*It's a pretty tight scene over in "homemade-fab land" – everybody knows everybody.
Shapeways interviews Bre Pettis (on the right), the Maker in Chief over at Makerbot Industries. Makerbot Industries makes an affordable desktop 3D printer and we and a lot of other people are very excited about them and their Cupcake CNC. We asked Bre about the future of Makerbot Industries and desktop 3D printing.
Joris Peels: What's a Makerbot?
Bre Pettis: A MakerBot is an affordable, open source 3D printer. (((guys with really punchy elevator pitches are always impressive)))
Joris Peels: And a Cupcake is a Makerbot?
Bre Pettis: Yes, the Cupcake is our flagship personal fabrication device! It makes things that are a little bigger than a cupcake!
Joris Peels: Who is the team behind Makerbot Industries?
Bre Pettis: Adam (Adam Mayer) has his head in the software, Zach has his hands on production, I'm making waves and we all start prototyping at 6pm when we stop answering emails, packing boxes and taking care of business.
What was the first thing you 3D printed?
A shot glass. Promptly filled with a deadly Scandinavian concoction. (((I hope somebody tested that recently-solidified plastic on lab animals)))
Your favorite thing so far?
Everyday I wake up and check out what's new on Thingiverse and I'm never let down. Lately there has been a trend to make tools to do other things with a MakerBot like the MicroLathe. When folks are using the tools we design to make other tools to make other things it gets me excited. We make things that make things that people use to make things that make other things that make things. Try saying that 3 times fast.
Who came up with the idea for Makerbot Industries?
Zach (Smith aka Hoeken) had been obsessed with 3D printing for a while and infected us with the personal manufacturing bug. Making things that make things is fun so it's contagious.
How long did it take you guys to get the company going, to get the first bots out the door?
We started on Jan 17. Had the prototype done by Mar 17, and then had the first batch of MakerBots out the door on April 17th. There wasn't a lot of sleep in those months. We actually ate 2 cases of ramen in those months so we wouldn't have to go out and eat. That was a bad idea. Don't do that, it's not healthy.
What are the differences between a Cupcake and a RepRap (Open source 3D printer project)?
The main difference between a MakerBot Cupcake CNC and a Reprap is how much time it takes to make one. The Reprap project is an academic research project and it can take a few months to gather the materials and then put a reprap together and then a lot of experimentation to get it to print. The MakerBot CupCake CNC is a kit and can be printing things out after a weekend of assembly with a friend.
Are you really going to try to tackle 3D scanning too?
Yes. Having a MakerBot 3D printer and MakerBot scanner is the washer/dryer combo of replication. Who doesn't want to print out portrait sculptures of their family and friends?...
(((Really some exceptionally funny geek-head-trip humor here:)))
What is a typical Makerbot customer like?
A lot of our customers are time traveling antique hunters which brings up all sorts of shipping problems. Most people think that all MakerBot customers are seriously geeky, but the truth is that even though lots of designers and architects and engineers buy them, most of our customers are just clever people who are sick of waiting on other people for their jetpack.
