MakerBot Mobile True Remote Printing and Monitoring

MakerBot Mobile is one of the exciting innovations that MakerBot brought to its MakerBot Replicator 3D Printing Platform in 2014 and is planned to be expanded in 2015 to include true remote 3D printing and monitoring, expected to be available in the first quarter of 2015. With MakerBot Mobile on an iPhone or Android device (new for Android expected in 2015), owners of fifth-generation MakerBot Replicator 3D Printers will be able to take advantage of true remote printing and monitoring via a mobile device, at anytime, from anywhere, if on a cell or Wi-Fi network or Internet connection. MakerBot Mobile enables the user to have the ability to preview digital files before 3D printing, to prepare files for 3D printing, including placing multiple items on a build plate, and then allows you to start a 3D print and monitor its progress, all from a mobile device. This exciting application takes 3D printing to a whole new level. You can start and monitor 3D printing on a MakerBot Replicator 3D Printer without being in the same room as the printer; you could even do it from across the country. True remote printing and monitoring functionality are expected to be live in early 2015. To learn more about remote printing and monitoring via MakerBot Mobile, visit makerbot.com/mobile.

MakerBot Thingiverse Partnerships

MakerBot and The Foundry, with its innovative software MODO 801 that is used by animation studios, game developers and the movie special effects industry, have partnered to bring together two industry leaders to revolutionize the 3D printing workflow. Launching at CES 2015 is the MakerBot Kit for MODO, the first-ever 3D app integrated into MakerBot’s Cloud Library and MakerBot Thingiverse.com to provide access to MODO 801’s easy-to-use content creation package that offers fully integrated modeling, sculpting, painting, special effects and animation tools. Through the MakerBot Cloud Library, users can manage their personal designs and create 3D printable files right from MODO 801. Those models can then be shared, collected and organized through Thingiverse.com. With the MakerBot Kit for MODO, users will be able to load and save .thing files; authenticate MakerBot accounts from inside MODO; explore Thingiverse and download free objects and files; update or delete objects on Thingiverse and the MakerBot Cloud Library from within MODO; generate photorealistic renderings of objects and upload cover images for items directly to Thingiverse and/or the MakerBot Cloud Library from inside MODO; and upload and store MODO files (.lxo) on Thingiverse and/or the MakerBot Cloud Library for improved editing and easy sharing with other MakerBot users. To learn more about the MakerBot Kit for MODO, visit thefoundry.co.uk/products/modo/kits/makerbot.

MakerBot Thingiverse and GE FirstBuild teamed up and encouraged engineering and 3D printing enthusiasts to “hack” their refrigerator to come up with 3D printed design solutions that have the potential to become new accessories for the FirstBuild ChillHub, a first-of-its-kind GE refrigerator that is “as smart as you.” The contest, dubbed the Icebox Challenge, inspired ideas ranging from purely 3D printed pieces to battery-operated electromechanical devices. MakerBot and GE FirstBuild are excited to announce the winners and showcase the winning designs at the MakerBot booth at CES.

• First prize goes to the Odor Eating HotSpot by Kurt Hamel of Providence, Rhode Island, a marine mechanical engineer who created the winning entry with inspiration from his wife, who guided his original idea of combining power and data toward tackling a common issue: the use of a box of baking soda to keep the refrigerator smelling fresh.
• Second prize goes to the Rad Reindeer by Sebastian Kerner of Wismar, Germany, a mechanical engineer who is currently enrolled as an industrial design student. His Rad Reindeer bottle holder was inspired by his life as a student. His refrigerator was often filled with fast food and countless bottles and cans that would roll around.
• Third prize goes to the Butter Pig by Steve Weber of Indianapolis, Indiana, a software developer in the automotive industry. The inspiration for his design came when he was cooking dinner and kept needing another pat of butter. He would intermittently slice the butter, then put it back in the refrigerator, and then cut it again, each time dirtying a knife. His idea was to make a simple butter cutter with a guillotine on one end, but he needed a way to push the butter toward the cutting mechanism, so he came up with the corkscrew idea.

The first-prize winner receives a MakerBot Replicator Desktop 3D Printer and has the potential to have his item featured as one of the accessories that GE offers the FirstBuild ChillHub smart refrigerator, also being launched at CES 2015. To learn more about the MakerBot Thingiverse and GE FirstBuild Icebox Challenge, visit Thingiverse.com.