The mass customization capability is useful in unexpected fields. Bre Pettis, the CEO of New York-based printer manufacturer MakerBot, is proud that a customer, a South African carpenter who had lost four fingers in an accident, figured out how to use a printer to make a mechanical hand for himself. He distributed the blueprints to other MakerBot users, who can tweak them to fit.
"Normally, prosthetics cost tens of thousands of dollars, but with the MakerBot, they cost five dollars in materials," Pettis said.
MakerBot unveiled new models at the show, including its biggest one yet, which is the size of a mini-fridge, costs $6,499 and can print objects the size of a human head. It also launched a smaller version, the Replicator Mini, which can create cupcake-sized objects. It will cost $1,375 when it launches this spring.
MakerBot will be undersold, however, by XYZprinting Inc. of Taiwan, which plans to sell its Da Vinci printer starting in March in the U.S. for $499. That's a price that's bound to attract a lot of people who would never have imagined, a year ago, that they'd have a 3-D printer in the house.
