MakerBot to sell limited-edition Adafruit Replicator 2 kit
The popular 3D printer will come with three of Adafruit's most popular open-source hardware kits.
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.
Adafruit said that it imagines customers will want to print their own Timesquare watch body.
Over the last few years, Adafruit has become a leader in open-source hardware, selling a wide variety of kits and products aimed at the maker and do-it-yourself communities. The company is run by Limor Fried, who was recently named "Entrepreneur" magazine's entrepreneur of the year, and former "Make" magazine senior editor Phil Torrone. Among Adafruit's most notable projects in recent years was the bounty it offered to the first person who could create an open-source driver for Microsoft's Kinect.
For its part, MakerBot has established itself as the manufacturer of choice for a large number of 3D printer enthusiasts, and the Replicator 2 is the company's latest model. MakerBot founder and CEO Bre Pettis was the opening keynote speaker at SXSW last week.