Makerbot and Adafruit selling special edition 3D printer: Raspberry Pi, other kits included
We honestly hadn't given it much thought, but now that it's been brought to our attention, Makerbot and Adafruit really do make an awesome duo. Think about it: one makes 3D printers, the other sells Arduino boards and pretty much everything else a tinkerer could possibly want. So it makes sense that the two companies are teaming up on something: we just heard they've started selling a limited edition version of Makerbot's Replicator 2 3D printer, which will come bundled with three DIY kits you'd normally buy on a site like Adafruit. These include the Raspberry Pi, which you all know very well, along with the Timesquare DIY Watch Kit and MintyBoost, the open-source hardware charger.
You might wonder why someone might need all that in one box, but the idea is that you can use the printer to create the sorts of custom parts that don't necessarily come with the kits -- something like a band to go with your Timesquare watch, or a case for the MintyBoost. All told, you'll need $2,296 before you can make this your next impulse buy. Don't get too put off by the price, though -- the Replicator 2 by itself would cost $2,199 without any kits included.
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MakerBot® Partners with Adafruit
Limited Edition MakerBot® Replicator® 2 Desktop 3D Printer Offers Custom Build-Plate and three Adafruit Kits – Available Through Adafruit.com and Adafruit kits at the MakerBot Store
Brooklyn, N.Y., March 7, 2013 – MakerBot and Adafruit have joined together to bring the latest technology to electronic and 3D printing enthusiasts throughout the United States with a unique partnership offering a Limited Edition MakerBot® Replicator® 2 Desktop 3D Printer with special Adafruit kits inside. The Limited Edition MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer will come with three of Adafruit's most popular kits – the Timesquare DIY Watch Kit, the MintyBoost® Kit, and Adafruit's most popular Raspberry Pi®. The Limited Edition Adafruit MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer will be available beginning March 14, 2013, online at Adafruit.com and the MakerBot Store in New York City will offer the three Adafruit kits as companion accessories.
"Adafruit has always been a company that offers creative and engaging products and we are excited to be able to partner with them to offer the Limited Edition MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer," noted Bre Pettis, CEO of MakerBot. "To be able to create this very cool offer with some of Adafruit's most popular products, is so cool for me. It's like coming full circle, as I've been a big fan of Adafruit products for a long time, but this makes it even more awesome than I could have originally imagined."
"Adafruit is thrilled to be able to partner with MakerBot and 3D printing with this Limited Edition offering," said Limor "Ladyada" Fried, Adafruit Industries founder. "We were one of the first early adopters of 3D printing and it's exciting to now be able to partner with a growing company like MakerBot and provide both of our customers a product they can explore, build, print, and have fun with."
The Limited Edition MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer will be sold on Adafruit.com and will come with a custom Adafruit MakerBot build-plate and three of Adafruit's most popular kits including: Tiimesquare DIY Watch Kit ($29.95); MintyBoost® Kit ($19.50); and the Raspberry Pi ($39.95). These three kits are perfect companions to the MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer, as they all require custom items to hold the electronics, which can all be 3D printed on a MakerBot. The price for the special Limited Edition Adafruit MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer will be $2,296.00.
"You can design and 3D print your own cool watch band or watch face holder for the Timesquare Watch; 3D print a cool case for the MintyBoost phone charger; and 3D print a really fun and personalized holder for the Raspberry Pi single-board computer," noted Pettis.
