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MakerBot will connect Chromebooks to cloud-based 3D printers
Earlier this year, Makerbot announced in its most recent bloodletting that it would focus more on the education market. Today we're seeing some of the fruits of that decision. First up is "My MakerBot," what the outfit describes as a cloud-enabled browser-based printer monitoring platform that's compatible with Chromebooks (which are incredibly popular in the classroom) and Autodesk's Tinkercad 3D design software.
Recommended Reading: AI and the future of music
We Are the Robots: Is the Future of Music Artificial? Jack Needham, FACT Artificial intelligence is invading more of our lives by the day and it's going to work making music as well. FACT takes a look at the use of robots for creative exploits and if we as a collective audience are ready for AI to compose our tunes.
MakerBot lays off a third of staff as 3D printers remain niche
For the fourth time in less than two years, 3D printer manufacturer MakerBot is laying off workers, this time cutting 30 percent of its staff. It also announced plans to shift its focus to professional and educational 3D printing, presumably leaving consumer markets behind. "We have to make additional changes to lower costs and to support our long-term goals," CEO Nadav Goshen wrote. "We must reduce the pressure and distraction of chasing short-term market trends."
12 gifts for tireless tinkerers
They say the best gifts are the ones you make yourself. But that doesn't necessarily mean you, the gifter, needs to be doing the assembly. Sometimes the giftee will enjoy building their own present. Over the last several years the maker movement has really taken off. And whether you're shopping for an accomplished builder or someone just looking to get their toes wet, we've got a few suggestions. If there's someone in your life that's super into making everything themselves (and you love them enough to drop $1,000 on a gift for them) consider a 3D printer like the Replicator Mini+ from MakerBot. If a grand is a little extreme for you, consider a simple driver set, like 64-piece one from iFixIt. They'll be able to open up and (hopefully) put anything back together with it. If the creator in your life is more into coding than building, consider a tool like RPG Maker, or for the wee one in your life Ozobot's Evo is an excellent place to start teaching programming skills. For our full list of recommendations in all categories, don't forget to stop by our main Holiday Gift Guide hub.
MakerBot's Replicator Mini+ is designed for classrooms
More and more classrooms today are getting into 3D printing, and MakerBot wants to be there for them. Today the company announced that it's taken its Replicator Mini printer, which was a surprising hit in schools, and made it faster and quieter than before. The new Replicator Mini+ is available for $999 starting today, and promises to be 10 percent faster and a whopping 58 percent quieter than before.
MakerBot's Replicator+ promises bigger, faster 3D prints
MakerBot has had its fair share of woes lately, but the company isn't slowing down. It's launching a slew of new products, including a printer, revamped software and new materials. The Replicator+ is available beginning today, for $1,999, which is cheaper than the company's fifth-generation devices. That is, until the introductory period is over come October 31st.
MakerBot didn't mislead customers about broken replicators
A Minnesota court has dismissed a class-action lawsuit brought against Makerbot that said the company had knowingly-produced dodgy 3D printers. The firm was accused of fraudulently misleading both investors and customers after talking-up the fifth-generation hardware. As we now know, devices were shipped with broken extruders that easily clogged, but Makerbot refused to acknowledge a problem or engage with complaints. Judges didn't shower the company with praise, but said that while there was some evidence that executives were behaving badly, evidence wasn't strong enough to suggest serious wrongdoing.
MakerBot will start outsourcing its 3D printers
Less than a year after opening its 170,000-square-foot factory in New York City, MakerBot announced today it will partner with international manufacturer Jabil to produce its 3D printers moving forward. Over the next few months, the company will lay off a number of employees and shut down its Brooklyn facilities as it transitions to Jabil's factories overseas.
MakerBot learns that 3D printing and copyright don't quite mix
Trying to stop unauthorized 3D printing is like plugging a hole in a dam with your finger -- once the template for an object leaks out, it's virtually impossible to stop the flood of bootleg prints. And MakerBot is learning this the hard way. The company is asking makers to protect their copyrights after hearing of an eBay user selling 3D prints of others' Thingiverse objects, whether or not the creators gave permission. While MakerBot hopes to stop the culprit in this case, it believes that it's ultimately a designer's responsibility to crack down on misuse of the projects they own.
Syfy Labs fires up its 3D printers, lights and VR at CES
Syfy has always been willing to experiment with tech that promotes its shows -- Hue lights, the Defiance game/show tie-in -- and now it's launched the Syfy Labs "think tank" to crank out even more oddities. Here at CES, the network has a booth featuring some of its initial projects, like 3D printers from MakerBot cranking out figurines. If you have one of the devices at home, you can download the plans yourself and create the same models -- all without going through a CES 2016 security checkpoint.
Makerbot just made a more reliable 3D printer head
Makerbot unveiled a new extruder for its 5th generation 3D printers today. The component, dubbed the Smart Extruder+, reportedly offers superior performance, longevity, and reliability than the current iteration. The company improved the extruder's thermal management system and added more accurate print sensors to further boost performance.
The humble beginnings and ambitious future of 3D printing
Consumer-focused 3D printing has been all the rage in the past several years, and while Yeezy may be apprehensive, it's putting the power of manufacturing into the hands of the people. The concept of three-dimensional reproduction isn't as new as you may think; various methods were being employed as early as the 1800s. From the 1950s until the early aughts, it's primarily been used in experimental or industrial applications due to the high costs involved. But when the RepRap project went open-source and MakerBot targeted the consumer market with more affordable machines, things began to change. This week we take a quick look at some milestones in 3D printing's development and see how it's progressing in the modern age.
