PlateOptimize

Problem

Base plates are routine work that is still done by hand.

A column base plate is a small, unglamorous part with a lot of interacting constraints: plate dimensions, bolt pattern, the geometry of the column landing on it, and the loads it has to carry. The design isn't hard so much as fiddly — and the output almost always has to leave as a drawing someone can cut from.

PlateOptimize compresses that loop. You describe the situation once; the tool works the geometry and hands back a plate you can export straight into a manufacturing workflow.

It grew out of the optimization research at Penn State's CEARL — the same finite-element and SIMP work described in that case study — carried from a research tool through to a deployed, end-user product.

The interesting engineering isn't the maths. It's shipping it — as something a stranger can install and use without me in the room.

What it does

• Takes real inputs. Plate dimensions, bolt layout, column geometry and loading conditions.
• Works the geometry. Turns those inputs into an optimized plate rather than a sketch.
• Exports for manufacturing. DXF for CAD and CAM, SVG for vector work, PNG for documentation.
• Runs anywhere. Native on iPhone, iPad and Mac; the same workflow in a browser via Streamlit.

Shipping

What publishing actually costs

Getting an engineering tool onto the App Store is a different discipline from writing the solver. It means an icon, a listing, a privacy answer, a category, an age rating, a build that survives review, and a version that keeps working when the platform moves underneath it. Listed as Productivity, rated 4+, developer SHIVAM GAIND.

The Streamlit web build exists for the other half of the audience — engineers who will try a link but will not install an app to evaluate one.

Try it