Printrbot is one of the original 3D printing good results stories to have launched on Kickstarter. With their affordable, Maker-friendly machines, they are heavily championed by the open source community. As good resultsful as their brand has been when it comes to 3D printing devices, the California-based company is not limited to building 3D printing devices. Having may already launched a CNC machine and yet at work on the large-scale Crawlbot CNC router, they’ve launched new division devoted to all things not-3D printing, which they call Printrbot Labs.
PB Labs page does not have the same secret R&D vibe as Google’s ATAP division, responsible for Glass and Tango. Instead, it’s mentioned informally as “The secret stuff we distract ourselves with,” with CEO Brook Drumm saying, “We constantly are working on new products… so where do we put them? Well, Printrbot Labs can be a new section which we put all the non-printer stuff.”
The initially product to come out of PB Labs is the Printrbot Tank, which has the appear of a Printrbot Play which has been disassembled and put back together with treads, but is, in actuality, a 3D printed R/C tank create. Whilst the printable parts are free on YouMagine, metal chassis parts and 3D printed tank treads can be purchased for $299. This, yet, does not include all of the vitamins you will require to get it going, so you will have to source them by yourself. For $1,299, yet, you can purchase the conclude kit, which has the metal chassis plates, hardware, power switch, battery hookup, RC controller/receiver, motors, motor controller, and all 3D printed parts, like the treads and sprockets, etc.
If demand for the tank kit are high adequate, Printrbot can go on selling it and actually allow distributors to sell it. But, Printrbot adds, “If not, we can kill it. That’s how Printrbot Labs rolls.”
