MakerA Toy, A Tool, an Open Source Standard.
MakerBeam is a project to build a toy and tool for the open source imagination. Based on Mini-T, a new open source standard, MakerBeam will develop a construction toy for our times: open source precision hardware equally at home doing desktop fabrication or serving as a drawbridged castle for action figures.
The fully developed MakerBeam line of connectors will make for an unsurpassed builder's toy and maker kit. Connectors, pivots, hinges, pulleys, cables, wheels, slot-in PCBs, and ALL of it open source, with the models published under Creative Commons licenses.
Whether it's a fairy house for your dolls or your own fire-breathing robot dinosaur, MakerBeam will make it possible. More than just a toy - and it's a great toy - the MakerBeam system will incorporate sensors, precision stepper motors, slot-compatible circuit boards, cable actuators and more, to bring the power of industrial automation and rapid fabrication right down to the desktop. We envision a future where our connectors can be printed out in a box the size of an old LaserJet, and we envision the structural elements of that printer as made of Mini-T beam.
It all starts with the beams, and a few basic connectors. But there's so much more to come...
Free as in Freedom
MakerBeam is an open source project, and the first open source construction set we're aware of. MakerBeam part models and standards will be released under Creative Commons licenses, allowing makers and tinkerers to modify and build off our platform.
When boxes ship, MakerBeam will be atoms, not bits, and atoms are protected by patent rather than copyright. We believe the Mini-T standard could have been patented, but we're giving it into the public domain, because we have a larger vision for it.
For a more detailed discussion check out our Open Hardware page. Ultimately, MakerBeam is a project to prove that the open source movement can pull together something of this nature, from concept to execution, through crowdsourcing and micropatronage.
Kickstart the Revolution
We've always loved modeling toys and building things. When Sam came across full size T-Slot his first thought was, "I want a mini one to play with!". Sketches turned to 3-d models and it became clear that not only would this be fun, it was feasible, and that the implications went beyond fun into SERIOUS fun.
As fate would have it, our team encountered Kickstarter just as we were beginning to get our first round of numbers on aluminum die tooling and so on. Kickstarter is a new site which lets creatives raise money through micropatronage: Pledges are made towards a funding goal, and if the goal is reached, the project is funded, and the pledgers get what they were promised. If funding isn't met, no one is charged a thing.
Kickstarter immediately struck us as a perfect fit, and we dropped CTO Andy Baio an email asking to get started. Here we are, nine days and counting later, and we're officially Kickstarted!
For details on our Kickstarter debut, check out our Kickstarter Page, or our page with even more of the nitty gritty.
Just the Beginning
MakerBeam is in the rapid-evolution, pre-alpha phase of development, and the website reflects that. Look around and come back for more! Anything you want to see? Contact us!
Happy Hacking!