MakerBot, the well known manufacturer of 3D Printers for the hobbyist marketplace, today announced its’ latest product: The MakerBot Digitizer Desktop 3D Scanner

The size of a portable 45rpm record player (remember those!) this device will allow the user to scan a small object and then send the files to a MakerBot Replicator 3D printer. All in one easy workflow.

There are restrictions though… objects that are shiny, reflective, and fuzzy are not well suited to scanning on the MakerBot Digitizer. We certainly could not have used the MakerBot Digitizer to produce the 3D drawings for our recent project to create the world’s first working 3D printed ink cartridges…

“The MakerBot Digitizer is for early adopters, experimenters, and visionaries who want to be pioneers in Desktop 3D Scanning,” the company says.

That said, here at InkFactory.com we see this device being a huge hit with the MakerBot community and it is being reported that “pre-orders” for the device brought down their company website earlier today!

Company CEO Bre Pettis with the MakerBot Digitizer

An Object scanned into the MakerBot MakerWare software

Here are a few facts on the MakerBot Digitizer:

• The MakerBot Digitizer costs $1,400 (£900)…
• The device will start shipping from October 2013…
• The device can digitize physical objects up to 8 inches in diameter, 8 inches tall, and up to 6.6 lbs (3 kg)…
• The MakerBot Digitizer scans objects using a camera and two lasers…
• The device requires NO design or 3D software experience to get started…
• The output is a standard 3D model file format (STL) and can be modified and improved in third-party 3D modeling programs, like Autodesk’s free software MeshMixer…
• The MakerBot Digitizer works seamlessly with MakerBot Replicator Desktop 3D Printers…
• The standard .STL file format allows users to upload their 3D designs directly to Thingiverse, a website where 3D designs can be shared with the online community…

The following is a short video of company CEO Bre Pettis announcing the MakerBot Digitizer…