By Carl Laron on January 11, 2012 in
At Consumer Electronics Show, it's hard to miss Sony, LG, Panasonic, etc. But sometimes -- actually, make that most time -- the thing that makes you stop and say "whoa, that's just cool" can be found in the smallest booths tucked away in the farthest reaches of the show's most remote exhibition hall. At this year's CES, one product that delivered that cool factor for me was the MakerBot Replicator 3D printer.
Think it, make it
The Replicator is a personal fabrication system. Conceive of something, create the design, feed the specs to the Replicator and watch it produce your creation in plastic before your eyes, and in 3D. The only thing neater than watching the Replicator in action is seeing the wide -- and we do mean wide -- range of "things" that owners of MakerBot's 3D printers --including the smaller, and cheaper, Thing-O-Matic -- have made. Examples include household objects, decorative objects, jewelry, dollhouse furniture, models, toys, puzzles and more. Some of it is truly out there, such as an animatronic dinosaur skull that sings Jingle Bells. You can see more examples at Thingverse.com, a site where fabrication enthusiasts can share -- and brag about -- their designs and creations.
Is the Replicator for everyone? Of course not; at nearly $1,750 it has a serious geek factor. But it also has a serious fun factor, at least for those with a creative streak. You can get more information at the MakerBot Industry web site. And check out the video below to see it in action.