Tag Archives: Replicator
MakerBot Introduces Replicator 2 and MakerWare Software
MakerBot announced its new MakerBot Replicator 2 3D printer, its 4th generation MakerBot and the best ever desktop 3D printer, according to CEO Bre Pettis.
Targeted at engineers and professionals, but priced closer to the consumer models, the Replicator 2 is a force. It is a major step forward from previous home 3D printers and features:
- 100 micron layer resolution – no more ridges
- PLA – renewable bioplastic 3D printing material takes less power to print
- It comes assembled, not a kit
The new printer is priced at $2,199, a slight increase from the original MakerBot, which costs $1,749.
In addition, MakerBot launched new software called MakerWare.
Introducing MakerWare™, the ideal software to drive your MakerBot—and not just because it’s pretty and simple to use. This Beta release of MakerWare™ includes an all new slicing engine that prepares models up to 20 times faster than before and improves print times by up to 30 percent. But wait, there’s more!
- Some clever code optimizations make for stronger, more consistant prints.
- MakerWare™ lets you open multiple models at once and arrange them on the build platform.
- You can easily scale, move, or rotate individual models or groups of models at once.
- Now you can work with both .stl and .obj files.
Here’s a video showing MakerBot’s new announcements.
3D Printing Vending Machine: Print on Demand at Virginia Tech [Video]
3D printers, such as the MakerBot Replicator, are currently priced at over $1,700 and out of range for the typical student. Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering has devised a unique solution to giving students access to 3D printers without the associated costs.
The folks over at Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering are taking 3D printing to a whole new different level. Enter DreamVendor, a set of four MakerBot Thing-O-Matics that is enclosed in a glass. It’s not really your typical vending machine, but boy, the DreamVendor does one special thing – it turns Computer Aided Design or CAD into a physical object. The DreamVendor is the brainchild of Dr. Chris Williams, Director of Virginia Tech’s DREAMS Lab, and student Amy Elliot, who led the design. “We wanted an experience where someone could walk up and use a 3-D printer without having to worry about anything besides loading a file and selecting ‘Print,’” Williams said.
In order to use it, you’ll have to insert an SD card that has your CAD design file stored on it. Then, the Makerbot Thing-O-Matic 3D printers will fabricate your design and dispense the finished product into the bin for your taking. Although the DreamVendor 3D machine may not appeal to all, it’s perfect for tech students and designers who want to quickly fabricate their own prototypes for their projects. To learn more about DreamVendor and how to use it, you can visit Virginia Tech’s DREAMS Lab.
Watch the video below as Amy Elliott gives us a tour of the DREAM Vendor.
Via Ubergizmo.
CNET Reviews the MakerBot Replicator: Most Capable 3D Printer Under $2000 [Video]
In the video below, CNET reviews the MakerBot Replicator. This is the first 3D printer reviewed by CNET.
Rich Brown, Senior Editor for CNET, tells us, ”Chances are if you’ve heard of 3D printing, you’ve also heard of MakerBot,” and concludes that the Replicator is the most capable 3D printer under $2000.
Via CNET.
MakerBot Replicator photo by Creative Tools used under Creative Commons license.
3D Systems CEO: 3D Printing Will Be As Big As the iPad
The Cube is coming and it’s going to help 3D printing be as big as the iPad.
That’s the message 3D Systems CEO Abe Reichental wants you to understand. The Cube is 3D Systems’ new printer targeted at the mass consumer. It simplifies the process of getting from design to print via embedded Wi-Fi and cloud printing. The Cube will retail for $1,299 which undercuts the current consumer standard MakerBot Replicator by $500.
There is no doubt that Mr. Reichental has conviction about his belief in the growth of the 3D printing industry. 3D Systems transfered from NASDAQ to NYSE just one year ago and has grown its market cap by 40%. It has since been on an acquisition tear, picking up My Robot Nation, FreshFiber and several other companies. The 3D printer company recently reported record revenue for Q1 and is now placing bets on its Cube consumer printer and Cubify design portal.
In an interview with VentureBeat, Mr. Reichental commented on why 3D printing will become as big as the iPad:
There are very few artists around the world that can start painting on a blank canvas, but there are millions of people who can use a coloring book.
And further on his expectations for printer prices over time:
The prices will come down. It’s inevitable that in the next year or year-and-a-half prices will be half of what they are today, and then come down again.
We are excited to see the launch of the Cube printer!
Via VentureBeat.
iPad Crowd photo from niallkennedy used under Creative Commons license.
