Everyone loves a good list and Time magazine recently put one out for the ages. A team of business and tech editors, writers, and reporters took on the steep task of naming “The 50 Most Influential Gadgets of All Time”. They sought to find “the tech that forever changed the way we live, work, and play.”
Of all the big name brands and blockbuster products mentioned, the MakerBot Replicator 2 was the only 3D printer selected. Our product was featured next to tech icons and game-changers like the Apple iPhone, the JVC VideoMovie Camcorder, the Amazon Kindle, and the Regency TR-1 Transistor Radio. As the forty-ninth pick, the Replicator 2 was chosen as the model that made 3D printing “widely accessible for the first time, thanks to its sub-$2,000 price tag”.
Like many of the products on the list, the Replicator 2 wasn’t the first of its kind or the most advanced; it was the model that shifted the experience of what 3D printing could be. It made 3D printing “a fixture in many American classrooms” and captivated millions as an amazing technology with a big future. It made the experience of transforming inspiration to innovation very real.
For us, reliability and ease-of-use are the core of that experience. And that core is very much alive today with our MakerBot Replicator 5th Generation 3D Printers, new products, like the MakerBot Smart Extruder+, and the seamless connectivity provided by software like MakerBot Desktop and the MakerBot Mobile App.
For educators, businesses, engineers, designers, and makers, MakerBot is all about making things better, faster, and smarter than ever before. We’re honored to be on Time’s list but the commitment to providing the best possible experience in desktop 3D printing doesn’t end there. As a company founded in 2009, we’re just getting started.