Skip to main content

MakerBot unveils its new 3D printer, the Replicator



The folks at MakerBot Industries have not exactly been resting on their laurels since causing a stir at CES last year with the Thing-o-Matic 3D printer. Even though the original small object creation device would still see the jaws of most people dropping in wonder, the company has now unveiled a new model at CES 2012 called the Replicator that is not only capable of fabricating much bigger objects than its predecessor, but can also do so in two colors at the same time.
 


Rather than having some fabrication company on the other side of the world mass-produce millions of plastic shower curtain hooks, door knobs, or even chess pieces and then ship them to your local store for you to buy, desktop-friendly 3D printers like MakerBot's Thing-o-Matic allow users to create every day objects in the home, only when are were needed. Revolutionary!

Now, I'm no stranger to side-stepping the world of big commerce to get what I need. There was a time in my not-so-distant past when I used to spend my spare time pouring resin into floppy molds, wait a few hours for all the chess pieces to set and then smooth, polish or paint the finished objects until they were smart enough to give away as presents. By MakerBot standards, though, my efforts were positively prehistoric.



With the next generation of MakerBot 3D printer, users will be offered the chance to increase the print volume from objects about the size of a cupcake in the Thing-o-Matic up to roughly the same size as a loaf of bread in the Replicator - or something in the region of 9 x 6 x 6 inches (228.6 x 152.4 x 152.4 mm). The new device features an upgraded MK8 version of the MakerBot Stepstruder (that's the bit that actually transforms raw materials like ABS plastic or bio-degradable PLA into 3D objects) that prints at a speed of 40 mm (1.57-inches) per second. The company is also now making it possible to simultaneously print objects in two colors via dual extruder heads.

The new 12.6 x 18.4 x 15-inch (320 x 467 x 381 mm) Replicator weighs 30 pounds (13.6 kg) and now includes its own built-in, four line LCD panel and game-controller-like user interface to allow for computer-free operation. Object model designs can be loaded directly into the control pad via an SD card slot, or via USB connection to a Linux, Windows, or OS X computer.



Unlike its kit-based predecessor, the new beast is pre-assembled by hand by MakerBot's engineers in Brooklyn, New York and tested before being shipped out, making it ready for action as soon as it arrives.

The new Replicator is currently showing as available for pre-order. A single extruder unit and a 1 kg (2.2 pounds) spool of natural ABS plastic is priced at US$1,749, with a further US$250 securing the purchase of the model featuring MakerBot's dual extruder - or Dualstrusion - technology and two spools of plastic - one natural, one black.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Modular housing concept boasts 64 possible combinations

Italian Designer Gabriel Aramu has conceptualized a modular housing system that seems to offer endless possibilities. Dubbed "Sliding Hub," these prefabricated cubes join together to create a temporary housing solution for multiple situations. In the event that emergency shelters are required, the modules can be packed and transported to any destination. On arrival, the modules are easily joined together, with the flexibility to house individuals, small groups or large numbers without limitation. Each module incorporates an insulation system suitable for all kinds of weather conditions. In addition, the temporary accommodation units provide a comfortable standard of living, important to natural disaster victims. Constructed with steel reinforcements, numerous modules can be assembled together to create various sizes and shapes, whilst sliding them open creates large internal spaces. According to Aramu, the system can be configured 64 different ways, wh...
Post a Comment
Read more

How Lasers Can Preserve History

C leopatra’s Needle is an ancient Egyptian obelisk , but right now it looks like a construction project. Scaffolding snakes up the 69-foot spire as conservancy crews clear away 3500 years of soot and grime. Originally built in honor of Pharaoh Thutmose III, the obelisk has black streaks that mark its time spent buried near the Nile, its travel across the Atlantic, and near 130 years facing the pollution-filled elements in New York City. Now it’s getting a long overdue cleaning—using high-powered lasers. The Central Park Conservancy, the organization tasked with the upkeep of all monuments and works of art in Central Park, has had the needle’s cleaning on its to-do list since 2011. The Conservancy and personnel at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s photo studio began documenting the obelisk and assessing exactly what the monument needed. Soon conservators came in to test different types of cleaning techniques. “The typical ways of cleaning are using chemicals or micro-ab...
Post a Comment
Read more

If Tears Had Color

This is something that recently crossed my mind. If the reason we are crying would be connected to the color of our tears – what would it be? We all cry and not just for one reason, so how would it be if we could know the reason someone’s crying by the color of the tears? There is also a symbolic description of what each and every color presents, and it is proved that colors have influence of peoples feelings and emotions. There was an experiment on this – they put a man into the room with red walls (and everything else inside was red) and after a while when they let him out, he became noticeably more aggressive than he was before. And what do you think, why the hospital’s and other medical institution’s walls are green? It is said that the olive green color represents peace, which is especially needed in hospitals where everyone is sick and in panic for his/her own life and health. So, let’s go back to the subject, we know that our emotions as well as our tears are ...
Post a Comment
Read more