As one of the first companies to settle upon the fertile and unknown land of additive manufacturing back in 2011, Printrbot had almost instantly positioned itself as one of the sweethearts of the open source 3D printing community. The 3D printer manufacturer was founded by Brook Drumm, a longtime figurehead in the ever-growing industry.

Unfortunately, earlier this summer, Printrbot was forced to shut down due to increasingly cheap competition and floundering hype surrounding consumer 3D printing. But Drumm is back with a new business venture that seems to have worked out well for many other makers across the internet: creating web content.

On his newly launched Patreon page, Drumm announced a “new adventure” that will consist of various 3D printing content, including designs, videos, projects and more. The former head of Printrbot shared a heartfelt and ambitious message to potential Patreon backers, acknowledging mistakes he made with his company, while also looking towards a brighter future.

He writes:

“I dove head first into the 3d printing community in 2011 and founded Printrbot with a Kickstarter that went crazy. Its been a wild ride! The Printrbot team built and sold 50,000+ 3d printers, we traveled all over and met thousands of people, and I was part of a TV show on the Science channel…it was nuts. 

I invested everything into the business. But, I made mistakes. Cheap competition crowded the market, the hype fell off sharply and the whole thing blew up. I lost it all.

I learned a lot.
I’m moving on.

Now, I’m pursuing my new adventure and inviting you along for the ride. 
I’ll share all kinds of content: designs, videos, projects… the full monty.

I can’t do it without you.
Bring it!”