Inventor's Blueprint Blog

That’s how I felt today when my new MakerBot Replicator showed up on my door this morning.  Only though an act of iron will have I been able to work an entire hour and 17 minutes today, and I’m about to call it quits…  When you get access to a toy this cool you just have to give into it.

The MakerBot Replicator is a 3D printer with some amazing capabilities: Huge print area- about as big as a loaf of bread, 2 color printing- two print heads, and multi-material capabilities.  Here’s a link to a quick 3 minute video from the Maker himself:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euZivv8ySyA&feature=relmfu

I’ve been prototyping 3D designs for years and still get plenty of use on my 4-axis CNC Mill, but each tool has it’s use.  The biggest challenge of the CNC is spending the time setting up each cut of each model.  Plus because you’re starting with a big piece of material and cutting away everything that’s not your part, there are limitations.  Have an undercut?  Now you have a headache too…

I’ll keep you posted on how I use this tool to speed up prototyping and free my design constraints as I create new inventions and show others how to invent.