# Paxterra Photon S3 Three-wheel EV



## Paxterra (Mar 12, 2012)

I have been working on a design for a light-weight, two seat, electric vehicle for the past five years. I started this project when I was suddenly homeless (long story) and broke. I needed something to get me back on track and use some of the skills I've accumulated over the years. 

It has been a long, challenging, and very rewarding journey. Just keeping the parts safe and in good shape has been a challenge as I struggled to rebuild my life. I still don't have much money for the project but virtually every extra cent goes into the prototype.

I set some anchors for the project early on. It would be a production design, not a one-off. My background is in Product Design and Mechanical Engineering so I am very familiar with the complications of going from prototype to production. Though I've built quite a few specialty vehicles over the years most were telepresence robots, soapbox racers, electric bikes, Robot Wars house robots, cambots, etc. 

The Photon S3 is my first try at something that would travel on public roads and hi-ways. I take this very seriously since I could be putting others at risk if I make any design errors. 

I started mocking up the layout in 2007 and I am now almost ready for the first on-road tests. I intend to commercialize this project through various avenues when my tests verify the safety and performance of the chassis and drive train. 

For every part I design the question is always: how much will it cost to do this in quantities greater than one? Also, I am attempting to eliminate the need for any production tooling other than jigs, fixtures, templates, etc. This means no injection molds or other expensive barriers to entry. My theory is that if this is easy for other to replicate the design will catch on and perhaps allow a new kind of industry to emerge. This is sometimes called "Open Source" which I don't like since it always sounds like "open sores" to me.

I just call it Paxterra (peace on earth) since it is obvious to me that the other forms of "business" that are now operating on this planet are not sustainable and are leading us in a terrible direction.

I definitely want to build the first production facility and then license the technology, at very little cost, to others who want to produce the design. Either one-offs or in the hundreds of thousands.


----------

