Makers and 3D printer users from all over the world are currently outraged by patents recently filed by Stratasys-owned MakerBot. The patents detail improvements to MakerBot systems currently in the works, such as a “force detector” that might be attached to a 3D printer extruder.
So, what’s making the 3D printing community so mad?
A lot of small 3D printer manufacturers and independent Makers feel as though these improvements were developed by the open source community first. If true, MakerBot-Stratasys would be patenting ideas that were not their own.
The OpenBeam Kossel Pro machine uses a probe attached to the extruder head similar to that described in the MakerBot patent. According to OpenBeam’s Terrence Tam OpenBeam is only one among many that have been developing such a Z-axis probe. In fact, such a concept dates as far back as 2008, according to the RepRap forums.
In addition to the force detector, a user from Deezmaker called shenanigans on MakerBot’s filing for a patent related to a quick-release extruder. The quick-release extruder was previously added to the MakerBot Replicator 2, with some credit given to its designers. The patent, however, means Makerbot can sue anyone who tries to use a similar design or method.
What seems to be stinging so much is that MakerBot, in particular, began as a symbol of the potential success of open source companies, but slowly grew more and more alienated from the community from which it sprang. In the eye of the open source community, MakerBot seems to be turning into the classic villain.
