08-07-2013: Replicator 2 3D printers hit Microsoft Store shelves

The event was part of the "MakerBot Experience" project

On August 7, 2013, MakerBot announced that its Replicator 2 Desktop 3D printers had arrived at select Microsoft retail stores on the West Coast of the USA. The “MakerBot Experience” included 18 Microsoft Stores across the country. Store customers could purchase a MakerBot Replicator 2 3D printer and filaments on-site. Purchases could also be made through the Microsoft online store.

Yes, those were extraordinary times for 3D printing… 3D printers were treated like smartwatches, gaming consoles, or electric scooters. They were cool, and everyone wanted to have one at home!

Microsoft wasn’t the first to jump on this trend – two months earlier, in May 2013, Staples had initiated a similar collaboration with 3D Systems and included Cube 3D printers in their offerings. Amazon was closely watching and also hinted that it would soon follow suit (today, it is the only one continuing this and making money from it).

Microsoft got very involved in 3D printing. So much so that they included native 3D printing support in Windows 8.1, announced the development of the .3MF format, and introduced 3D Builder – the first mainstream, consumer-friendly 3D modeling software.

Later this fascination headed south...

Anyway, the experiment with MakerBot 3D printers in Microsoft Stores didn’t quite pan out and today remains just a historical curiosity. Nevertheless, at that time, it gave the 3D printing industry great hope for the future and allowed many investors to sink a lot of money into companies producing consumer 3D printers.

And when six months later, a startup from Poland announced that it had sold 5,000 3D printers to DELL, everyone immediately believed it, as if it were something obvious…