Dell to Market Makerbot’s 3D Printers and Scanners

Dell is getting in on the 3D-printer market, reporting today that it’ll be offering MakerBot’s Replicator 3D printers and scanners to create an end-to-end 3D design solution for small and mid-size businesses, enabling fast and affordable prototyping. By adding MakerBot 3D printers and scanners to its existing portfolio of Dell Precision workstations, Dell says engineers can design and test new product concepts quickly; architects can create 3D prototypes during the design phase; and start-ups can experiment with new product designs and artistic models inexpensively.

Dell notes that 3D printing has moved well beyond early adopters and hobbyists, and is now being utilized regularly in business applications where substantial cost and time-to-market benefits are gained, with IDC predicting that the 3D printer market will see a compound annual revenue growth rate of 29 percent from 2012 to 2017. It says small businesses are finding that desktop 3D printing provides a cost-effective alternative to enlisting off-site or overseas prototyping facilities to create molds and designs, allowing for designers and engineers to design, build, iterate and innovate more often, more affordably and at a faster rate.

“At Dell we strive to arm start-ups, designers and engineers with the powerful, reliable and cutting-edge technology they need to succeed,” commented Andy Rhodes, executive director of Dell Precision workstations. “With the addition of MakerBot’s 3D printers and scanners to Dell’s workstation portfolio, our customers can now bring their innovative prototypes to life much more quickly and affordably.”

Dell will be showcasing its 3D design solutions, including Precision workstations with AMD FirePro W5000 workstation graphics optimized and certified for SolidWorks and the MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer, in booth 501 at SolidWorks World from January 26-29 in San Diego, California.

Dell says its Dassault Systèmes have worked closely together for years to test, certify and optimize SolidWorks software on Dell workstations, enabling a stable and reliable platform to create, simulate, visualize and collaborate on designs, speed up workflows and maximize productivity. Dell will also demonstrate Dell Precision Performance Optimizer (DPPO), a tool that enables customers to complete their projects in the fastest times possible by automatically tuning and configuring Dell hardware for SolidWorks software. Based on Dell testing and benchmarking, users can experience up to 57 percent increase in application performance³ with DPPO .

“Partnering with Dell is another step in building out the MakerBot 3D Printing Ecosystem that makes 3D printing easy and accessible for everyone,” noted Bre Pettis, CEO of MakerBot. “Dell has done a great job with supporting and enabling small businesses, and we are excited to bring our 3D printing solutions to their customers to unlock their creativity.”

Products and Availability

The following MakerBot 3D printing and scanning solutions, along with MakerBot Filament, are expected to be available for purchase from Dell via www.dell.com/3Dprinting on February 20th in the United States. This distribution agreement provides exclusivity by Dell, as MakerBot Replicator 3D printers will be the only FDM technology sold through Dell’s small business channel in the United States.

• MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer – Said to set the standard in desktop 3D printing, allowing users to bring their projects to life with professional-quality, 100-micron layer resolution and a 410-cubic-inch build volume priced at $2,199.
• MakerBot Replicator 2X Experimental 3D Printer – A full-featured desktop 3D printer designed for experts who want to explore the frontiers of 3D printing. It features experimental dual extrusion that is optimized for printing with MakerBot ABS Filament and is available for $2,799.
• MakerBot Replicator Mini Compact 3D Printer – An easy-to-use, no-compromise compact 3D printer for everyone, from beginners to professionals, offering fast and easy one-touch 3D printing, and which will be available in the spring at an anticipated price of $1,375.
• MakerBot Replicator Desktop 3D Printer – Fifth generation MakerBot technology that provides speed, reliability, quality, and connectivity for easy-to-use, reliable desktop 3D printing. The MakerBot Replicator 3D Printer provides a large build volume and fast print times to accelerate rapid prototyping and model making. Available for pre-orders now and priced at $2,899.
• MakerBot Replicator Z18 3D Printer – Offers large build volume; will be available in the spring of 2014 for an anticipated price of $6,499.
• MakerBot Digitizer™ Desktop 3D Scanner – Billed as the fast and easy way for anyone to create 3D models to modify, improve, share, and 3D print. The scanner is optimized for use MakerBot Replicator Desktop 3D Printers and MakerBot Thingiverse and is available for $949.