MakerBot® Digitizer™ Desktop 3D Scanner (picture by Spencer Higgins)
Creativity at your fingertips – a phrase that has been become a cliché of sorts and one most appropriate in a world governed by technology and high demand.
The real question is: how do we harness this demand, creativity and valued technology generation? We could sit back and wait for the next recycled mobile phone or tablet that doesn’t quite meet our expectations, perhaps place a hash tag somewhere…or maybe we could rather use our imagination and start creating, manufacturing and inspiring the world around us.
This ideology is now a possibility with a simple idea and the smart thinking fostered by the creative manufacturing and functionality in world of MakerBot®!
In 2009 the MakerBot magic began taking a 20 year industry of 3D printing and making it more accessible to the world. Under the leadership of Bre Pettis, MakerBot has created a 3D printer product range that allows individuals to imagine, implement and create within the proximity of their desk. From inventions, business ideas, engineering components, jewellery and even toys, MakerBot Desktop 3D Printers (and now scanners) have helped individuals and industries bring their creative concepts to life.
Bre Pettis & the MakerBot® Replicator® 2 Desktop 3D Printer
With an unlimited reach that stretches the imagination along with unrestricted commercialisation – the manufacturing potential of MakerBot products means individuals are able to sell off their created products effectively. This is made possible by a community sharing tool that enables MakerBot users to interact with each other and share digital designs and files – a set up known as Thingiverse!
“From households, professionals, entrepreneurs and industries, MakerBot has brought about a faster approach for setups to launch into a market. The accessibility and simple creation process has been highlighted by companies like NASA and Lockheed Martin promoting their use of MakerBot’s 3D printers for their projects and missions,” says Jenifer Howard - Director of PR for MakerBot.
Jenifer further expresses the human nature of MakerBot with the story of South African Richard Van As based in Johannesburg and the Seattle-based Ivan Owen who invented the Robohand. “Richard had lost four fingers in an accident, and together with Ivan, created a functional mechanical hand which has now spawned into creating other Robohand’s for people with similar disabilities.”
Robohand
Events like these and its swift growth proves that perhaps we have only scratched the surface of this industry as well as the potential of MakerBot. Setup in Brooklyn, New York, the history of MakerBot is short but extremely successful, with everything to risk as a fledging start-up with three employees, the company has rocketed to an American success story with more than 320 full time employees today.
Significant because, 2009 was a crucial point of the global recession and through it MakerBot achieved growth, providing an example of a solution to the financial crisis. The company is still growing at a rapid pace and continues to hire. “We are on the lookout for talent from all industry sectors, from designers, engineers, and sales executives; as the business grows, so does our needs to hire the right people,” says Jenifer.
MakerBot Replicator 2X
There is a science behind MakerBot’s product range, and yes some of the materials used for them originate from…wait for it … corn! MakerBot PLA Filament, used in its popular MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer, is a versatile plastic filament that is a bioplastic made from corn starch. But that just keeps within the imaginational charm of the 3D industry and after two decades of being away from the masses, MakerBot is now bringing 3D printing home – to the world as we know it.
About: Find out more about MakerBot here or connect @makerbot. For details on careers at MakerBot visit their careers page - makerbot.com/careers.
