MakerBot

MakerBot to sell limited-edition Adafruit Replicator 2 kit

MakerBot and open-source hardware pioneers Adafruit Industries have partnered to produce a limited edition Adafruit Replicator 2 3D Printer bundle.

For $2,295, buyers get a Replicator 2 -- one of the hottest consumer-grade 3D printers on the market today -- and three of Adafruit's most-popular kits. A Replicator 2 normally sells for $2,200.

The three kits included in the package are Adafruit's MintyBoost V3.0, an open-source hardware charger; a 512MB RAM Raspberry Pi Model B; and a Timesquare do-it-yourself watch kit with a red display matrix. … Read more

MakerBot honcho kicks off SXSW 2013

AUSTIN, Texas--What's next for 3D printing? MakerBot founder and CEO Bre Pettis answered that question in all-capital letters during his opening keynote speech here at South by Southwest 2013.

"LASERS," read a slide with factoid about his company's latest 3D printer, the MakerBot Digitizer.

"It's kind of like Tron," Pettis explained, as a prototype of the new printer fired its laser scanners at a garden gnome.

Introduced by South by Southwest Interactive director Hugh Forrest as the "hero of South by," Pettis started this year's conference with a brief history … Read more

MakerBot Digitizer 3D scanner: Real-world cut-and-paste

MakerBot CEO Bre Pettis says his 3D printing company is working on a desktop 3D scanner called the Digitizer, to help ease the process of translating real-world objects into a 3D-printable software file.… Read more

The 404 1,222: Where we bust myths and eardrums (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Makerbong? 3D printing is getting stoned.

- Bloomberg's next ban may be loud headphones.

- A petition to change the national anthem to R. Kelly's 2003 hit "Ignition (Remix)."

- 404 Archive News: 404 Redditor fanbanlo posted a link to download 1,217 archived episodes of the show. Canoy took care of a search for all 404 episodes on CNET.… Read more

Still emerging (for now): The 3D printers of CES 2013

LAS VEGAS--No 3D printer vendor had a cavernous booth at CES. Only MakerBot held a press conference, but it was only a low-key presentation on the show floor, not some over-produced auditorium-filler.

And yet, every time I walked by a booth owned by a 3D printer manufacturer, the crowds were there in force. People are clearly excited by 3D printing here, and they had a variety of examples to learn about at the show.

I checked in on all of the major 3D printing vendors here at the show. Here's what I saw.

3D Systems 3D Systems had a … Read more

MakerBot purges 3D printable gun parts from Thingiverse

As of a day ago, MakerBot's Thingiverse Web site hosted the plans for a key component of an AR15 semi automatic rifle. Anyone could download Michael "HaveBlue" Guslick's design for the lower receiver, and if you had a 3D printer you make one yourself.

Those plans, and plans for other firearm components have now been removed from Thingiverse. You can access Guslick's old listing, and you can also find it on the Pirate Bay and elsewhere, but the printable STL files have been removed from Thingiverse, and the listing no longer turns up when you … Read more

MakerBot Replicator

3D printing has a way to go before it becomes a mainstream consumer activity. If it ever does cross over from its hobbyist and commercial roots, MakerBot and its CEO Bre Pettis can claim a decent share of the credit.

The MakerBot Replicator and newer Replicator 2 3D printers are fine products, but the company's marketing know-how is also a significant factor in its success. MakerBot's Thingiverse Web site hosts plans for more than 26,000 printable objects, all free for anyone to download and print. Pettis' media-friendly demeanor has landed his company's name on the digital … Read more

The 404 1,144: Where we switch up our 'za (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- A device to call your mom when you crash your bike.

- Stop the madness: 3D-printed headphones?!

- A jacket that hugs you for getting "Likes" on Facebook.

- Target adds QR codes to hot holiday toys for secret shopping.

- Also, New York is about to have QR codes everywhere soon.

Bathroom break video: Salt Lake from Lance follows up… Read more

Pulling back from open source hardware, MakerBot angers some adherents

You likely know MakerBot Industries as the poster child for the new era of 3D-printing. You might not know that, until last week, the company and its CEO, Bre Pettis, were considered shining lights in the open-source hardware movement.

Think of open-source hardware, OSHW, as the physical equivalent of open source software. The Open Source Hardware Association, founded just this past March, offers an extended definition for OSHW. Its Statement of Principles sums things up thusly:

Open source hardware is hardware whose design is made publicly available so that anyone can study, modify, distribute, make, and sell the design or … Read more