
MakerBot ($750 3D Printer) is a million dollar plus startup - replicatorblog
http://replicatorinc.com/blog/2010/01/makerbot-math/
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fragmede
In a program that has since ended, MakerBot has also pioneered crowd-sourced
manufacturing. If you had some way of making the pulleys they needed, be it on
a MakerBot or otherwise, they would pay you $2 per pulley. They would, in
turn, sell those pulleys in the MakerBot kits they sold.

([http://blog.makerbot.com/2009/08/06/makerbot-is-
pioneering-d...](http://blog.makerbot.com/2009/08/06/makerbot-is-pioneering-
distributed-manufacturing-get-paid-to-make-parts-for-future-makerbots/))

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dutchflyboy
Just in case some people are interested in doing this as a DIY project, it's
based on the RepRap (<http://www.reprap.org/>).

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steveklabnik
You can also do the makerbot yourself, as it's also fully open source.

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nirmal
My favorite thing about these printers is the ability to print replacement
parts for parts that you know will wear out first.
<http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1553> Hardware bugs that can be solved by
emailing a model file. :)

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alastair
Sounds like the eventual goal of the Reprap project. "RepRap is short for
Replicating Rapid-prototyper. It is the practical self-copying 3D printer" -
See <http://reprap.org/> for more info.

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mbrubeck
That's not surprising, since MakerBot founder Zach Smith is a RepRap
contributor and also runs the RepRap Research Foundation
(<http://www.rrrf.org/>). MakerBot's fabricators are based on RepRap designs
and software, and they also sell RepRap parts in their store.

The two projects still contribute code and ideas to each other, for example:
[http://blog.reprap.org/2009/08/one-of-my-partners-at-
makerbo...](http://blog.reprap.org/2009/08/one-of-my-partners-at-makerbo..).

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coderdude
The video on the homepage showed the finished product. It's a set of salt and
pepper shakers shaped like eggs. You can plainly see that it's built layer by
layer. I think MakerBot is really cool, but it fails to please the eye with
rounded surfaces.

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iamwil
That'll change eventually.

Web apps had clunkier interfaces than desktop software ~10 years ago. Personal
computers had less computing power than mainframes 20 years ago. They all had
their disadvantages at first, but they make up for it by advantages along
other dimensions while slowly eroding their disadvantage.

When something like that becomes cheap enough for kids and hobbyists to get
their hands on it, you should keep your eye on it.

~~~
replicatorblog
The only thing I would challenge is the comparison to the speed of development
in computer hardware/web apps. PC's have been a multi-billion dollar business
with hundreds of million in investment since the Apple II. 3D printers are
still a niche r&D tool 20 years after their invention. For instance 3D
systems, the #2 player in the market only spent $8MM on R&D last year.
Assuming the 4 majors did the same it is still under $40MM. More has been
spent on real time web R&D this year.

That said, I hope the pace increases.

~~~
steveklabnik
To be fair, in an industry that's as encumbered by patents as this one is, you
can't expect things to innovate that quickly. There _are_ some innovations
coming down the pipeline, however. Expect to see costs fall rapidly in the
near future, making the tech even more accessible...

There's even business method patents on half of this.

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ax0n
I'm a member of CCCKC, a hackerspace in Kansas City. We picked up one of these
a while ago, and one guy is even using it to print out parts for a RepRap
Mendel.

I find it inspiring that this project was born right out of the hackerspace
concept via NYC Resistor.

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icey
I wonder what their profit margin is per unit.

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ax0n
My guess is probably around $100-150 per unit, and I'd also guess that the
main part of the profit is in the laser-cut parts, at $200. Now, they take
quite a bit of time to cut, and laser cutters aren't cheap, but look at the
numbers. That's a lot of profit.

My hackerspace mix-and-matched a whole bunch of stuff from makerbot industries
because one of our members had a laser cutter and could make those in his
basement. The MakerBot "Laserless kit" is modeled after the order we put in.

We compared a lot of part prices to those found in catalogs, and the price
difference was so negligible that it would have been more of a pain in the
butt than anything to buy all those parts (hardware, motors, microcontrollers,
pulleys, bearings, belts and the like) from catalogs. Sure, they order in bulk
and get a discount. There's profit being made on the small stuff, but I'm
still betting the laser cut parts are the cash cow for them.

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steveklabnik
Actually, compared to 3D printers themselves... laser cutters are pretty
cheap.

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ax0n
Not $750 cheap.

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st3fan
Ours was cheaper :-)

(Ok ok it was a dead one from craig's list that we fixed)

<http://www.andrewkilpatrick.org/blog/?page_id=914>

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ax0n
I knew you guys had a laser cutter at hacklab, but I'd never heard the back
story. Thanks! That was a great read!

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fragmede
Does anyone know what next cheapest 3D printer is, after the Reprap and
Cupcake? I imagine in the 5-figure range, so at $750 and quite a bit of self-
assembly, the Cupcake is an absolute steal - and very much affordable for
schools, or even an individual, creating a new market where there was none
before.

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steveklabnik
If you're really on a budget, you might also want to consider leasing. You can
get them as cheap as $300/month, roughly.

5 figures is right, but low five figures. A uPrint starts at $14,500. However,
for really low cost stuff, check out a company called M-Cor. They're not
available here yet, but coming soon. They print with regular A2 printer paper
and glue, and you end up with a material that's comparable to wood. If I
remember right, the machine is $30k, but you're talking a dollar or two per
part.

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torpor
Here at the Metalab in Vienna, Austria, there is quite a MakerBot clique doing
very interesting things .. OpenSCAD integration with MakerBot is also very
intriguing, in that OpenSCAD gives you a platform to design things on the
basis of formula, and then quickly print it out .. so the screw-lock boxs and
other mathematically integrated devices are all the rage around these parts,
lately. Good for stash-boxes! :)

It has been very fun to see the MakerBot rise in Metalab, from the mad-cap
getting-ready-for Roboexotica days to the 'hmm, if I make one small tweak this
will become that' enthusiasm to be had in Metalab late on a Friday night ..

Best use of a Makerbot/RepRap yet: printing replacement parts for Nintendo
Game & Watch battery covers! :P

