3D printing specialist MakerBot opens innovation centres

MAKERBOT, a global leader in desktop 3D printing, aims at helping transform universities and businesses into MakerBot Innovation Centres that empower organisations to innovate faster, collaborate better and be more competitive. The MakerBot Innovation Centres are filled with 30+ MakerBot desktop 3D printer and scanners with the goal of helping train the next generation of engineers, architects, industrial designers and artists, as well as transform businesses into innovation hubs that can facilitate their own rapid prototyping and increase their product design cycles while saving time and money.

“We expect this environment to enhance our students’ preparation for high-tech careers that combine creativity and advanced manufacturing expertise, and to seed collaborations among academics, students, and regional industry that will further enhance our mission as the region’s public university and an economic driver in the Hudson Valley.”

The MakerBot Innovation Centre is designed to be a large-scale 3D printing destination, built in partnership with MakerBot and its knowledgeable engineering, creative and training teams. The centres are intended to increase innovation and collaboration, and work as a catalyst for new ideas and growth. The centres include a forum to bring departments and individuals together to take education or corporate work to the next level. By utilising the MakerBot Innovation Centre’s numerous MakerBot 3D printers and scanners, the Innovation Centre can generate numerous prototypes and models, streamline workflow, as well as be a centre for inspiration, which is ultimately aimed at establishing a valuable recruiting and fund-raising asset for the university or corporation, as well as being a place to generate revenue and build skills for the future.

The MakerBot Innovation Centres were conceived to be used by multiple departments in corporations or universities that need access to 3D printing and scanning. At the university level, a MakerBot Innovation Centre can be open to the student body, and often the community, as a destination to foster innovation and make things. On the business side, the centres can be used as a venue for for design, product development, rapid prototyping and even small-scale manufacturing.

The first MakerBot Innovation Centre in the United States is installed at SUNY New Paltz in New York, which will hold its opening on 11 February. Special guest is MakerBot CEO Bre Pettis. This is the first in the State of New York and will serve to connect the university’s science, math, engineering and fine arts programs, with a goal of solidifying the university’s leading role in utilising and developing 3D printing technology in the Hudson Valley area.

The largest MakerBot Innovation Centre to date is installed at College of the Ouachitas in Malvern, Arkansas. College of the Ouachitas has 47 MakerBot? Replicator? 2 Desktop 3D Printers, six MakerBot Replicator 2X Experimental 3D Printers, and six MakerBot? Digitizer? Desktop 3D Scanners. The main purpose of the MakerBot Innovation Centre at College of the Ouachitas is to work with regional business and industry in the plastic engineering sector in support of the College’s existing Mechatronics and emerging entrepreneurial programs. (Businesswire)