Home Depot Looks to DIY Future with MakerBot

Most of you have probably visited a Home Depot (or similar store) at some point. Inside you’ll find row after row of the tools, materials, and job-specific doo-dads to complete nearly any home improvement project. Just suppose for a moment that you couldn’t find something in the store you desperately needed. You could go online and look for the desired item, or you could probably have the store order it for you.

Home Depot has launched a pilot program with MakerBot to offer a different option. Why not just make the part you need yourself? The home improvement retail giant will be offering the MakerBot Replicator line of 3D printers and providing customers with hands on demonstrations at a limited number of locations. The systems will also be available online.

MakerBot’s Replicator2 may soon appear on shelves in your nearest Home Depot. Courtesy of MakerBot.

“We are thrilled to partner with The Home Depot to help bring MakerBot 3D printing technology to The Home Depot customers,” said Bre Pettis, CEO of MakerBot. “Imagine a world where you can 3D print replacement parts and use 3D printing as an integral part of design and building work. Every day we see the magic of 3D printing becoming a reality with our customers; now The Home Depot can also see that magic. We can’t wait to see what The Home Depot customers make with our products.”

MakerBot AM systems have been at the forefront of the consumer 3D printing movement. They produce as good a print as most other mid-level material extrusion systems. None of that is what has catapulted MakerBot into prominence. To paraphrase a conversation with a prominent AM insider, MakerBot systems are good, but MakerBot’s marketing is great.

Even before it was acquired by Stratasys, MakerBot and Bre Pettis did a fantastic job at making sure people knew about, and got a chance to see and use MakerBot 3D printers. The deal with Home Depot is another example of this idea. It isn’t good enough just to sell the systems online or in the stores, by offering hands on demonstrations, MakerBot is asking people to make an investment in their systems, even if that investment is nothing more than time. Once people are invested in something, it becomes much easier to sell them on maintaining that investment.

The following locations will be part of the initial pilot program:

East Palo Alto, CA

Emeryville, CA

Huntington Beach, CA

San Carlos, CA

West Hills, CA

Wilshire/Union, CA

Manhattan 59th St, NY

Manhattan West 23rd St, NY

Lincoln Park, IL

Naperville, IL

North Avenue, IL

South Loop, IL

Below you’ll find a video about the 5^th generation MakerBot Replicator.

Source: MakerBot