Mexican students design portable and inexpensive brick-making machine

Students of Mexico's National Institute of Technology (IPN) used recycled metals to build an affordable version of a portable brick-making machine, which they call the TabiMan.

The students say they designed the manual brick maker so that people can use raw materials they already have access to and a little cement to easily make bricks for use to build their homes o start a business.

To build the machine's prototype, the students used recycled sheet metal and metal rods. The machine compacts the materials into its final rectangular form using a hand-operated lever.

The machine, which was designed by Isabel Susana Jiménez Salinas, Lupita Monserrat Pérez Gachuz and Juan Manuel Alcántara Jaime, can make different sized bricks, which contain two holes for easy assemblage.

With the help of the professors Yvon Chávez Méndez and Juan Domingo Batista García, the students experimented with various materials before deciding on a final mix of sand and cement.

Unlike commercial machines which run anywhere between seventy to 100,000 pesos since they are automated and use a system of hydraulics, the student's prototype will cost less than 5,000 pesos.

Thanks to its small size and ease of transportation, the students say they expect their prototype to be sold in the near future.