3D Printable Robotics Platform BoxBotix: “3-In-1” Copter, Plane & Rover

Developed by Coby Leuschke from Rocketship Systems, BoxBotix is an open source 3D printable robotics system that can be configured as a copter, plane, and rover. Designed for manufacturing on your desktop, almost all of the parts can be printed with a home 3D printer and the remaining materials can be made using basic tools you would find in any small shop or hackspace.

“Our vision is to form a global network of artisans who specialize in the design, manufacture and support of open source robots at the local level. We get a lot of emails and phone calls from people trying to fly sensors but lack the robots to put them on. So we decided to see if we could design something that was easy to hack, make, use and sustain.” Coby Leuschke, CEO


After successfully raising $17,558 on Kickstarter in March 2016, the team shipped 69 kits to backers and released the 3D printable digital design files and project documentation on Wevolver. And to help everyone get started building BBots, the team have made two different types of kits available: “Bring Your Own Printer” as well as “Full Frame” kits, which include all the necessary 3D printed components; impressively both kits contains 130+ professional-quality parts.

And since it’s all open source, you can even design and build custom configurations. Want a BBBoat? BBMonsterTruck? BBDroid? Go for it! Coby announced to the project’s backers on Kickstarter that the three configurations currently available are “just the start”. And if that wasn’t already enough, all BBots are capable of being water and dust proof – for those times when you really shouldn’t be out operating, but you are anyway. Coby explained to Wevolver that the entire system has been designed around worst-case-scenario usage, which he describes as “at night, in the rain, wearing gloves”

The BoxBotix team are eager to create a thriving BBots community, focused on sharing new designs and BBot piloting tips. The project has been released under a CERN Open Hardware License, enabling commercial as well as private use of the designs.

To find out more and get started building your own 3D printable BBots visit the project page on Wevolver. You can also congratulate the BoxBotix team for their Kickstarter success with a Tweet by clicking here.

via Techmog