SAMARI (Semi-Automated Assembly Rig)

To increase the use of local labor and lumber, we designed a series of jigs. And to increase productivity, we designed a low-cost machine called SAMARI (Semi-Automated Assembly Rig). The goal was to create a jig where even unskilled crews could produce an infinite number of straight, square, consistent structural components. The SAMARI speeds up assembly without endangering life or limb, and also reduces noise, stress and tedium.

Planet-Era pioneered and refined the set-up of a SAMARI on-site construction rig that uses a pneumatically-powered glue nozzles and nail guns to produce box-beams, panels and posts in a quick and consistent manner. The entire unit can be transported in a 3/4 ton van or an aircraft with a similar cargo capacity.

Ancillary equipment will enable a single operator to quickly and safely cut up 4-foot x 8-foot sheathing, produce finger-jointed lumber up to 24-foot lengths, or produce complex compound angles cut on a single piece of equipment.

An outback kit enables the assembler to be used in remote regions, with a generator that uses a heat exchanger to heat the hut or tent where production takes place, in addition to a manifold cooker to provide the crew with warm food.