14 DAY TRIAL // Until now, MakerBot was “only” the main supplier of 3D printers, or at least the best known, but that's where its contribution to the 3D printing industry stopped. Now, though, it's taking a more active role.
Seeing as how it owns one of, if not the, most popular 3D printers in the world, it figured it may as well use it for something itself, instead of just selling it.
Long story short, it has begun accepting orders for 3D printing tasks. People visiting the MakerBot 3D Printing stores in New York, Boston and Greenwich can bring along a 3D model on a USB flash drive and have it 3D printed with MakerBot PLA Filament.
The files will need to be encoded in .STL, .OBJ or Thing formats, and the color options for the Filament material are black, white, gray, natural and translucent red.
A MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer will be used in the operation. Also, for an extra fee, MakerBot will bring out the set of special colors and color combinations. Not clear what they are, probably because the list is always steadily growing, but blue, yellow, green and the like should be among the options.
“We are really excited to be able to offer 3D printing services at our MakerBot retail stores,” noted Bre Pettis, CEO of MakerBot.
“Ever since we opened our first MakerBot Store in New York, customers have been asking if we can custom 3D print items. Now, we can officially offer a 3D printing service and have already had many customers who are very excited about this possibility. The ability to design and create a physical object, then hold it in your hands is very powerful.”
The price depends on how long it takes to finish printing the model you bring: $10 / €7.27 for under 30 minutes, $20 / €14.54 for one hour, $35 / €25.44 for two hours, $65 / €47.25 for four hours, $80 / €58.14 for five hours and finally, $100 / €72.69 for six hours. Cost estimates for prints that take any longer than that will be made on site.