In the new year 2014, MakerBot has stepped up with a new, fifth generation of 3D printers. The changes also affected the company's website. But if the site’s design tweaks are highly questionable, then the proposed 3D printer models are quite interesting. Stylish design, new features and improvements - let's see what innovations MakerBot offers.

MakerBot Replicator

Let's start the review with the new MakerBot Replicator printer. Shipment of these printers to customers starts in February of this year.


The printer is a development of the famous flagship Replicator 2. It is noticeable that its dimensions have become larger and the weight is heavier. Increased and print volume. The changes affected not only the design - for example, the printer uses a new ARM9 processor. This accelerated the processing of the model and the printing itself. Announced support for cloud service - now you can connect to libraries from anywhere in the world (of course, where there is Internet).
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The most fundamental innovation is the smart extruder of a new generation. Structurally, completely redesigned, quick-detachable (shown in the photo in the disconnected state). This implementation allows you to quickly disconnect it for cleaning, repair or replacement. In addition, the extruder suspends printing when the plastic in the spool ends. And can send messages about events in the application.



The control panel has acquired a color LCD display and a knob. Rotate the knob to navigate through the menu. And by clicking on it - activate the item or start the printing process (depending on the selected item).


Thanks to the graphic LCD, printer calibration has been simplified. During the calibration process, prompts appear on the display, so it has become faster and more accurate.

Another nice feature was the built-in camera. With its help, you can monitor the printing process, issue commands from a mobile application. The camera is placed at the top of the right A-pillar, so the entire printed volume is clearly visible from the picture. It is convenient for both remote stop printing in case of a printer failure, and for photographing the result of work.



MakerBot Mobile, a special free mobile app, serves as a tool for remote monitoring and control. It is still in development, so the details are still unknown. I hope it will not only be under iOS.



Support for SD cards was removed, but it became possible to connect a USB flash drive to the printer and print models directly from it. In addition to the standard USB interface, the printer additionally supports Ethernet and Wi-Fi.

As the material for printing remained the same PLA. The company explains this by saying that "it shows the best printing results and is available in large color options." The changes also affected the placement of the thread spool - now it is located in a sliding compartment combined with the rear wall. Because of this, the coil form factor has changed with PLA, and although there is not a word about this on the site yet - the FAQ mentions that there is no compatibility with old coils.

MakerBot Mini

MakerBot Mini Printer. This is a reduced and cheaper version of the base model.



Its purpose is rapid prototyping of small details. Therefore, it only has the minimum required - there is no color LCD (there is only one control button on the printer), there is no Ethernet and USB flash drives, the print volume is reduced by almost two times and the minimum layer thickness is only 0.2 mm.

On sale should go in the spring of 2014. But pre-order is available on the site now.

MakerBot Z18

MakerBot Z18 Printer. A giant among the Lilliputians.



Apparently, the company went to meet those wishing to print large parts. The maximum print volume is 30 x 30 x 45 cm! True, the price of this printer is not democratic at all.

Like the Mini, will be on sale this spring.

The main characteristics of printers, for convenience, are summarized in the table:

	Replicator	Replicator Mini	Replicator Z18	Replicator 2	Replicator 2x
Price, $	2899	1375	6499	2199	2799
Print volume, cm	25.2 x 19.9 x 15.0	10.0 x 10.0 x 12.5	30.0 x 30.0 x 45.7	28.5 x 15.3 x 15.5	25.0 x 16.0 x 15.0
Plastic type	PLA	PLA	PLA	PLA	PLA + ABS
Dimensions, cm	53 x 44 x 41	?	?	49 x 32 x 38	49 x 32 x 53
Weight, kg	sixteen	?	?	11.5	12.6
Layer thickness	0.1 mm	0.2 mm	0.1 mm	0.1 mm	0.1 mm
Sd card	-	-	-	+	+
Usb cable	+	+	+	+	+
USB stick	+	-	+	-	-
Ethernet	+	-	+	-	-
Wi-Fi	+	+	+	-	-
Video camera	+	+	+	-	-