The announcement that industrial 3D printer company Stratasys has acquired the consumer-focused start-up MakerBot has sent shockwaves through the Maker world in the last 24 hours. This morning at MakerBot HQ in Brooklyn, NY, Bre Pettis and David Rice, principles in the two companies, gave a press conference to talk more about the deal, and what it means for the burgeoning 3D printing home market.
Industrial 3D printing and additive manufacturing company Stratasys has struck a deal with Bre Pettis’ MakerBot to merge in a stock-for-stock transaction. Once finished, MakerBot will act as a subsidiary of Stratasys.
For months, controversy has been building around 24-year-old Austinite Cody Wilson, full-time law student and part-time director of Defense Distributed, a non-profit working to develop and freely distribute designs for working 3D-printable firearms. Even before Sandy Hook, their “WikiWeapon” project was controversial, placing the group squarely at the intersection of emerging debates over the uses and abuses of both crowdfunding and 3D printing. After the tragedy, that controversy assumed a sudden, violent urgency on the national stage, and Wilson became an even hotter media commodity. He receives death threats and strangers recognize him on the street. When I catch up to him, on Jan. 16, President Obama has just unveiled the most sweeping package of gun-control proposals the U.S. has seen in decades.
We’ve seen some awesome projects involving 3D printers over the last few years on the MAKE Blog. That same creativity drove Scott Crump, CEO of Stratasys, Inc., to set out and make his own 3D printer back in 1988. Since then, their business has grown, but Stratasys still wants to connect with Makers, builders and […]
