PhenoStruct

Of all the ideas I've nurtured through the hobby robotics side of Phenostream, the BuildPlate Processing Machine shines brightest and is the one that really ties everything together. A low-cost fabricator that produces aluminum structures from SketchUp models - very cool.

Supporting this nifty little machine is a SketchUp plug-in and a web-app. The PhenoStruct Plug-in (PSP) provides modeling support for BuildPlates and compatible components, output to the BPM, and a purchasing feature that works with the Modelers Market web-app.

The upshot of all this is that you can design everything from sculptures to suspension bridges, mini-bots to incredible machines, have the structural components (BuildPlates) instantly fabricated and what ever other things you need sent to you within 3 business days.

I prototyped a rather monstrous version of this thing over the summer and, with a lot of tinkering, actually got it working. Now I've got a production version of the BPM (pictured at top) I'm working through the process of commercializing the system.

< May 2008 update>

New low-cost BPM design. This one can retail for about $99USD and, with a new heating element feature, can produce plastic BuildPlates too! I'm not at liberty to discuss details of the commercialization endeavour publicly but I can say BPM's will be sold as a toys rather than as specialized hobby equipment.

< more info to come... >