I made physical objects because I know how to do something on the computer. That struck a chord with me: Most women of my generation have grown up with technology but lack the handmade creative skills of former generations. This is a big opportunity to fill that gap.
Our intention is that people use MakerBots to have a positive impact on the world.
Electronics are getting more and more accessible now - you don't have to be an engineer to start building things.
Give ordinary people the right tools, and they will design and build the most extraordinary things.
We're at a moment where people are rediscovering their ability to design, to create (engineer)and in essence, to become a true maker.
Windell Oskay is the co-founder of Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories, a Silicon Valley company that has designed and produced specialized electronics and robotics kits since 2007.
I'm a contract computer scientist by trade, but I'm the founder of something called the Tinkering School. It's a summer program which aims to help kids to learn how to build the things that they think of.
Before I started MakerBot, I was creating cool stuff and sharing it with the Internet. That's how I knew all the folks at BoingBoing, at Engadget and Gizmodo.
Over time, shop classes sort of disappeared or got marginalized in the states. I don't really know why. Now with tech like 3-D printers and CNCs, shops have acquired a new shine.
We need to have making, including computer science, shop, etc. as part of the core curriculum from the beginning, not just an optional afterschool thing. Things like First Robotics and all of those great programs need to become mainstream.
Fifty-seven percent of Americans are do-it-yourselfers, craftspeople, and artisans and makers.
We started MakerBot in 2009 and made a conscious decision to educate people with the possibilities they could do with 3D printing and share with people what is possible.
I still have the first bottle opener I made on my MakerBot. Things you fabricate are things you care more about. I think there will always be people who go and buy crap at the dollar store. But I think it is cool when people craft things themselves.
We got involved with the RepRap Project, a community focused on making 3-D printers that could make copies of themselves and help create a world without money. We started making prototypes.
We want Facebook to be one of the best places people can go to learn how to build stuff.
Nerdists, unlike nerds, tend to be creators as much as consumers. They're creative consumers.
