What is a MakerBot?

A MakerBot is an affordable, open source 3D printer. It's a machine that can make things. It's your own little factory!

Technical specs

What skills are needed to make a MakerBot?

There are two main skills need to put together a MakerBot. The first is assembly. It's a bolt together process that is really easy. The second is soldering. You'll need a soldering iron and some solder paste for the SMD soldering. SMD soldering sounds intimidating, but it's really easy. You just put solder paste on the pads and place the pieces and put the whole thing on a hot plate.

We're currently having electronics boards assembled and soldered so that the whole thing will basically be a bolt together process.

How long does it take to make?

Two people can make a MakerBot in a weekend.

How big of things can it make?

The build area is 100mm x 100mm and about 130mm tall.

How big is the desk footprint?

It's 240mm x 300mm and it stands 400mm tall. For the imperialists out there, that translates to 9.5" x 11.5" and 14.5". That's just the actual body size. The electronics stick out approximately 20mm on right side of it and the pullieys are on top and add about 20mm in height as well.

What is resolution?

It's accurate to .1mm which is roughly equivalent to 300 DPI and the extrusion width is .4mm.

What is the minimum wall thickness?

You can set this yourself. I usually set up my models to be two layers of plastic thick which is .8mm. For water-tight applications, I go a bit thicker.

Is it living room compatible? Will the neighbors complain?

MakerBots are absolutely living room compatible and they make the most lovely sweet gentle machine sounds. It's much quieter than a dremel and louder than a disk drive, you'll never hear a complaint from a neighbor.

Can it make parts for itself?

Yes! Right now we print 4 parts for each shipped MakerBot using a MakerBot. We're adding more with every batch and uploading them to Thingiverse so that if you've already got a MakerBot, you can print out replacement parts!

What kind of materials can you print with and what is the cost per pound of material?

We sell two kinds of plastic.

Our favorite right now is ABS plastic which is the same thing Lego is made out of. It's super strong, fuses really well to itself and looks great!

We used to sell HDPE which is the same thing that milk jugs are made out of. It's got some issues with warping on wide prints, but it has great low friction properties that make it perfect for some applications. MakerBot Industries has discontinued selling HDPE.

The latest addition to the store is polylactic acid (PLA). PLA is a plastic-like material made from corn. It's clear, resists warping during printing, and looks awesome.

You can buy the plastic for the MakerBot on the MakerBot store at [http://store.makerbot.com/plastic.html]

The cost is as follows

ABS natural - $45 for 5 pounds ($9 per pound)
ABS black - $65 for 5 pounds ($13 per pound)
ABS blue - $65 for 5 pounds ($13 per pound)
ABS yellow - $65 for 5 pounds ($13 per pound)
ABS green - $65 for 5 pounds ($13 per pound)
ABS red -$65 for 5 pounds ($13 per pound)

We have a few other extrudable options in development. We have a frostruder that extrudes frosting and the MK5 Extruder is now available.

I should say that 5 pounds of material goes a long way. We go through about 5 pounds a month and we print almost continuously! In an average of 10 objects found here at the HQ, each weighed 32 grams, giving you 70 objects per 5lb roll!

How long does it take to make something?

Build time depends on the size of the object and the infill settings. When I make a hollow dodecahedron (12 sided dice) that is about 25mm tall, it takes about 12 minutes to print.

When will it be cheaper?

Most 3D printers cost between $25,000 to $250,000. At $750 for the basic kit and $950 for the deluxe kit, we're really proud of how inexpensive our machine is! We're always on the lookout for ways to make it cheaper!

Can you recycle items made by a MakerBot?

I know HDPE is on the recycle list! It's a dream of ours to be able to take ABS and HDPE bottles and feed them into a contraption that makes it into 3mm filament to make things directly out of recycled materials and old things you've made that want to re-use.

How much maintenance is involved?

We tighten down the bolts every month or so. If we used a threadlocker, we wouldn't have to do that. Every once in a while we add some 3 in 1 oil to the rods. Besides keeping the bolts tight, some cleaning of the extruder helps keep things running smoothly.

What can't a MakerBot do?

Right now overhangs that are more than 45 degrees are a bit challenging. We're working on support material and there is code for buttressing but those are both stopgaps until we add a second extruder head that can print support material. The extruder electronics are set up to support multiple extruder heads and are therefore future compatible!

How smooth are circles and diagonals?

Wonderfully smooth! Overhangs more than 45 degrees require integrating support into the design.

What is your minimum hardware requirement to run the Software and printer?

At least 1gb of RAM is required and at least and one USB Port.

Is the software compatible with PC, Linux, and Macs?

Yes! Here's a walkthrough of how to print [http://wiki.makerbot.com/how-to-print] Our supported platforms include Mac OS 10.5 or later, Windows, and Linux 2.6 or later. Since ReplicatorG (replicat.org) is open source, please download it and test it on your OS!

What's the design process like?

It all starts with an STL file which you can make in a number of 3D modelling applications. We like Blender, Sketchup, and Art of Illusion because they are either open source or free.

Once you've got the STL file, you slice it up in skeinforge and then import the resulting G-Code into ReplicatorG which sends the instructions to the MakerBot. Once I finish my model, it's usually a 10 minute process for me to scale it and slice it. Then it's printing time!

When will MakerBot be able to use a second extruder?

We set the extruder controller board up to be future compatible with a second and even third extruder. We're working on this! We want to have a support material!

Can the Cupcake CNC create larger objects?

We're working on increasing the build envelope in future versions of the Cupcake CNC. Until then, if you're feeling adventurous, you can try to design a variant with a larger build area— that's what open source is all about. If you're working on such a design, take a look at our Plus-sized Cupcakes page.

Is there a place where I can download models to print out?

Yes! We created Thingiverse for people to share digital designs. Check out all the models tagged with "MakerBot" here: [http://www.thingiverse.com/tag:makerbot]

What community resources are available?

There is a MakerBot operator list, a digital designer list, a forum, a wiki, a flickr pool, twitter, and a blog!

MakerBot Operator List: http://groups.google.com/group/makerbot
Digital designer List: http://groups.google.com/group/thingiverse
MakerBot Forums: [http://wiki.makerbot.com/forum:start]
MakerBot Wiki: [http://wiki.makerbot.com
Flickr pool:[http://www.flickr.com/groups/makerbot/]
MakerBot Twitter: [http://twitter.com/makerbot]
MakerBot Blog: [http://blog.makerbot.com]
Thingiverse Blog: [http://blog.thingiverse.com]

OK! Enough already, I want to buy one. What do I do?

Go to the store and get one! If you've got all the tools and an ATX computer power supply, get the basic kit. If you need tools, get the deluxe kit! Here's the link to the cupcake CNC page: [http://store.makerbot.com/cupcake-cnc.html]

How do I pay for my order?

We prefer payment by credit card. We also accept paypal, wire transfer and checks. All checks must be drawn on a U.S. bank.

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