The 2Bot ModelMaker: A Game Changing Tool For Architects & GIS Professionals, to debut at the 2010 AIA Convention

Redmond, WA (June 10, 2010) - The 2Bot Corporation is launching a brand new tabletop model-making machine, the 2Bot ModelMaker, at the 2010 American Institute for Architects convention in Miami FL this week.

The focus of this year’s convention is on Design in Architecture and the new ModelMaker promises to change the way that Architects and GIS Professionals think about the very use and production of Physical Models in the design process. Instead of the traditional method of hand scaling, cutting and piecing models together from the ground up, the 2Bot actually carves models from rigid blocks of foam, much like a sculptor chisels a form out of a block of marble. This novel approach to model-making typically takes a mere one tenth of the time and cost of any other traditional model-making method.

The 2Bot is not only fast and inexpensive, it’s also extremely user friendly. Connecting to a PC just like a printer, it comes with an intuitive software program (2Bot® Studio™ ) that converts virtually every CAD and GIS design format (including ArcGIS, DWG, STL, and Google SketchUp) directly into physical, or “hard” models. This process requires no reformatting of existing 3D model files by the user, making the production of physical models as easy as the click of a button.

In the past, the production of physical models has been viewed as a time consuming and expensive necessity of doing business and in the current economic climate making a physical model has almost come to be seen as a luxury item. 2Bot’s CEO Paul H. Nye says that the ModelMaker will change the way architects use models in the future.

“Architects know that clients love physical models, but the old ways of making them are prohibitively costly and time-consuming. Many have hoped that digital models expressed in printed form or even animations might fill the gap, but in the end, a physical model is immensely more efficient at communicating design intent and challenges. With a ModelMaker, it’s so easy and quick to make a model that you can show a design in the morning, discuss changes over lunch, and come back with a revised model that afternoon. With their cost reduced to literally a few dollars, models can become everyday tools to win more business, explore more creative ideas, and improve communications with clients and co-workers.”

The ModelMaker works with a variety of inexpensive, rigid foams and unlike other machines it does not require costly proprietary materials. It makes models up to 12” x 12” x 2”, and the software automatically segments larger models into tiles allowing the easy assembly of virtually any size model. Nye says that new users typically learn the basics of operating the machine and software in about15 minutes.

The ModelMaker sells for $11,995—a price that Nye notes is considerably less (adjusted for inflation) than the first office laser printers. “The laser printer revolutionized the production of 2D documents; our ModelMaker can do the same thing for 3D objects,” he says.

In a world of shrinking budgets and growing expectations the 2Bot ModelMaker is the answer to both.

The 2Bot Corporation is based in Redmond, WA and is privately held.

Contact Information

Paul Nye

CEO

2Bot

Contact via E-mail