A couple of comments have come in through the blog, our twitter, and our Facebook channels to the same effect: does MakerBot still sell the Thing-O-Matic?

Let’s clear this up!

Kits

Since The Replicator launched in January, we have continued to ship Thing-O-Matic kits. We are, however, now completely out of stock of the Thing-O-Matics. We will no longer be offering the Thing-O-Matic for sale.

Support

For those who already own Thing-O-Matics, we absolutely plan to continue our support efforts for the foreseeable future. Please feel free to contact Support at the email address below with your needs.

If you’d like to get some insights from other community members, check out the forums on Support pages, or for the more advance user, dig into the MakerBot Operators Google Group.

Parts

We do still have several relevant replacement parts in stock that you may be interested in. If there’s something that you need, and you don’t see it on the store, drop us an email to[email protected].  We’ll do our best to find what you need to get you up and running.

Feedback From You

No matter what MakerBot 3D printer you are using, we value your input and participation on this blog and in all community outlets. Got a question about an event? Want to chime in with an idea for a blog post? Feel free to drop a line to [email protected].

We have just opened up a few more seats for our awesome free class on “How to MakerBot” taught by MakerBot educator-guru Liz Arum at Tekserve starting this month. This class has been frequently requested by the MakerBot community and we are thrilled to get a chance to give this a try.

Attendees are required to RSVP here and should bring a laptop and external 3-button mouse to the first session on April 19th. Those who show up to the first meeting will have priority to sign up for the following two sessions. April 26th, and May 8th.

MakerBots are part of an evolving modern world of technology that allow people of all ages and skill levels to become producers, inventors and artists. This personal fabrication tool allows you to efficiently and inexpensively take your digital designs into the real world. Because you can hold the objects that you designed in your hand, you will be able to easily understand the strengths and limitations of your work. This process of physical feedback will allow you to incorporate the fixes right back into your design documents, letting you participate in an iterative engineering design process at an accelerated rate. This class will introduce you to 3D printing with the MakerBot Replicator. Create 3D computer models, prepare them for printing, print them out in plastic, and get an overview of the various free 3D modelling software tools that are available online.

No prior knowledge of 3D modeling, programming, or 3D printing is required. Use the class time to create, design, invent, and prototype. Then imagine what you would have done if you had a personal 3D printer at age 11.

Tekserve – Seminar Room
119 W 23rd Street
NY, NY 10011
212-929-3645

Click here to RSVP.

Thursday, April 19th, 6:30pm – 8pm
Thursday, April 26th, 6:30pm – 8pm
Tuesday, May 8th, 6:30pm – 8pm

Laptop and 3-button extra mouse required.

From Killian Bell at Cult of Mac:

Apple has filed for all sorts of patents related to 3D technologies over the years, sparking speculation that the company will one day bring us 3D-capable Macs and iOS devices. But evidence that it’s about to get serious about 3D technology for iOS devices comes from a recent job listing on its website for a “Computer Vision specialist to strengthen its multi-view stereo research group.”

Killian cautions that it’s not like we’re going to be seeing glasses-free 3D games on the iPhone 5, but gaming is not where my head went. I immediately thought of 3D modeling on a screen.

In The Hunger Games movie, the Gamemakers build and alter the world where the Games are played in virtual 3D. This picture isn’t the best, but you can see some of them manipulating towers and landscapes in real time — all standard sci-fi fare, but how cool would it be to Tinkercad with a 3D interface on your tablet? Even if you couldn’t manipulate the structure with your hands (let’s call that mano-manipulation), seeing it in 3D before you print would be a remarkable improvement, no?

A tweet:

You’re not wrong, @Matt_Dexter, our Productors are fairly wizardly. But luckily they share their secrets!

One of our videos has the answer for perfectly applying your kapton tape. Watch from the 0:35 mark. With a little practice and patience, yours too will be smooth as a baby’s build platform.