The announcement was just made by MakerBot CEO Bre Pettis in speaking at SXSW 2013 and the Autodesk press release just went live announcing Autodesk and MakerBot will be partnering to provide 3D design software and 3D printing hardware to engineers, designers, architects, makers, creators, and artists.
Autodesk and MakerBot have been working together for awhile now on many projects including MakerBot’s Hackathon using Autodesk 123D Catch to capture models of the New York Metropolitan Museum exhibits and 3D print them. There was also the infamous horsehead captured and 3D printed and even larger Bay Bridge lights project. Beyond just capturing 3D geometry using 123D Catch there are many people that use Autodesk software to design in 3D and send their designs to a MakerBot 3D printer myself included.You can use everything from the Autodesk 123D family including 123D Catch, 123D Creature, 123D Design, and 123D Sculpt to the professional Autodesk design software to create 3D models and 3D print them on MakerBot 3D printers.
“Bre Pettis, CEO of MakerBot, announced the partnership during his Opening Remarks for SXSW 2013, and the companies showcased creatures designed with Autodesk’s new 123D Creature iPad app, which were printed on a MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer at SXSW Create Presented by Autodesk.
“Software is key in showcasing the capabilities of 3D printing, and Autodesk’s 123D Creature iPad app is an awesome way to highlight how you can customize a design, make it your own, and print it in 3D on a MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer,” noted Bre Pettis, CEO of MakerBot. “MakerBot prides itself on setting the standard in desktop 3D printing, and now in working with Autodesk, we are also together, setting the standard in providing the leading 3D design software that is optimized for printing on a MakerBot.“
“Our goal is to continue making 3D printing from our applications simpler and more straightforward, and optimizing the Autodesk 123D family to work with MakerBot printers delivers on this promise by enabling our community to print their creations with greater ease,” said Samir Hanna, vice president of Consumer Products at Autodesk. “Our collaboration will help accelerate the next industrial revolution, and we are excited to work with MakerBot to make this happen.”
This might be bigger than a Kardashian wedding, and certainly last longer and be more meaningful.