MakerBot Industries, the company that manufactures desktop 3D printers, has settled in at its new corporate offices at MetroTech in Downtown Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Paper reports. In keeping with the company’s fun, make-it-yourself theme, the office contains “giant, stackable construction toys,” a full-scale replica of Dr. Who’s TARDIS and a sprawling “bot farm,” where racks of 3-D printers churn out goodies.
The Brooklyn Eagle reported in 2012 that MakerBot, founded in Boerum Hill, leased a full floor, or 31,250 square feet, at One MetroTech Center on the 21st floor.
Bre Pettis, a former Seattle schoolteacher, co-founded the firm in 2009 with partners Adam Mayer and Zach Smith with the goal of democratizing 3D printing.
MakerBot, named one of the top 20 startups in New York City, manufactures The Replicator2X, a compact, open-source 3D desktop printer used to make anything up to the size of a loaf of bread out of plastic.
In addition to practical applications like designing a replacement knob for a stove or air conditioner, MakerBots can produce toys, models and sculptures.
“Expanding to MetroTech is a great move for MakerBot, and we’re glad Brooklyn can accommodate us as we grow,” Pettis said before the move. “The can-do spirit of Brooklyn is in each machine that goes out the door — we even laser-cut ‘Brooklyn’ into the back of the machine next to the power button to show our Brooklyn pride. What gets us most excited is when young people get access to a MakerBot in the classroom or because a parent decides a child should grow up understanding the digital design tools of the future.
“There’s no sign that demand is slowing down anytime soon. It won’t be long before having a MakerBot in your home is as common as having a microwave.”
The company is a member of the Brooklyn Tech Triangle and will be joining other tech companies and institutions like NYU-Poly’s Center for Urban Science and Progress.
The Botcave production facility is still located “in fabulous Boerum Hill,” MakerBot (makerbot.com) says.
