Disir
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- Sep 30, 2011
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Thingmaker is before my time but this is pretty cute.
NEW YORK — 3D printing was still decades away when Mattel debuted ThingMaker in the 1960s. As a primitive “at-home maker device,” it let kids produce bug-like Creepy Crawlers, mini-dragons, flowers and other small toys by pouring liquid plastic onto special molds, which were then heated up and cooled.
Now Mattel is about to resurrect ThingMaker as a $299.99, family-friendly 21st Century 3D printer. Mattel made the announcement in advance of the Toy Fair trade show kicking off here this weekend.
I saw a full-size, non-working replica of the printer, which works with a 3D printing app for iOS and Android developed in a collaboration with Autodesk. If not for its bold orange casing, you might mistake it for a funky-looking microwave oven.
Surrounding the replica were many of the plastic things you could print, including toy fairies, dolls, dinosaurs, robots, skeletons and jewelry. Consumers can custom design such objects inside a ThingMaker app, which supplies templates and a palette of drag and drop parts that you can assemble together on screen before you tap the print button. Parts are printed in batches. For safety purposes, the printer door automatically locks when printing starts.
Mattel resurrects ThingMaker as a 3D printer
NEW YORK — 3D printing was still decades away when Mattel debuted ThingMaker in the 1960s. As a primitive “at-home maker device,” it let kids produce bug-like Creepy Crawlers, mini-dragons, flowers and other small toys by pouring liquid plastic onto special molds, which were then heated up and cooled.
Now Mattel is about to resurrect ThingMaker as a $299.99, family-friendly 21st Century 3D printer. Mattel made the announcement in advance of the Toy Fair trade show kicking off here this weekend.
I saw a full-size, non-working replica of the printer, which works with a 3D printing app for iOS and Android developed in a collaboration with Autodesk. If not for its bold orange casing, you might mistake it for a funky-looking microwave oven.
Surrounding the replica were many of the plastic things you could print, including toy fairies, dolls, dinosaurs, robots, skeletons and jewelry. Consumers can custom design such objects inside a ThingMaker app, which supplies templates and a palette of drag and drop parts that you can assemble together on screen before you tap the print button. Parts are printed in batches. For safety purposes, the printer door automatically locks when printing starts.
Mattel resurrects ThingMaker as a 3D printer
