I have been following MakerBot, the Brooklyn 3-D printer company, since they started in 2009. Desktop 3D fabrication has seemed poised to revolutionize all kinds of creative endeavors, from Etsy crafts to animation to industrial design.
But the early iterations of MakerBot's 3D printers, the Cupcake CNC, The Thing-o-matic and the original Replicator all produced what looked like low-resolution objects. Think jpg images sized up to reveal all of their jagged-edged glory. It was charming—in a lo-fi way—but not quite a revolution.
The Replicator 2 that the company announced yesterday may change all that. The 100 micron resolution of the print layers turns the corner from being able to produce prototypes to actual products. Unlike previous models, curved edges are now smooth and require no special sanding or finishing. It may be a bit of a leap, but you could say that Makerbot is breaking the "retinal" threshold with the Replicator 2. Or, maybe, the tactile threshold?
MakerBot's devices "print" objects by heating special plastics that harden on impact, and drawing with them, one layer at a time, to build up an image in space. What makes the Replicator 2 unique is that these layers are now 100 microns thick—about as thin as a sheet of printer paper. So, goodbye jaggy stair steps, hello smooth slides.
Watch the video above and see the kinds of things that can be made with simple CAD software (including the company's own, new MakerWare) and the new printer. And if you really want to drink the Kool Aid, I refer you to this gonzo MakerBot Operator Manifesto that co-founder Bre Pettis posted a on the tech blog Boing Boing:
Where we're going, there are no limitations: create your working flux capacitor by glueing MakerBotted components together for installation in your DeLorean.
Go big. With the MakerBot Replicator 2's 410 cubic inch build volume, you can finally create the trumpet you've been dreaming of.
Compete with the industrial machines. With the MakerBot Replicator 2's 100 micron layer resolution you can create models that will look like they were made on a refrigerator sized machine that costs 100 times the MakerBot Replicator 2.
Make the unreal real. Use your MakerBot to manifest unicorns, dragons, or a functional sonic screwdriver.
Resist buying things that you can make on your MakerBot Replicator 2. There is no deeper nerd cred than MakerBotting frames for your glasses.
Optimize the world. That contraption to hold your microscopes glass slides together in the dishwasher is just waiting for you to design and MakerBot it.
Repurpose everything. The springs in pens and motors pulled from old technology can be used to create the replica of that V8 supercharged hemi you've been lusting after.
Repurpose the models in Cornell's wonderful mechanical library to power your perpetual motion machine.
Prototype your inventions. We're still waiting for you to align the lasers with your MakerBotted oscillation overthruster.
Use what you've got. If you are a programmer, use the openSCAD tool to create parametric gears If you are a photographer, learn to use 123D Catch to scan the greatest works of art at your local museum.
Ignore the naysayers. Your jackalope powered hovercraft is achievable and don't forget to MakerBot a helmet for the jackalope.
I could write a detailed history of the MakerBot, but this video will get you up to speed:
The Replicator 2 sells for $2,199 through the MakerBot store (2-4 week lead time), so this isn't exactly an impulse purchase. But if Pettis hasn't gotten you fired up to get your hands on one of these things (he is cartoonishly, endearingly enthusiastic), you're either not a "maker" or already a "bot"!
[P.S. read through the previous Forbes.com stories in the sidebar above, and imagine them in full retinal resolution!]
UPDATE: Unlike its previous models, the Replicator 2 is reportedly now a closed source product. So perhaps the revolution will not be open sourced? More on this as it develops...
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