In April of last year, Autodesk first announced its partnership with legendary toy manufacturer Mattel, saying that they would be powering the toy company’s design apps. We are now seeing the biggest result of that partnership as Mattel reboots its classic ThingMaker product. While in the 60s and 90s the ThingMaker was a desktop molding machine, the 21st century version is a desktop 3D printer.
Introduced in the 1960s and then resurrected in the 1990’s, the ThingMaker was a device that allowed kids to fabricate squishy toys, like bugs and flowers, by pouring liquid resin into metal molds, which were then baked within the device’s scalding hot oven. I burned my hands more than once in trying to produce my own Creepy Crawlers. The 2016 redux is definitely a lot safer and has the benefit of riding the massive trend of 3D printing.
Unveiled ahead of the Toy Fair trade show taking place in New York this weekend, the ThingMaker is a $299.99, family-marketed 3D printer that is controlled with a 3D printing app for iOS and Android. In addition to managing print tasks, the app allows users to use pre-supplied models for 3D printing. Then, when a batch of 3D printed parts begins printing, the door to the printbed locks to prevent the same burns associated with the Creepy Crawler fabricator of yesteryear. Using only PLA and no heated bed, another safety hazard is removed, but there is no word on whether the printer will only be able to use proprietary PLA.
The ThingMaker App bears a striking resemblance to Tinkerplay, Autodesk’s kid-focused design app created through the acquisition of the Modio app. Users can design modular characters that they can then build, once printed. With batch printing and a quick change of filament, these characters become multi-colored creations of the imagination.
A direct tie-in to Mattel and the new 3D printer certainly opens the world of Tinkerplay up to its young target demographic more easily. Dan Pressman, creative director at Autodesk, says of the design app, “All the physical behaviors are as it would be when it was actually printed out, so you can get an idea for how it is going to mechanically move and what the limits of all the joints and sockets that you create are.”
The device is part of a larger trend that sees Mattel attempting to keep up with the times, technologically and sociologically. Apple recently began selling a Google Cardboard-style VR case for iPhone that’s intended as a reboot of Mattel’s classic View-Master device. The toy manufacturer also launched a new series of Barbie toys meant to reflect the diversity of modern consumers. Albeit, the toys still suffer from the similar whitewashing of morphological facial features when it comes to their dolls of color and their “Curvy” would more accurately be labeled “Average”, not to mention the reinforcement of a gender binary and strict female stereotypes, but it’s a step in the right direction for Mattel.
When such brands as Barbie and Hot Wheels join the ThingMaker ecosystem has yet to be revealed, but Aslan Appleman, senior director, at Mattel has hinted to USA Today that this is part of the plan, “Obviously we have quite a few iconic brands in our portfolio as well as access to partner brands. You can imagine that’s part of our longer term strategy.”
The ThingMaker will ship this Fall, but preorders will open up on Amazon this coming Monday and the ThingMaker app is already available for download. Appleman comments, “We’re going to use these seven months to really learn and gain analytics of how people are using it.” Marketed during Saturday morning cartoons (are those still a thing??) between Nerf and Ecto-Cooler commercials, I can tell you that I definitely would have asked my parents to buy me one.
I’d just like to point out that this is actually more expensive than the printer I bookmarked last year and that printer could print in maybe 100 different materials including metal, wood and glow in the dark plastic. Parents who’s kids want to make their own toys should get the printer I’m getting and not this one.
it would be helpful to have a name or weblink otherwise your comment is quite useless to others that are interested.
There is absolutely NO WAY that you found a 3D Printer, that is under $300, capable of printing in 100 different materials including metal…
This can’t be true.
As the tech gets more easy to reproduce you’ll see a lot of cheap alternatives every year if you search for them. There are already several Sub-200 dollar choices on the market, but many of them are very small or come with caveats like you have to build it yourself. The extra cost in this one is probably due to Mattel customizing it for their specific needs.
may we ask what is the printer you getting ?
want
I’d love to see some up-close examples of finished pieces. The 3d printed samples I’ve seen (from some more expensive machines) have a texture I’m not fond of. I’d love to see how the finished pieces from this turn out.
Who will repair the printer? What happens when you need replacement parts? How much is the proprietary filament? I can go on and on.
Couple things… Odds are it will have a warranty of about a year – similar to the 2D desktop printers. At $299.00 that should be more than enough of a comfort. After a year I suspect it will either be scrap or the purchasor will be looking to upgrade.
From what I can tell this is designed for KIDS with thought toward safety and the comfort of parents. That said, software will be a BIG part of how this plays out, if it’s easy to print then it will be great for those starting out. Probably also part of why they use PLA. No one getting into 3D printing for the first time should use anything but PLA. It’s forgiving, largely durable, and easy on the print heads.
Lastly, the sub-$500 range today has severe limitations in terms of durability, usablity and software. Sometimes all three…. You get what you pay for and there is a a HUGE disparity in the “personal” or hobbiest space. I’ve used many of these printers and low cost is generally equal to cheap components these days. I should also not be understated how important software and drivers are in the inclusion of a printer. Yes there is a lot of open source and for the hobbiest that’s fine, but not for someone new the space – let alone someone with limited experience.
All that said, I don’t know anymore than anyone here does about this printer, we’ll see how it tests out and let that be the final say.