MakerBot 3D printers use Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) technology. The MakerBot uses ABS orPLA plastic filament, which extrudes through a heated nozzle to print the part layer by layer. The MakerBot works with Mac, Windows, and Linux. There is a free download of MakerWare software that the printer requires to convert STL files for printing. The MakerBot prints at a resolution of 100 microns.

 

How the MakerBot 3D Printer Works

 

First, the user creates a 3D model in a 3D modeling program and saves it as an STL file. The file is sent to MakerWare, the printer’s interfacing software, where it slices the model into sections and determines how the layers will be printed. Once the model is sent to the printer, the plastic filament extrudes through a heated nozzle layer by layer until the part is complete.