MakerBot Replicator Among Winners Chosen Out of Almost 5,000 Entries for 2015 Red Dot Award for Product Design

NEW YORK--MakerBot, a global leader in the desktop 3D printing industry, is proud to announce that the MakerBot Replicator Desktop 3D Printer (Fifth Generation Model) was awarded the prestigious Red Dot Award: Product Design 2015. MakerBot believes in clean, consolidated product design that maximizes user accessibility, and the sleek and high performance MakerBot Replicator represents the latest iteration of these goals. The fifth generation Replicator provides the easiest and most versatile way to get from 3D model to 3D print. It joins the ranks of other Red Dot winners such as the Apple iPhone (2008) and the BMW i8 (2014).

The MakerBot Replicator Desktop 3D Printer was among the winners selected from nearly 5,000 entries by an international jury of the Red Dot Award. "This 3D printer features an inspiring, open design. Its clean aesthetics blend perfectly into professional and educational environments, as well as the home," stated the Red Dot jury. MakerBot industrial designers Jackson Seidenberg and Vishnu Anantha and the engineering and product teams who they collaborate with are honored to receive this sought-after prize, which recognizes projects whose superior designs set them apart from comparable products. "To date, nobody has applied real design to 3D printers," said MakerBot director of industrial design Mark Palmer. "Many companies focus simply on the mechanical and electrical components, and neglect the design considerations that build an emotional connection with the printer and a seamless user experience. The MakerBot Replicator, with its design recognition, stands out from other printers as being more than just a collection of components."

When designing new products, MakerBot focuses on ease of use and how the product fits into peoples lives. "We wanted to create a desktop 3D printer that was friendly, accessible and invites individuals, whether a 5th grader or a professional engineer, to engage and quickly turn an idea into a physical object," said Yuri Salnikoff, Chief Marketing Officer of MakerBot. "The MakerBot Replicator provides direct access in the work area and empowers educators, designer and engineers to unleash their creativity." The MakerBot Replicator features a 3.5" display for functions, print status, and advanced features, and a rotary knob as the selector. Palmer explained that there are "strong cues in the printer itself that tell you how to interact with it," citing the knob as "the focal point."

The MakerBot Replicator is supported by the MakerBot 3D Ecosystem, a growing, synergetic ecosystem of products, materials, software, accessories, services, and content that integrate seamlessly with each other to make 3D printing more accessible for everyone. The MakerBot 3D Ecosystem includes MakerBot Desktop software for preparing prints, the MakerBot Mobile app with cloud platform to initiate and monitor prints remotely, and MakerBot Thingiverse, the worlds largest 3D design community. The MakerBot Replicator Smart Extruder is a groundbreaking innovation that minimizes printing downtime by enabling users to swap a worn extruder in minutes. The Smart Extruder also allows users to adapt quickly to new innovations in the evolving world of 3D printing. When MakerBot introduces new materials like MakerBot Composite PLA, customers will be able to purchase a Smart Extruder made to handle the new filament, instead of having to buy an entirely new printer.

The Red Dot Award was created in 1954 to recognize products with the highest quality of design. A panel of leading design experts convenes every year to evaluate products based on specific criteria: from physical characteristics such as durability, functionality, ergonomics, ecological compatibility, and formal quality to abstract traits such as innovation, symbolic and emotional content, product periphery, and self-explanatory quality. These latter criteria consider the way users interact with the product and the emotions they invoke. The international Red Dot jury bestows the sought-after seal of quality only to products that stand out thanks to their excellent design.

About MakerBot
MakerBot, a subsidiary of Stratasys Ltd. (Nasdaq:SSYS), is leading the Next Industrial Revolution by setting the standards in reliable and affordable desktop 3D printing. Founded in 2009, MakerBot sells desktop 3D printers to innovative and industry-leading customers worldwide, including engineers, architects, designers, educators and consumers. MakerBot has one of the largest installed bases and market shares of the desktop 3D printing industry, with more than 80,000 MakerBot Desktop 3D Printers in the world. The robust MakerBot 3D Ecosystem makes 3D printing easy and accessible for everyone. To learn more about MakerBot, visit makerbot.com.