MakerBot Relocates, Expands

MakerBot has evidently outgrown its current BotFarm location on Dean St. in Brooklyn, NY and has acquired new office space to expand its rapidly growing operations. 

 

Now with a staff of 125, the company has grown significantly since 2009 when its three founders were the only employees. Originated in the tiny "BotCave", they expanded to the "BotFarm" and now move to the Metro Tech Center in Downtown Brooklyn.

 

And what a move - they've leased an entire floor (the twenty-first) that holds a massive 31,000 square feet of work space. According to their press release, they'll be leaving 50 folks at the original BotCave to continue manufacturing MakerBots, while the remainder (75, if our math is correct) to the new location in downtown Brooklyn. The press release also says: 

 

The company expects to create a minimum of 50 jobs in 2012 alone at the new location.

 

Congratulations to MakerBot on their continuing success! Their design and marketing approach has not only built a great product, but created a huge number of new jobs so desperately needed. Well done, MakerBot! 

 

Via MakerBot

MakerBot Discontinues the Thing-O-Matic

Personal 3D printer manufacturer MakerBot has announced their popular Thing-O-Matic 3D printer will no longer be offered for sale. They have, of course, replaced it in their product line with the much more capable (and fully assembled) Replicator device. Today you'll find only spare parts for the Thing-O-Matic.

 

The Thing-O-Matic was a breakthrough device when it came out. It was far beyond its primitive predecessor, the CupCake, MakerBot's very first product. It incorporated several inventions pioneered by experimenters on the CupCake, including a heated build platform, end stops and upgraded electronics. But, following MakerBot's pattern, experiments and experience on the Thing-O-Matic led to its successor, the Replicator. 

 

In time all of today's personal 3D printers will become museum pieces, but that is the price of progress.  

 

This development signals one more important point: There are no 3D printer kits marketed by MakerBot. 

 

Via MakerBot

I'm Printing On A Jet Plane

Almost. MakerBot posts an incredible story of Japanese designer Yoshishiro Shibata, who desperately required a shield for the robot he was taking to Robogames. Why didn't he just make one? Because he was out of time and actually enroute to the US, flying over the Pacific Ocean. 

 

The solution? A quick sketch design and in-flight internet connectivity. He contacted friends on land who were able to transform the sketch into a 3D model, which was then 3D printed (on MakerBots, of course). By the time the games started, the shield was complete and delivered.

 

No matter where you are, you can still make things. 

 

Via MakerBot

Human Races 3D Printer. Who Won?

Are robots (and 3D printers) taking over the world? Perhaps not yet, but the signs are clearly visible. Some may be concerned with this development, and one person, UK designer Dominic Wilcox, decided to challenge the evil machines with his bare hands!

 

At the Milan Design Week, Wilcox challenged The Machines via Twitter and ended up against a MakerBot replicator in a timed challenge to build a cathedral. The Replicator used a 3D model and printed it in the usual way, while Wilcox used his hands and a hefty chunk of clay to form a similar cathedral. 

 

Who won the contest? Humanity triumphed.  

 

For now. 

 

Via BostInno and YouTube

MakerBot Replicator User Guide Available

MakerBot has published a "User Guide" for their new Replicator personal 3D printer. It seems like an obvious thing to do for almost any product, but we think this is important. 

 

Why? 

 

3D printing is still very new to almost everyone, particularly the market targeted by MakerBot's latest device. Many people still need a lot of handholding and they need explanations, pictures and videos to guide them to success. Even people who are confident often mis-apply 2D paradigms to 3D printing and the results are sometimes not pretty. It's certainly a learning process, but good documentation always helps. 

 

Via MakerBot

MakerBot Software Update

MakerBot has released a new version of the ReplicatorG software that drives their personal 3D printers. ReplicatorG version 0034 now includes a few new features, including an optimization to speed up heating of both the heated build platform (image above) and the twin extruders (if using their new two-headed Replicator). 

 

Another interesting feature included in this release is the ability to more finely calibrate the Replicator's dual extruders. These must be positioned at a very precise distance from each other, otherwise the two colored prints will be consistently misaligned. 

 

One thing we quite like in this version is the use of the Replicator's built-in LCD screen, which now shows easy-to-read instructions for operators during the head calibration sequence. We suspect MakerBot will do a lot more of this in the future for other functions. 

 

MakerBot has released quite a few versions of ReplicatorG, each gradually improving the quality of the experience for their clients. They've had to do so for not only quality reasons but also to support new 3D printers and 3D printer components they've added over the years. We suspect they plan on having many more releases, if only because the version number includes FOUR digits!

 

Via MakerBot

3D Printing Buzz Increases

With the close of the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show it seems like a good time to check the buzz level of 3D printing, which we suspect is higher than its ever been. By using Google Trends, a free tool that shows the frequency of search terms used on the omnipresent search engine, we can see whether people are becoming more interested in the topic. 

 

The search we made includes keywords "3D printing", "MakerBot", "3D Systems" and the new "Cubify". The results are quite clear - a massive jump in search interest. MakerBot leads in searches, but the new Cubify is off to a huge start as well. 

 

One more clue to the growing popularity of 3D printing: there's now a cartoon on a popular site related to it. CNET's weekly Low Latency comic features two guys at CES discussing a 3D printer, which looks suspiciously like a Cube. 

 

Via CNET and Google Trends

CNET Names MakerBot's Replicator Best of CES

CES has now closed and the media now reports on their observations. CNET produced a list of their "best 10 of CES". On the list was the MakerBot Replicator personal 3D printer, winner of the "Best emerging tech product" category. Why the MakerBot instead of its competitor the 3D Systems Cube? According to CNET:

 

We saw two promising 3D printers at the show, but the the MakerBot Replicator one-ups the rival Cube 3D with "dualstrusion" technology, meaning it can print objects in multiple colors and materials. 

 

True, but we think there are a lot more considerations than just that. Nevertheless, the Replicator is a great representative of 3D printing tech to show alongside of CNET's other choices, which include car tech, cell phone, camera, home theatre, computer, software, networking, tablet and TV. It seems 3D printing is moving towards becoming one of those permanent, well-known categories. That can only be good - and congratulations to MakerBot! 

 

Via CNET