1 of 2
MakerBot Digitizer teaser
A sneak preview of the MakerBot Digitizer
2 of 2
MakerBot Digitizer Prototype
Prototype of the Digitizer displayed at SXSW
The announcement we’ve all been waiting for, the MakerBot Digitizer is to go on sale next week. The desktop 3D printing giants announced the Digitizer at SXSW back in March and have been updating their blog with updates on the scanner throughout the intervening period.
In an email to those that signed up to the newsletter they gave us a glimpse of the finished product with the strap-line “What’s black & white & shoots lasers”. MakerBot are yet to announce prices for their 3D scanner but what we can expect is a complete scan-to-print eco-system without any of the pre-printing clean up other scanners need before printing.
MakerBot go more mainstream by the day, their machines are now in Microsoft stores throughout the US so it was always essential for them to cater to the layman with their 3D scanner. Judging by the following points in the newsletter that is exactly what they have done:
- Simple, yet sophisticated software creates clean, watertight 3D models with just two clicks.
- Get a 3D digital design file in just minutes.
- No design skills, 3D modeling or CAD expertise required to get started.
- Outputs standard 3D design file formats that can be modified and improved in third-party 3D modeling programs, like Autodesk's free software MeshMixer.
- Easily upload your unique scans directly to Thingiverse.com.
The picture of the finished product looks a lot sleeker than the prototype they showed off at SXSW, more Replicator 2 than Thing-O-Matic. The colour scheme fits the brand and is another step into the mainstream for the Brooklyn giants. Who will no doubt be offering their printers and scanner in a bundled package in the coming months.
We recently printed a ‘Digitized’ scan from Thingiverse for a #ThingiThursday feature, we were impressed with the results and no doubt there’s been tweaks to the machine since. We look forward to getting our hands on the finished product.
This announcement sees them push further ahead of the competition in the race to bring 3D printing into homes across the world. The question is, who is going to challenge them?
