Today we’ll talk with Makerbot co-founder and CEO Bre Pettis about the world of 3D printing, and what it takes to start an open-source hardware company from the ground up.
We’ll be talking with Bre about:
- The history and idea of MakerBot
- The Thingiverse Revolution
- The very first MakerBot 3D print
- Can a robot make a pizza? How about a cheese sandwich?
The News:
Today, we bring you the history of Makerbot! It begins… NOW.
In 2005, the RepRap project began, funded by the University of Bath in the UK.
Support structures on 3D printed parts are often removed with chemical baths or in the case of Makerbot printers a water and soap bath.
In November 2008, the first 3D printed replication occurs outside the RepRap project. The world will never be the same.
January 2009. Makerbot Industries enters the scene co-founded in Brooklyn, New York by Adam Mayer, (founding RepRap member) Zach Smith and, our special guest Bre Pettis.
Bre continues one of his pursuits as a puppeteer, the ‘Three Piggy Opera’ being one of many performed in 2005.
5 years later, slices of a 3D printed Pig’s head were given to Master of Design graduates at the Design Academy in Eindhoven, Netherlands.
The same year, September 2010, Makerbot introduced the Thing-o-Matic, their second printer, with upgraded electronics, larger build area and an automated build platform.
The smallest build platform is on a 3D printer created by Klaus Stadlmann, measuring 20×30 mm, creating sculptures smaller than a human hair with lasers and a resin bath.
January 2012, Makerbot introduced for the first time, the Makerbot Replicator, with two-color printing and a massive build area.
Today, things are still heating up. People have been known to mod the Makerbot printers, using laser pointers to turn them into laser cutters.
