MakerBot Desktop is pumping up printers with software update 3.8, allowing designs to be printed 30 percent faster and with stronger structural support.

The update applies to the MakerBot Replicator, Replicator 2, MakerBot Replicator 2X, or any fifth generation MakerBot Replicator 3D printer. Both the increased speed of the prints and the improved structural support comes from addition of a new infill pattern, the diamond. This infill pattern allows the extruder to move faster during turns, and is extruded more consistently than other patterns, making it more structurally sound.

In addition to the diamond infill pattern, a new variable height feature introduced in MakerBot Desktop 3.7 also allows for faster printing. It enables the infill, or the inside of the print, to be printed at a thicker height than the outer layer, allowing the print to be completed faster overall.

“MakerBot’s latest software update allows our customers to turn their ideas into physical objects even faster, combining faster print speed with one click 3D printing,” said Nadav Goshen, president of MakerBot. “MakerBot’s leading 3D printing Ecosystem connects hardware with software and apps to provide a seamless 3D printing experience that is unmatched in the industry.”

Desktop 3.8 also includes an improved algorithm for estimating when a print will be finished, and streamlines the printing flow so that printing starts immediately after a model is sliced.

MakerBot has undergone restructuring recently, losing 20 percent of its staff in April and 20 percent of the remaining staff again in October.  

“For the last few quarters, we did not meet our ambitious goals and we have to make significant changes to ensure MakerBot’s future growth and success,” CEO Jonathan Jaglom said on Oct. 8.

MakerBot also recently closed its three retail stores in order to “address our fractured organizational structure,” Jaglom said.

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Filed Under: 3D printing • additive manufacturing • stereolithography, Rapid prototyping

 

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