The maker of a 3-D printer wants to put its product in
schools across the country and is asking everybody to pitch in. MakerBot
Industries is offering a starter kit along with information on a crowdfunding
site to help those interested pay the $2,550 cost of the kit.
The kit includes the MakerBot Republicator 2 printer,
raw materials needed to get started, and a service plan from the company.
Teachers must describe what they would do with the printer on the crowdfunding
site, DonorsChoose.org,
to raise all but $98, which must be raised offline.
Autodesk, the maker of 3-D design software, has already
signed on to fund 500 projects, and Bre Pettis, one of the founders of MakerBot
Industries, has made one of the largest individual donations DonorsChoose has
ever received, according to a report in Bloomberg Businessweek.
While skeptics might contend it’s a project clearly
aimed at raising sales for MakerBot, Pettis said he’s doing it because subjects
such as shop have been eliminated at many schools, which means students rarely
make anything with their hands. Besides, he doesn’t really need the money since
MakerBot Industries was purchased by Stratasys for $403 million in June.