How to obtain Makerbeam parts

[dickda]

I teach physics and pre-engineering at a high school in San
Francisco. We currently use Fischertechnik kits to build computer-
controlled devices like marble sorters and mechanical arms.

Fischertehnik's aluminum beams cost about $9 for a piece about a foot
long.

Makerbeams look like exactly what we need and I assume that they will
be much cheaper.

How can I buy a kit of parts? Are individual parts available?

Thanks,

Dick
San Francisco

[Sam Putman]

MakerBeam is still happening, but not yet for sale. I've been engaged in a lengthy dance with suppliers, retailers and investors, which is coming together nicely. We haven't entered production yet, but these things take time.

We will definitely make the beam available for less than $9 / foot | 30cm. 

Currently, MakerBeam has to happen after I'm done paying my bills, and that has left relatively little time. I've been focusing on the core task of actually manufacturing the product and offering it for sale, which has left the website and Kickstarter blog distinctly stale. 

I will let the community know the minute we start manufacturing things again, and will blow trumpets from the rooftops when we actually have the product for sale. 

Thanks for writing! MakerBeam is aiming to be a great kit for educational robotics. We hope you'll like what we have on offer, and that we'll have it soon.

cheers,

-Sam Putman

-- 

makerbeam.com 

[Andrew Plumb]

Hey Sam,

How goes the battle?

Andrew.

--

"The future is already here. It's just not very evenly distributed" -- William Gibson

Me: http://clothbot.com/wiki/

[Sam Putman]

On Fri, Sep 17, 2010 at 10:08 AM, Andrew Plumb <and...@plumb.org> wrote:

Hey Sam,

How goes the battle?

Andrew.

Progress through a labyrinth is always hard to measure. Feels like we're getting closer!

I took a much needed vacation for the first half of the month, which has me a bit behind on most everything but fully re-energized to work on it. I'll be flying out to Chicago at the end of the month to hopefully conclude an arrangement with a manufacturer and get the lines finally rolling on the new kits.

We also have a new institutional sponsor (hello Columbia!) and this has freed up the funds to do the last of the shipping. This is basically down to the Alpha upgrades and a few certificates and one beta whom I had no addresses for at the time. If this were my only working obligation I'd have them out yesterday, as it were; as it is ASAP should be pretty soon. 

Behind the scenes, we're gearing up for a burst of new activity and announcements over the remainder of the year. Too soon for a prediction as to when we'll have it available for sale, but retailers are standing by.

BTW we've really enjoyed your flickr pool, glad to see some of the first experiments with the beam working out so nicely. We just bought a new extruder for the MakerBot and hope to print off some of your connectors soon. 

I'm still underwater, although inbox zero is in sight. I do have every personal email starred and will respond, but please, when gaps happen, just imagine me running around pulling everything together, b/c that's pretty much what's up right now. 

Thanks for caring, and for hanging in there. We're finally getting to the second push, and it's been a long road from the Kickstarter to here. 

cheers,

-Sam Putman.