MakerBot Industries

Here we are at our warehouse putting kits together. (Normative and Muxtape share their space with us.) We’re on track to have all the parts in boxes to ship this Wednesday. We’ve had a few challenges, like the metal rod cutting saw we ordered hasn’t shown up, but that just means that we’re going to get another tool locally to do the job or just wear our shoulders off using a hacksaw to make 100′s of cuts in M8 threaded and smooth rod. Stuff like that.

I’m feeling a bit reflective. Here are some of the memories from the past 3 months.

* Pulling together as a team and starting a business.
* Getting the actual business license.
* Deciding to make our own machine inspired by RepRap research, but being totally build-able from a kit, thus cutting the hassle out of the material sourcing process.
* Obtaining a bank account and having the bank manager go get the boss at the bank who just looked at us incredulously. “Really? You’re starting a robot company in NYC?”
* Getting funding from three excellent people, Jake Lodwick and the wonderful couple, Christine and Adrian Bowyer.
* Hiring Ryan Destroys, employee #1.
* Not sleeping for 3 nights in one week while finishing the first prototype. We put it in a box about an hour and a half before sending it on a plane to SXSW and having the robot work perfectly for a solid 3 days.
* Finishing the second prototype, feeling like it was the final prototype…
* Finishing the third prototype and knowing it was the final prototype and the prototype process was over.
* Getting awesome press! (Thank you internet and media and friends!)
* Running our laser-cutter for days on end.
* Figuring out what we wanted and then sourcing the materials from all over the place.
* Endless Daft Punk and Bass Drive.
* Watching people on Thingiverse become friends, share digital designs, and be awesome.
* Packing up the kits and counting a lot. We really need to figure out how many pieces are in this kit. I’m guessing something like 3000.

I can’t wait to post a picture of all the kits at the door ready to be picked up by the postal service!