…and lurves it.

CNET’s Rich Brown has some nice things to say about The Replicator, “the most capable 3D printer for under $2,000.”

Yes, but it’s also fun.  And what did Rich use that Mr. Jaws clip for?!

Stay tuned for Rich’s full review of The Replicator, which is due out tomorrow.

There’s something so cool about Dualstrusion.

The winner of the Engineer vs. Designer iPhone design competition, aubenc, has just added a cool kind of mashup. Rather than mashing up two kinds of shapes, he alluded to two animals by adding a zebra pattern to his Paper Bird model.

Now who’s going to add a cheetah skin to cushwa’s Owl statue?

Zebra Paper Bird by aubenc

If you’re just tuning in, yesterday was a big day for the newly launched MakerBot Replicator!  The latest in open source 3D printing features the ability to use two print heads for two-color printing or printing with dissolving support material.  Not only does this printer feature the largest build area ever for a MakerBot, but best of all it ships to you fully assembled and ready for printing!  For more info check out these great posts!

• Engadget:  MakerBot Goes Big with Replicator 3D Printer
• Gizmodo:  MakerBot’s Replicator Prints Larger 3D Creations in Two Spectacular Colors
• CNET: MakerBot Replicator 3D Printer Beams In
• PCMag:  MakerBot to Debut Next-Gen 3D Printer at CES
• Boing Boing:  MakerBot Replicator New 3D Printer
• Hackaday:  Print Huge Stuff with the MakerBot Replicator
• Laughing Squid:  MakerBot Replicator – A New Larger 3D Printer From MakerBot Industries
• TheVerge:  MakerBot Replicator New Personal 3D Printer Debut
• Hacker News:  Two Color MakerBot Released!
• ReadWriteWeb:  What is a MakerBot and Why Does It Matter?
• The Designer Monologues:  Insurgent Creative – The MakerBot Replicator
• BetaBeat:  MakerBot Replicator – Bigger Better and now in Color

This week on MakerBot TV I’ll get you acquainted with some brand new colors and my brand new printing partner!!! We’ll also share the scoop on experimental dual extrusion and deliver some helpful tips for using the new Stepstruder® MK7, ReplicatorG 0026 and the firmware update v3.0.

Thanks to Ben Rockhold and Ethan Hartman for your help this week. As well as Alan Bjorklund, Goto80 and Latché Swing for the music.

Two Color World by m6mafia, ecohen, JonMonaghan, and Skimbal

With the launch of the brand spanking new MakerBot Stepstruder MK7 the citizens of Thingiverse have already started to upload designs that take advantage of the ability to print in two materials during the same build.  Whether it is printing in two-tones, such as the “Two Color World” above, or by using a dissolving support material like PVA, there’s no denying the coolness that is a dual extrusion build.

So, what would you do with a second extruder in your 3D printer? ¹  A single print chessboard?  A single print zebra?

Oh!  I know!  How about a gangsta that dissolves in water and leaves behind a slouching skeleton? ²³⁴  Or, how about a surprise box that you can only see inside once you dissolve the cube in water?

1. Thanks to Geo for spotting a typo here! [↩]
2. Skelesta? [↩]
3. Solusta? [↩]
4. Dissolvesta? [↩]

BetaSolution

If you’ve got a dual extruder in your 3D printer, you’re not far off from printing with support material.  A few months ago our friends at iFeelBeta published the details on their newly developed formula for a solution that would dissolve PLA and leave ABS intact.  As these chemicals are no joke, it’s no wonder that it’s taken several months for them to get the legal clearances to be able to ship this solution throughout Europe.  (It’s basically the equivalent of a heavy duty drain cleaner)  However, they now have BetaSolution up for sale on their website!

Once again, thanks to these guys for being amazing open source innovators and blazing this trail for everyone.  Now that they’ve launched their shop, be sure and buy the solution from them!

Also, be sure and read their safety data sheet and manual before using it!