[Photo: MakerBot]MakerBot Industries has just announced its next-generation 3D-printer, the MakerBot Replicator. The company will officially introduce the new Replicator at CES on Tuesday to show off its ability to print larger scale objects in two-colors.
MakerBot Industries says that this will be “the first” model to print in two-colors simultaneously with “Dualstrusion” (other consumer-grade 3D printers can typically only "print" using one color at a time). The machine is essentially equipped with two extruders (which are used to form objects layer-by-layer) that will allow it print in multiple colors and with different materials.
For example, you could create a globe using blue ABS plastic (the same material that Lego bricks are made of) and green PLA (a biodegradable material made from corn). Of course, that second extruder will cost extra: it’s $1,799 for the model with a single extruder, and $1,999 for the Dualstrusion variant.
The Replicator itself is also larger than the previous MakerBot Thing-O-Matic, allowing it to print objects as large as a loaf of bread. The Replicator can print objects as large as 8.9 by 5.7 by 5.9 inches, whereas the Thing-O-Matic could only pop out 5-by-5-by-6-inch creations.
[Photo: MakerBot]
The MakerBot Replicator is up for preorder now directly from the MakerBot Store and is expected to begin shipping within 6-weeks. Stay tuned for our impressions of the Replicator when it makes its debut at CES tomorrow, January 10.
[MakerBot via Boing Boing]
For more blogs, stories, photos, and video from the nation's largest consumer electronics show, check out PCWorld's complete coverage of CES 2012.
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