Amazon
When it was revealed that Amazon chief Jeff Bezos had ploughed a substantial sum of money into MakerBot during early investment stages, it only seemed a matter of time before the kings of internet retail offered the products on their own website.
Though in a surprising move over the weekend, Amazon have launched a whole 3D printing section. Although the section does include MakerBot’s flagship 3D printer, the Replicator 2, it is not the only printer to be offered under the 'Additive Manufacturing Products' umbrella.
Selling through a vast variety of resellers it seems Amazon are aiming to be the desktop 3D printing one-stop-shop. Along with the Replicator 2 there’s the UP! Plus or Afina 3D Printer as it is also known, the durable and rugged Lulzbot, 3D Systems’ Cube, Mbot’s Cube 2 Printer plus many of the other usual suspects.
The 3D printing section is also offering filament, ABS and PLA, in a variety of colours at a pretty standard price, 3D printer parts and accessories. Though this is perhaps not the most comprehensive of lists it is a start.
Amazon’s 'Most Popular' listing technique obviously has the Replicator 2 at the top of the pile which is to be expected. There are some very realistic and helpful reviews on the some of the printers for instance the one by a top 500 reviewer, P. McWhorter, whose critique on the Replicator 2 is well worth a read.
It will be interesting over the coming months to see just how the section is embraced, it currently only sits on the .com site, the other popular geographical top level domains like .co.uk are yet to have a dedicated 3D printing section.
All that being said, the very fact Amazon has dedicated a section to the technology is a sign of how far desktop 3D printing has come in the past couple of years. Love it or hate it there’s no denying the movement.
