power as possible. It is clear that we can not leave it to others to protect the rights of
persons. The notion that it is possible to elect a small number of people to protect the rights of a vast
number of people is absurd, because here we are by definition talking about concentration of power, and thus
about a concentration of power. And we know that concentrations of power do not always respect the rights of
persons. It is clear that if one is conscious of persons and the rights of persons one must be concerned with
politics. It is clear that if one is a person and thus concerned with politics and conscious of the rights of
persons, it becomes of decisive importance to organize in as small concentrations of power as possible. It
becomes of decisive importance to find ways to live and behave which correspond to our knowledge of persons,
the rights of persons, etc. It is clear that this is our most important task as our whole existence is
threatened.
Materials and extensions:
N55 has chosen primarily to use Aluminium for the XYZ NODES. But wood, steel or various plastics could also
be used. If combinations like aluminium tubes and stainless bolts and nuts are used, its important to use thin
plastic washers between the materials, when used outdoors, to avoid galvanic corrosion
The system is constantly growing and an archive of various mechanical solutions
etc will be published later.
By N55
Thanks to
Architect and inventor Erling Sørvin for support and inspiring discussions, Architect Anne Romme for discussions, contributions and collaboration, Till Wolfer for collaboration, Jesper Rølund and all the other persons that contributed and helped develop this project.