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The MakerBot Replicator
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Bre Pettis Reveals The MakerBot Replicator!
The MakerBot Replicator is being touted as the ultimate personal 3D printer by its own makers, MakerBot Industries. The new system features MakerBot Dualstrusion (2-colour printing) and a bigger printing footprint. Assembled in Brooklyn by skilled technicians, the MakerBot Replicator is ready within minutes to start printing right out of the box. Starting at $1749, The MakerBot Replicator is an open source 3D printer that is compact enough to sit on a desktop.
The MakerBot Replicator makes use of the MakerBot Stepstruder MK8, the extruder is the part of the machine that turns raw feedstock, like ABS or PLA (a biodegradable material made from corn), into the objects. The Replicator can be specified with single or dual MakerBot Stepstruders. By choosing the dual extrusion option, users can print with two different colours at the same time. According to the companys release statement: "MakerBot Dualstrusion unlocks the ability to make beautiful combinations of colours and opens the door to experimenting with with multi-material objects."
The release continues: "The MakerBot Replicator is ideal for personalised manufacturing, providing a new way to make the things you want and need. It is also an essential tool for children and students; parents and educators with a MakerBot Replicator offer the next generation an opportunity to learn the digital designing skills required to solve the problems of the future. Students with access to a MakerBot have an edge in the future job market. Just like the youth of the 1980's, who had access to computers, children with access to a MakerBot Replicator will become the leaders who make a better tomorrow."
In the two years since the company was founded, the capabilities of a MakerBot have grown from printing cupcake-sized objects in 2009 to printing things as large as an entire loaf of bread today on on the MakerBot Replicator. MakerBot Industries continues to demonstrate its dedication to putting the tools of creativity into the hands of the those brilliant and bold enough to bring their imagination into the physical world.
