6 ms·

The Man Behind MakerBot on Finding the Stories That Build Your Brand

21 points by kanamekun 12y ago

jadeddrag 12y ago
Makerbot is the poster child of ripping off an open source project (reprap), then claiming the IP for itself, without giving back. Bre Pettis is a sellout.
codehero 12y ago
No story about early Makerbot is complete without mentioning their commitment to open source (which this puff piece deftly avoids). The open source story has been conveniently dropped. Here's an excerpt from an Bre Pettis interview in 2011: Does funding change the commitment to open source hardware? The funding doesn’t change our commitment to being open source. Why would we change a winning strategy? Being open is the future of manufacturing, and we’re just at the beginning of the age of sharing. In the future, people will remember businesses that refused to share with their customers and wonder how they could be so backwards. http://makezine.com/2011/10/06/makes-exclusive-interview-with-bre-pettis-of-makerbot-life-10m-in-funding-and-beyond/ http://makezine.com/2011/10/06/makes-exclusive-interview-wit...
- iamwil 12y ago
  For those of you that don't know, he means their abandonment of open source that left the 3D printing community that supported them in the beginning in an uproar.
hippich 12y ago
For people totally new to 3D printing world. From my experience with replicator series it is no different from typical RepRap clone, minus closed source everything. You still fight adhesion and delamination, but now you have no way to tweak process. 3D printing is not really ready for consumers yet IMHO.
- Ccecil 12y ago
  More like a table saw than a toaster. Although, that doesn't mean it isn't ready for consumers...the bar lowers by the month to be honest. Just don't buy Takerbot. Closed source. Best bet is to research RepRap and get help sourcing/building your own. My personal belief is that what you learn building it is more valuable than the actual end product. Not to mention some of the great people you meet along the way in the forums or in #reprap @freenode It is a shame Bre lost touch with all of that...and the community that brought him up.
CptMauli 12y ago
I really, really enjoyed the documentation "Print the Legend" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3557464/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3557464/ which is available on netflix. Don't expect to learn anything about 3d printing, but is a great story about startups.

21 points by kanamekun 12y ago

Makerbot is the poster child of ripping off an open source project (reprap), then claiming the IP for itself, without giving back. Bre Pettis is a sellout.

codehero 12y ago

No story about early Makerbot is complete without mentioning their commitment to open source (which this puff piece deftly avoids). The open source story has been conveniently dropped. Here's an excerpt from an Bre Pettis interview in 2011: Does funding change the commitment to open source hardware? The funding doesn’t change our commitment to being open source. Why would we change a winning strategy? Being open is the future of manufacturing, and we’re just at the beginning of the age of sharing. In the future, people will remember businesses that refused to share with their customers and wonder how they could be so backwards. http://makezine.com/2011/10/06/makes-exclusive-interview-with-bre-pettis-of-makerbot-life-10m-in-funding-and-beyond/ http://makezine.com/2011/10/06/makes-exclusive-interview-wit...

iamwil 12y ago
For those of you that don't know, he means their abandonment of open source that left the 3D printing community that supported them in the beginning in an uproar.

hippich 12y ago

For people totally new to 3D printing world. From my experience with replicator series it is no different from typical RepRap clone, minus closed source everything. You still fight adhesion and delamination, but now you have no way to tweak process. 3D printing is not really ready for consumers yet IMHO.

Ccecil 12y ago
More like a table saw than a toaster. Although, that doesn't mean it isn't ready for consumers...the bar lowers by the month to be honest. Just don't buy Takerbot. Closed source. Best bet is to research RepRap and get help sourcing/building your own. My personal belief is that what you learn building it is more valuable than the actual end product. Not to mention some of the great people you meet along the way in the forums or in #reprap @freenode It is a shame Bre lost touch with all of that...and the community that brought him up.

CptMauli 12y ago

I really, really enjoyed the documentation "Print the Legend" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3557464/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3557464/ which is available on netflix. Don't expect to learn anything about 3d printing, but is a great story about startups.