The 3D-printer manufacturer, Makerbot, which is part of Ultimaker, has announced an AI-based cloud platform called MakerBot Nebula for the K-12 education market.
Makerbot was founded in 2009 and at one point was the leading supplier of desktop 3D printing systems. But as the consumer 3D-printing boom turned to bust around 2014, the company ran into difficulties. It was merged into UltiMaker in 2022 and refocused on the education market. Stratasys owns both Makerbot and UltiMaker.
It’s easy to overlook the education market as not being too demanding. However, one of the biggest challenges for additive manufacturing is that many industry leaders today finished their schooling at a time when 3D-printing was not as developed as it is now, and thus often overlook additive as a viable manufacturing option. So introducing 3D-printing into the classroom today will benefit manufacturing in the future.
Makerbot has a good history in developing cloud platforms, having previously set up the Thingiverse online community. This latest venture, Makerbot Nebula, is still at a beta stage. It combines support for teachers and personalized learning for students. It uses AI to ensure that teachers have more time to focus on students and more oversight of their performance. It enables students to learn 3D printing and design skills in ways that match their pace, learning style, and interests.
Dottie Stewart, VP sales America and Global Education Strategy at UltiMaker, commented, “MakerBot has always believed in learning through making. We’ve seen, firsthand, how 3D printing brings STEM learning into the classroom, opening doors to design thinking and problem-solving.”
Stewart added: “But as classrooms become more demanding and students’ needs become more diverse, tools alone aren’t going to be enough. That’s why we created MakerBot Nebula, a new kind of learning platform that connects technology, pedagogy, and creativity in one seamless experience.”
In theory, this system is available internationally. In practice, it’s in English and relies on Google Translate for translations to other languages as this support has not been coded in yet.
Makerbot is also offering grants as part of its MakerBot Gives Back Initiative. These are mostly available for the US and Canada but there are limited opportunities for teachers in other countries to submit applications. These grants include a MakerBot Sketch Sprint 3D printer and 20 spools of PLA filament. Since 2015 Alfatek Systems has been the official reseller in India.
You can find further details on makerbot.com.
