Replicator 2X is MakerBot’s most advanced (and experimental) printer yet — January 8, 2013

At CES this week, MakerBot is giving center stage to its Replicator 2X 3D printer.

Announced alongside the Replicator 2 last September, the Replicator X is a more experimental, more expensive device aimed at “prosumers” (as if 3D printers weren’t all prosumer devices by this point).

“If you’ve taken apart a flamethrower and put together a trebuchet, then the MakerBot Replicator 2X Experimental 3D Printer is for you,” MakerBot says.

At the core of the Replicator 2X’s experimentation lies in its specialization with Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), a thermoplastic that MakerBot rightfully calls “inconsistent.” To smooth things out, MakerBot has given the Replicator 2X both a heated platform and a heat-trapping enclosure, which together allow the device to create ABS-printed objects that don’t warp once they’re printed out.

The Replicator 2X’s other big feature is its dual-extruder system, which allows the device to print in multiple colors. MakerBot says it’s tweaked the extruders so that they’re more reliable and require less maintenance.

Shipping in mid-March, the Replicator 2X will retail for $2,800, making it $600 more expensive than the less experimental Replicator 2.

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