MakerBot’s latest model, the $2,000 Replicator+, is faster, larger, and looks less homespun than the original.
Released in 2012, the MakerBot Replicator sold for $1,749. For that price, you could own the first mass-market, consumer-grade 3D printer. It’s the equivalent of the first Homebrew desktop computer or an early laser printer in terms of starting a revolution. This was a tool that extended the reach of the DIY-maker community and, because of its widespread appeal and useful tech, brought 3D printing from sci-fi novelty to the mainstream.
Before the Replicator, prototypers used CNC (computer numerical control) machines that revealed an object by carving away the exterior. Or massive stereolithography machines that were complicated, expensive, and larger than a refrigerator. The Replicator, on the other hand, was not much larger than a milk crate and was easy for anyone with a home computer to use. Inside was what pundits at the time called “a hot-glue gun on steroids.” The Replicator worked by heating a polymer to about 400 degrees Fahrenheit, then adding precise, pliable layers to form the object’s shape. When the plastic cooled, it hardened into a three-dimensional object. The tech was an evolution of Fused Deposition Molding, which was invented by Scott Crump in the ’80s (Crump is now the director and chairman of Stratasys, which owns MakerBot), but the MakerBot made the process faster, cheaper, and easier—products could be fabricated in hours, or sometimes even minutes.
As MakerBot VP of Engineering Dave Veisz explains, the Replicator really does work like a hot-glue gun—an extruder moves in 3D space and builds the object layer by layer from XYZ coordinates. The real ingenuity came in the user interface that allowed anyone with access to a free app like Google SketchUp or TinkerCAD to print out a keychain or Star Wars Yoda figure, usually with very little training and no coding.
The machine, not including the attached laptop, weighed only 30 pounds and stood 15 inches tall. Printed objects were astoundingly complex and could measure up to 8.9 x 5.7 x 5.9 inches. It also used a cheaper, more accessible filament, lowering another barrier to entry. One roll of brightly colored plastic cost about $40, about half as much as what the material cost for other industrial machines. With that, you could make several complex parts, such as a model train, a cup holder for your car, or a cap for your tooth.
James Lynch, the engineering director at fab company Design Partners, says that the MakerBot Replicator was so easy to use that novices could learn actual rapid prototyping. “MakerBot played their part in fueling the growth of the maker movement, which now is a $30 billion industry,” he says.
Today, 3D printing is the purview of design companies that rely on high-end machines like the Stratasys Objet or the Formlabs 3L. Quality has radically improved from the early days as well. “When developing new products, these kinds of 3D printers have allowed firms to iterate at great speeds with a significantly lower overhead,” he says.
Now, 3D printing is more than a hobbyist endeavor. Companies are developing artificial hearts and exoskeletons using tech ushered in by the Replicator. Some are 3D-printing entire houses. Automakers like Ford use 3D printers to develop car parts. And Boeing uses printers to design airplanes. And it all took off thanks to an affordable home appliance that looked like a wooden milk crate.
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