Editing MakerBot

{{StubNotice}}{{clear}}{{InfoboxCompany
| Name = MakerBot
| Type = Subsidiary
| Founded = 2009
| Industry = Technology
| Official Website = https://www.makerbot.com
| Logo = 

}}'''[[wikipedia:MakerBot|MakerBot Industries, LLC]]''' was an American technology company specializing in the design and manufacture of 3D printing peripherals and accessories. Originally on offshoot of the [[wikipedia:RepRap|RepRap]] project, MakerBot initially produced open-source kit printers and operated the public project repository: Thingiverse - which MakerBot's founders created in 2008. In 2012 with the launch of it's Replicator 2 3D printer, MakerBot fully pivoted to closed-source consumer and enterprise machines. It was acquired by [[Stratasys]] in June 2013. <ref>https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyclay/2013/06/19/3d-printing-company-makerbot-acquired-in-604-million-deal/#4f6d94091ef8</ref>

MakerBot was at one point, the market leader in desktop FDM 3D printers, but it's market dominance was steadily eroded by an explosion in popularity of less-expensive, open-source competitors. <ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20171027020235/https://fortune.com/2015/11/27/why-makerbot-and-3d-systems-are-losing-the-desktop-3d-market/</ref> It's closed-source machines and business practices proved to be unpopular with the largely DIY-focused maker community. Starting in 2015, MakerBot began to focus more on the enterprise and education markets, ultimately abandoning the consumer market by 2017. It had also laid off hundreds of employees during this span. <ref>https://www.vice.com/en/article/makerbot-just-laid-off-20-percent-of-its-staff/</ref><ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20170702132043/https://fortune.com/2017/02/15/makerbot-3d-printing-layoffs/</ref>

On August 31, 2022, Stratasys finalized a merger between MakerBot and it's long-time market competitor Ultimaker. <ref>https://investors.stratasys.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/793/stratasys-completes-merger-of-makerbot-with-ultimaker</ref> The merged company is known as Ultimaker, with the MakerBot branding only retained for it's Sketch line of education-focused 3D printers.

== Controversies ==<!-- add a preamble here -->
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Controversy
!Year
!Background Info
!Aftermath
!Related Article
!Related Video(s)
|-
|Switch to Closed-Source
|2012
|MakerBot abandoned it's original open-source business practices in favor of developing closed-source machines with proprietary components and software.
|The move is unpopular with consumers, and MakerBot begins to lose it's market share to less-expensive open-source 3D printers over the course of the decade.
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|-
|Thingiverse Terms of Use
|2012
|MakerBot updated the Thingiverse terms of use, appearing to assert ownership over anything uploaded to the site despite users being able to dictate their own usage terms under Creative Commons.<ref>https://hackaday.com/2012/09/20/makerbot-occupy-thingiverse-and-the-reality-of-selling-open-hardware/</ref>
|Ongoing, even after the absorption of MakerBot by Ultimaker in 2022.
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|-
|Accusations of IP Theft
|2014
|MakerBot was accused of stealing and patenting user-uploaded designs from it's public design repository; Thingiverse.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20160501050442/http://3dprintingindustry.com/2014/05/28/makerbot-become-takerbot/</ref>
|MakerBot denied wrongdoing and showed it's patents were filed before the contested designs were shared, but the accusation highlighted ongoing concerns with Thingiverse's terms of use. <ref>https://techcrunch.com/2014/05/28/makerbot-responds-to-critics-who-claim-it-is-stealing-community-ip/</ref> 
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|Smart Extruder Unreliability
|2015
|Makerbot was hit with a class-action lawsuit, claiming the Smart Extruder for it's 5th-generation printers was deliberately engineered to fail in order to boost sales for replacement components.<ref>https://makezine.com/article/digital-fabrication/3d-printing-workshop/makerbot-faces-class-action-lawsuit-over-faulty-extruders/</ref>
|The suit was thrown out - the court deciding that MakerBot did not mislead customers. <ref>https://3dprintingindustry.com/news/class-action-makerbot-dismissed-85388/</ref> MakerBot would later release a more reliable, albeit more expensive "Smart Extruder +". <ref>https://www.theverge.com/2016/1/4/10677740/new-makerbot-smart-extruder-plus-3d-printer-ces-2016</ref>
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|}

=== References: ===
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<references group="Video References" />