MakerBot 3D Replicator Printer debuts at CES 2012 - Evanescence Brings Star Trek to Life

3D is now the new up and coming trend in Broadcasting in the US of A, with ComCast as the poster boy for the push towards IPTV Streaming a 3D HDTV as stated in my blog article entitled “FLOW goes 3D HDTV as Netflix cometh - XFinity follow-on indicates Streaming's Deep Impact” and the Geezam Blog article entitled “FLOW goes 3D HDTV et al – Netflix to make FLOW Extinct”.

                             

Even local Triple Play Provider FLOW has plans to go 3D HDTV, with their plans now being supported by a recent announcement of an additional US$30 billion in funding for the build-out of their Triple Play Network in the next five (5) years as stated in the article “Flow to invest another J$30b in five years”, published Friday February 3, 2012 by Steven Jackson, Business Reporter, The Jamaica Gleaner and in the article “Columbus Communications makes multibillion-dollar telecoms investment in the region”, published Friday, February 10, 2012, The Jamaica Observer

But a 3D Printer is something of a novelty in the Printing World, a world that is yet to make a standard Cloud Printer for Tablets as stated in my blog article entitled “Standardizing the Cloud Printer for Tablets and smartphones - Molly Wood rants about the broken Printer”.

That may soon change with the debut of MakerBot’s 3D Printer aptly named The Replicator at CES (Computer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas, Nevada this January 2012AD as stated in the article “MakerBot to Debut Next-Gen 3D Printer at CES”, published January 9, 2012 04:30pm EST By Tony Hoffman, PC Magazine and “MakerBot Replicator 3D Printer beams in”, published January 9, 2012 12:46 PM PST by Rich Brown, CNET News

Started in September 2010AD with only five (5) employees, their numbers have swelled to thirty (30) employees and a strong geek following of thousands of users, as evident from their fan website Thingyverse.

Their first model the $1,299 Thing-O-Matic has been a huge success as stated in the article “Hands-on with MakerBot’s Thing-O-Matic, a Printer for 3D objects”, published June 22, 2011 by Jeffrey Van Camp DigitalTrends. A DIY (Do-it-Yourself) Printer, upon ordering you’ve got project Printer that you can put together with tools you have at home.

Once up and running and connected to your PC via a USB Port, you use the material wire supplied. This material is heated to a molten state by the extruder and the 3D object is built up layer by layer. Much like a loaf of sliced bread is made up of layers, so too is the 3D construct that you build with the MakerBot Thing-O-Matic, one layer of hundreds or thousands at a time.

A geek culture kind of a phenomena, it takes a lot of dedication and planning to build you own 3D models files for the MakerBot Thing-O-Matic, so being a member of the Thingyverse where you can download and collect 3D Model files to try out on your MakerBot Printer is very helpful.

So it’s nice to see the gradual development of a 3D Open Source Printer from Start-up MakerBot. This latest model MakerBot 3D Printer called the Replicator costs US$1999 and can print, if you can still call it that in two (2) colours as stated in the article “MakerBot builds the future, layer by layer’, published January 12, 2012 7:12 PM PST by Eric Mack, CNET News

Interestingly enough, a lot of fans of MakerBot’s 3D Thing-O-Matic Printers also happen to be fans of Minecraft, which recently debut their LEGO Set as noted in my Geezam blog article entitled “Minecraft Apple iPhone and iPad making brick building Games Social”. Even the material used in the Printer which can be either ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), the plastic material that makes LEGO or PLA (Polylactide) is familiar to Minecraft fans!

Now that MakerBot has made another easier to use 3D Printer, aptly named the Replicator, does this mean the coming of 3D Printers in everyone’s homes? This as opined CNET Editor Rich Brown’s article “A 3D Printer in every garage? Not yet.”, published January 13, 2012 7:00 AM PST by Rich Brown, CNET News. Disclaimer: The author’s opinion expressed in his article may be biased due to the Fact that the MakerBot 3D Printer called the Replicator was awarded Best in show in the emerging Technology Category.

It may be more of a community-centric development akin to Minecraft, may develop with the increasingly strong fanbase that loves its tinker and likes its community, Open Source roots kinda feel. It may also have a special appeal to people who want to scan and replicate components in a manufacturing setting so as to breath life into their creations or share data.

A good example of the usefulness of a 3D Printer in a semi-industrial setting (actual a hospital) was the creation of a custom-built jawbone from sintering together layers of titanium powder as stated in the article “3D Printer produces new jaw for woman”, published February 6, 2012 12:59 PM PST by Martin LaMonica, CNET News. This Printer was made by a Belgian 3D Printer maker LayerWise.

To give you an idea of how time consuming yet precise 3D Printing is in replicating objects, Ruben Wauthle, LayerWise's Medical Applications Engineer explains the process in an interview with BBC, quote: “It used a laser beam to melt successive thin layers of titanium powder together to build the part. This was repeated with each cross section melted to the previous layer. It took 33 layers to build 1mm of height, so you can imagine there were many thousand layers necessary to build this jawbone.”

MakerBot’s 3D Printer the Replicator Brings 3D Creations to Life Evanessence Style and may herald the coming of 3D printing for both Commercial as well as Personal use as the popularity of the Thingyverse fan base continues to grow.