MakerBot lays off another twenty percent of its workers
In April MakerBot laid off 20 percent of its workforce. Roughly six months later, it's doing it again, trimming another fifth of its payroll as it struggles to meet lofty ambitions and expectations set by its parent company Stratasys. In a blog post announcing the layoffs and a significant restructuring CEO Jonathan Jaglom said that MakerBot needs to "get back to our entrepreneurial spirit and address our fractured organizational structure." As one of the pioneers of the consumer 3D printing scene MakerBot grew quickly, but the market has stagnated and the company hasn't been able to maintain the same level of growth.
Despite recent challenges, Makerbot opens new factory in NYC
The past few months haven't been easy for Makerbot. But it doesn't seem like the restructuring and sizable layoffs are affecting the company's progress. Today it announced the opening of a new, 170,000-square-foot manufacturing center in New York City. For Makerbot, it means being able to double the production capacity of 3D printers, as well as offer better quality assurance for these machines -- and, considering a recent lawsuit, the timing couldn't be better. This doesn't only signal a commitment from Makerbot to keep growing its own operations, but also shows it doesn't plan to give up on a 3D-printing industry that's been struggling. The huge, upgraded space is located in Brooklyn's Industrial City, so you can expect Makerbot's 3D printers to keep the "Designed & Built in Brooklyn" branding for at least the next ten years.
Lawsuit claims MakerBot knowingly sold glitchy 3D printers
If you bought one of MakerBot's fifth-generation 3D printers only to have trouble running it, you're not alone. A recently filed class action lawsuit alleges that MakerBot and its parent company Stratasys committed a "fraudulent scheme" by knowingly shipping these Replicator printers with flawed extruders (the part that melts and deposits filament) that tend to clog. Supposedly, management was bragging about rapid growth to investors at the same time it was skimping on quality control and dealing with loads of returns and repairs. By the time MakerBot was starting to lay off workers and otherwise admit that things had gone off the rails, shareholders had lost millions of dollars.
MakerBot lays off one-fifth of its workforce
MakerBot is perhaps the most well-known consumer 3D printer company on the market, having sold tens of thousands of Replicators since its start in 2009. It's a large part of why Stratasys, an industrial 3D printer and manufacturer, decided to acquire MakerBot in 2013. Two years after that merger, however, things don't seem quite so rosy. Motherboard has learned that MakerBot has apparently laid off roughly 20 percent of its staff -- which is around a hundred people -- as part of a recent consolidation effort by parent company Stratasys. An employee told the outlet that the company is trying to eliminate duplicate positions and streamline operations as a whole.
MakerBot makes it easy for schools and businesses to start 3D printing
MakerBot has just launched a new initiative called Starter Lab, which makes 3D printing more accessible to more people, particularly students and employees. It's a bundle of MakerBot products, including several printers and other hardware, plastic filaments and training guides to help organizations get started. Acting CEO Frank Alfano says it can "help educational institutions prepare students to be more college and career ready." As for companies, he believes it can provide "a competitive advantage as an investment in future technology that fuels new ideas and growth." Chances are, this is part of the New York company's efforts to introduce both 3D printing and its brand to people who don't regularly read tech news.
3D-printed Left Shark lands artist in hot water with Katy Perry's lawyers
Katy Perry may be hard at work on her video game, but her lawyers are busy being the fun police. After the Left Shark made a lasting impression during the singer's Super Bowl XLIX halftime show last weekend, artist Fernado Sosa uploaded his 3D-printable character for folks to order at Shapeways. Well, the pop star's legal team didn't take too kindly to Sosa's creation, and they demanded the site remove the item. According to the official paperwork, Left Shark is Perry's intellectual property and that the character's image is copyrighted. If you want to help stick it to the man, you can nab the production files for the 3D-printable Left Shark over at MakerBot's Thingiverse... for now. Of course, while it's a free download from its current home, you'll have to handle the printing yourself.
Scientists 3D print cartilage to repair damaged windpipes
Believe it or not, scientists aren't yet finished discovering new ways to 3D print body parts. A team at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research has developed a 3D printing technique that lets them produce cartilage for repairing damaged tracheas, better known to you and I as windpipes. They use an off-the-shelf 3D printer (in this case, a MakerBot Replicator 2X Experimental) to create a scaffold for the cartilage out of the same PLA filament you'd use for everyday 3D printing projects. After that, they cover the scaffold in a mix of chondrocytes (healthy cartilage cells) and collagen, 'baking' it in a custom bioreactor to make sure the cells grow properly.
MakerBot's Thingiverse finally lets you share 3D models with groups
You'd think by now creating groups for sharing 3D models would be old hat for Thingiverse, MakerBot's online community for 3D printing enthusiasts, but sadly, you'd be wrong. That all changes today: MakerBot announced that Thingiverse users will finally be able to make groups around whatever topic they like, making it even easier to collaborate on 3D designs with like-minded folks. Previously, you could only upload models and create collections on your own Thingiverse profile. MakerBot highlights the "My First Make" group as a good place to start sharing your experiences, but it likely won't be too long until we see new 3D printing factions around just about every topic. [Photo credit: Matt Westervelt/Flickr]