Anyone who has ever been to a hackerspace has seen a MakerBot printer, but that printer was broken.įive years ago, this second reputation would be completely incorrect. This reputation is deserved thanks to the horrible failures of the MakerBot Smart Extruder introduced a few years ago, but also touches on the technology the 3D printers of 2010 were built upon.
The second reputation is one of a poorly designed 3D printer. With more machines coming out on the market, this reputation is fading. The most generous reputation comes from tech enthusiasts suffering from low information, that sees MakerBot as the Kleenex and Asprin of 3D printing. Today, MakerBot has precisely two reputations. While it is true MakerBot saw its biggest problems after the acquisition from Stratasys, the problems started much earlier. How did this happen? The most common explanation of MakerBot’s fall from grace is that Stratasys gutted the engineering and goodwill of the company after acquiring it. MakerBot is a dead company walking, and it is very doubtful MakerBot will ever be held in the same regard as the heady days of 2010.
The MakerBot brand is now worth far less than the $400 Million Stratasys spent to acquire it. A few weeks ago, Stratasys, MakerBot’s parent company, released their 2015 financial reports, noting MakerBot sales revenues have fallen precipitously. This week, MakerBot announced it would lay off its entire manufacturing force, outsourcing the manufacturing of all MakerBot printers to China. MakerBot is not dead, but it is connected to life support waiting for a merciful soul to pull the plug.