MakerBot is continuing its dream of making the 3D printer an indispensable device for the home.
The Replicator Mini, revealed on stage at Makerbot's CES 2014 Press Conference, is a smaller-sized 3D printer that, according to the company, will allow for "one-touch 3D printing".
The smaller-sized device simplifies a great deal of the 3D printing process, eliminating the need for "levelling" the printing platform — a time-consuming and often tricky process. The Mini has a fully enclosed print chamber as well, which allows for faster and steadier heating of the PLA filament material, which in turn means more reliable prints.
Designs can be sent to the Mini via Wi-Fi or USB and it also has a camera, although the full range of applications a camera might bring isn't entirely clear.
In announcing the Mini, Makerbot CEO Bre Pettis said "if I was announcing three cameras today, this one would be the point-and-shoot".
Sadly, the only thing not entirely consumer about the Replicator Mini is the price — at US$1375, it's still costing a fair chunk of change.
Discuss: MakerBot announces the Replicator Mini 3D printer
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