03–25–25
Been a couple weeks and in that time I presented to potential investors and mentors and landed a mentorship with 1876 ventures!
Also I started a CAD design for the baseplate. I downloaded Fusion 360 and discovered my baseplate design is actually redicullously easy to design in CAD. The design I currently have will be used to send to potential manufacturs that would do 1/2 inch HDPE sheet and CNC said sheet for a prototype. I still don’t really know what I’m doing but I have what seems to be a design ready to send to a manufactur. I also altered the peg board design so now it’s no longer holes but slots that are 9/16” wide and 1 1/8” long at 2 inches between each slot which just so happens to be the same size holes and spacing that unistrut is (another modular building material). This means you’ll be able to use unistrut building hardware and materials if need be (though not necessary). Can also be used so that it’s easier to find community builds of people that already have found creative ways to use unistrut.
Now that I have a CAD design and possible material, now all I have to do is find a manufactur and see what their pricing is for a prototype. I reached out to Texas Plastic Sheet earlier today and am awaiting a response. I’m also looking towards getting a quote but from a metal working shop that can CNC steel plate. After as much research as I could do without getting a specific quote, it looks like CNC’d 16-18 gauge hot rolled steel sheet , that you would then get powdercoated, may be similar in price to 1/2 inch HDPE sheet that’s also CNC’d, but wouldn’t need powdercoating.
I’ve also been pricing out materials which I’ve gotten into a little bit in the previous paragraph. For the baseplate, upperplate, and shelving that’ll either be HDPE sheet or steel sheet depending on pricing (both have their pros and cons: HDPE lighter weight, no need to seal, machines faster. Steel sheet is stronger and cheaper raw, but also needs to be powdercoated). Pre-quote guess for a low quantity prototype for either material is gonna be between 200-300 bucks. Moving on to the struts: For at least the prototype phase I’m gonna use EMT conduit, very cheap ($1 per foot) but longer term it’ll need to be sealed since it is steel. However it’s not much surface area and I think it’ll be cheap to seal it right. As for the locking mechanism for the struts: I’ve found a design that is putting up a good fight. It’s small, locks in easily, locks in quickly, and requires 0 bolts. For prototype phase I can for sure 3D print it, however will probably have to look into injection molding for high volume which will be very steep upfront cost.
I came up with a locking mechanism for the struts between the baseplate and bed platform or shelving, and best of all it locks in quickly, easily, and requires 0 bolts. Only hardware it’ll need is a positive locking pin. Now that I have a slot design on the pegboard, or R-Lock system as we call it here at Rossco, we can simply attach the new plastic piece to the emt conduit via a pin, slide it into both the upperplate and baseplate, twist it 90 degrees, then drop in a pin of sorts in the top (still nailing down that design) and voila it’s secured without any worry of it coming out. Then to release it it could be as fast as pulling any of the 3 pins and it’s now in 2 pieces for quick and easy removal!
Plastic Manufactur: https://www.texasplasticsheet.com/request-a-quote
Metal Manufactur: https://www.texasplasticsheet.com/request-a-quote