MAKER bot

This is a short video of an old MakerBot printer. You’ll notice all the blue tape on the build plate, which was pretty standard for getting prints to stick back then.

I think we paid around $3,000 for this machine when we bought it around 2012, and it stayed in service for maybe three or four years. This was still the early days of desktop 3D printing. It was one of the first MakerBots that wasn’t made from raw laser-cut plywood, so you can imagine how temperamental it was and what the print quality was like.

Even with all its quirks, it was a great introduction to 3D printing and a big step forward from CNC milling, especially compared to working with $1,000 proprietary slicers. At least with the MakerBot, the slicing software came with the machine.

.