MakerBot Thing-O-Matics: Where We Are Now
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].
| Tagged with | Cupcake CNC, help, Support, thing-o-matic, tips | 16 comments |
16 Comments so far
Han Dao
Will you come up with a replacement for the thing-o-matic? The replicator is quite expensive. I am afraid that I will never buy a 3D printer from makerbot industries and instead drool at the possibility of owning one.
Martin Isak Jansen
Does this mean that the replicator will be available as a kit since the thing-o-matic is no longer? I must say I do hope so
Thaed
Should I upgrade my two ToMs to the new extruder or try to sell them as collector’s items and buy a replicator?
Andrew
@Martin, to answer your question, The Replicator is so much easier to assemble that it costs us less money (and hence costs our customers less!) to send it assembled rather than as a kit.
Moceri
@Han Dao, if you want a ToM, there are some people that would be willing to sell. Check eBay and such. Also The beauty of open source is that you may build one yourself. The plans and schematics are out there for anybody to make their own on Thingiverse.com. You can still get most of the necessary parts to build a ToM, except the structural wood, from MBI. Then just source all the other listed parts not available form MBI store from McMaster and Built-to-Spec. Or go to your local hackerspace or user group for assistance. Also Andrew is right about the cost. A fully assembled ToM went for $2,500 because of man power used to build it.
@Thaed, Just order the MK8 nozzle and replace the MK7 nozzle with it. Unless you have pre-mk7 extruders, then I say it’s worth the upgrade. But if you are getting good results and such with your current setup, then maybe wait. MBI will always have interchangeable parts/upgrades.
tonyv
I hope you will release the Replicator as a kit. The reason I picked a Makerbot TOM was BECAUSE it was a kit. I will never buy a pre-built 3D printer.
tonyv
Oh, I just read Andrew’s comment above! This makes me so sad.
I have just lost any interest I have in Makerbot as a company, and am deleting my favorites link. I will also stop recommending the company to fellow maker-friends.
Please let me know if you are ever go back in the kit business.
Moceri
@tonyv, Please read my comment to Han Dao. I’m not sure how long you have been following MBI, but if you really want an unassembled kit you should read this post from the google group:
http://groups.google.com/group/makerbot/browse_thread/thread/cc4580d24faf4614/33498d9249bd0169?lnk=gst&q=far+mckon+unassembled#33498d9249bd0169
Read the entire thread or surf the group to catch up to speed.
Martin Isak Jansen
@Andrew That is interesting, and I do see your point. I don’t think anyone would pay _more_ to have a non-assablied version sent to them. But as some parts can be sourced/cut locally, what would it take to get the rest as a kit/parts from makerbot? I suppose that would be cheaper (and more fun
?
Han Dao
I still don’t understand why each new iteration of 3D printer is more expensive than the last.’
I understand the expansion of 3D printing capability, but I would have think that MKI built something for a hobbyist that balk at the 1000 dollars range.
To me, it looks like the replicator is the successor to the thing-o-matic, rather than simply a higher tier printer. To me, just being able to print and experiment with 3D printing is good enough.
Acshi
I think for many people the problem is that there is no longer anything in the original price range of the Thing-O-Matic Kit, which is a real pity, since it raises the barrier that MakerBot was originally trying to lower.
Mark
How long do you think you’ll keep the Gen 4 electronics alive? I’m working on a project that might use them, and I want to know how long I’ll be able to order the electronics. If I remember correctly, you discontinued the generation 3 electronics right after the Cupcake was…iced.
Ethan
@Mark – not 100% sure exactly how long we’ll have them, but I’d guess we’ll have stock on the store for 6 months to a year. At some point, we may need to reserve them for Thing-O-Matic repairs only, but by then we should have an alternative for hobbyists who are building projects with our electronics.
Kent
Will there be an automated build platform for the Replicator in the future? Could it be retrofitted to one if I bought the existing design now? Are any hobbyists working independently on a scratch-build design I could possibly emulate?
Howard Smith
‘Makers’ and the ‘maker culture’ want parts, and kits, and extension kits, and the flexibility to make the 3D Printer of their dreams. They want to make things! Plugging a new real of plastic into the very same machine that everyone else owns is not the same thing at all. Not at all.
http://3dprintingreviews.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/is-it-wise-for-makerbot-to-move-out-of.html
Jake
Hello I would like to purchase the replicator as a kit….. the whole reason that I was planning on purchasing from you was for the fun of building it. I was finally going to purchase a thing-o-matic but then I realised it was discontinued. I am actually saddened by this……. Can you please do a replicator kit…… just for me! or for the whole world? you’ve seriously taken all the fun out of the whole process plus its more expensive I was willing to pay for the fun but $2000 for an assembled replicator? I will pay $1000 for a kit!