3D printing is an effort which has come with much hope, and also with much hype. Now you are about to see 3D printing get much smaller – and much more affordable. The Stratasys Ltd. (NASDAQ: SSYS) MakerBot subsidiary has launched its MakerBot® Replicator® Mini Compact 3D Printer. This one is touted as one of MakerBot’s new Fifth Generation 3D printers with a tag line that tells you the target markets are home, school, office and dorm rooms. In short, these are getting small enough (and maybe cheap enough) for mass use.

The new systems are being shipped to customers now. MakerBot originally announced the MakerBot Replicator Mini at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this January. MakerBot COE Bre Pettis was quoted in the release,

“As soon as we announced the MakerBot Replicator Mini, we received calls and orders from customers who couldn’t wait to purchase this easy and affordable 3D printer. We see the MakerBot Replicator Mini as a turning point in the 3D printing industry. Much like the transition of the computer moving into the home 30 years ago, the MakerBot Replicator Mini is one of the first 3D printers to shift from the office to the home… Everyone can benefit from having a MakerBot Replicator Mini, but we expect to see the largest impact of having this 3D printer in the home with children. We believe that exposing children to 3D printing with a MakerBot Replicator Mini will change the way they think about the world and help prepare them for the jobs of the future.”

The Mini allows users to find more than 300,0000 free downloadable digital 3D printable items from its Thingiverse.com site or they can purchase and download files from the MakerBot Digital Store. Users can also design their own 3D prints.

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The MakerBot Replicator Mini Compact 3D Printer is priced at $1,375 and is now available. MakerBot also said that it expects to ship its other new 3D printer, the MakerBot Replicator Z18 3D Printer, in June.

More 3D printing news – and another stock drop. Stratasys shares were down 0.4% at $88.94 shortly before the closing bell on Monday. Its 52-week range is $74.54 to $138.10, with a market cap of $4.4 billion.

 

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