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Looking for information on Makerbot Industries? We‘ve accumulated the most important facts in this company profile.

11 Facts on Makerbot Industries

1. Full Name

Makerbot Industries, LLC.

2. Company Information

Building on the early progress of the RepRap project, Makerbot Industries engineers and produces affordable 3D printing products to deliver an entire ecosystem of technology products. Taking great responsibility in leading the next industrial revolution, Makerbots are targeted at a mostly consumer-based audience for desktop printing.

3. History

Makerbot was established in 2009 through the offering of 3D printer kits, inspired by the open-source, not-for-profit philosophy of the RepRap Research Foundation machines. MakerBot Industries’ early products were designed to be built by anyone with basic technical skills and were sold in a similar fashion to self-assembled furniture packs. The first printers were sold as do it yourself kits requiring only minor soldering to build the 3D printer, but later models were designed as closed-box products with little or no user customization or construction.

In 2013, Makerbot became a subsidiary of Stratasys – giving the company more gravitas beyond its maker user-group and across into the wider industry (and its various sectors). With an extremely strong brand presence across contemporary culture as well as the 3D printing community in itself, Makerbot’s direct effect on the boom in interest of 3D printing cannot be denied. Despite a somewhat tumultuous history in terms of management and direction, Makerbot Industries remains a crucial part of this vibrant industry.

Some of Makerbot’s early history is documented by the movie Print the Legend, which set the company into public spotlight.

4. Products

Since its founding, Makerbot Industries has offered a variety of items to help (mostly) desktop users realise their creative goals via 3D technology. Across its development history, three particular products stand out as perhaps the company’s most important:

1. Cupcake CNC

As the first product available from Makerbot, this 3D printer paved the way for further upgrades as well as an industry standard of desktop printer. Because of the

Because of the open-source nature of the product, many suggestions for improvements came from users. Printing upgrades and replacement parts became popular projects for learning to operate the units, making it a popular / cult piece of kit.

2. Replicator Series

This 3D printer signalled a change not only in Makerbot Industries’ intentions for growth, but also in its user’s needs. It offered more than double the build envelope of the previous machine, and featured included a dual extruder allowing two-color builds and upgraded electronics. It also came pre-assembled.

3. Digitizer Desktop 3D Scanner

The introduction for this machine drastically extended Makerbot’s portfolio by offering technology that supported the original printers.

4. Thingiverse

MakerBot’s Thingiverse is a design community for discovering, making, and sharing 3D printable things. Currently, it’s the world’s largest 3D printing community. You can download the objects for free under a Creative Commons License.