# MakerBot 3D printers and SimplyPrint Made by a company from USA. We list 8 MakerBot printers. 1 of them works with SimplyPrint. Each printer's page says how it connects, and how to set it up. ## Every MakerBot printer, the newest first - [MakerBot Sketch Sprint](https://simplyprint.io/compatibility/makerbot-sketch-sprint): Not expected to work (launched November 2024) - [MakerBot Sketch Large](https://simplyprint.io/compatibility/makerbot-sketch-large): Not expected to work (launched October 2022) - [MakerBot Sketch](https://simplyprint.io/compatibility/makerbot-sketch): Not expected to work (launched February 2020) - [MakerBot Replicator+](https://simplyprint.io/compatibility/makerbot-replicator-plus): Not compatible (launched 2016) - [MakerBot Replicator Z18](https://simplyprint.io/compatibility/makerbot-replicator-z18): Not compatible (launched June 16, 2014) - [MakerBot Replicator Mini](https://simplyprint.io/compatibility/makerbot-replicator-mini): Not compatible (launched 2014) - [MakerBot 5th Generation](https://simplyprint.io/compatibility/makerbot-5th-generation): Not compatible (launched 2014) - [MakerBot Replicator 2](https://simplyprint.io/compatibility/makerbot-replicator-2): Compatible (launched September 2012) Compare them side by side: https://simplyprint.io/compatibility/compare?brand=makerbot ## About MakerBot MakerBot is an American 3D printer brand founded in New York in 2009 out of the open-source RepRap scene. Stratasys bought it in 2013 and merged it with Ultimaker in 2022; MakerBot is now UltiMaker's education brand, selling Sketch classroom printers with lesson plans, teacher tools and management in UltiMaker's Digital Factory cloud. The Replicator printers in our catalogue are discontinued. - Firmware and custom firmware: 1/5. MakerBot stopped sharing its hardware designs with the Replicator 2 in 2012, and its fifth-generation printers moved to proprietary controllers, extruders and firmware. We found no firmware source for the current Sketch line. - Local control and integrations: 3/5. The Sketch Sprint prints over Wi-Fi or Ethernet from UltiMaker Cura or Digital Factory, or from a USB stick. Classroom management, remote monitoring and browser slicing (Cura Cloud) run in UltiMaker's Digital Factory cloud, which replaced MakerBot CloudPrint in 2025. We found no documented local interface that other software could use. - Third-party filament, slicers and parts: 2/5. MakerBot lists only its own PLA and Tough PLA, and only its own Sketch extruder, for the Sketch Sprint. Slicing is in UltiMaker Cura (open source) or Cura Cloud. - Repairs and spare parts: 3/5. UltiMaker's shop sells Sketch extruders, a Sketch Sprint nozzle assembly, build plates and cables, and still sells Smart Extruder+ units for the Replicator+; spare parts are mostly whole assemblies. - Data and privacy: 3/5. Some MakerBot services need an account, and MakerBot's privacy policy lists what it collects (including device identifiers such as MAC addresses and usage data) and its use of Google Analytics and retargeting. Students can submit files through Link Share without an account. - Community and documentation: 3/5. MakerBot offers hundreds of free lesson plans, educator certification, Thingiverse Education and a support site; there is no public source code or bug tracker. - December 2025: UltiMaker shut down MakerBot CloudPrint in early December 2025, after announcing 1 October 2025. Printers had to be reconnected to Digital Factory by hand, and the Replicator Z18, 5th Gen, Mini and Mini+ are not supported there; MakerBot points their owners to MakerBot Print. - August 31, 2022: Stratasys closed the merger of MakerBot with Ultimaker into a company named Ultimaker (now UltiMaker), owned 53.5% by NPM Capital and 46.5% by Stratasys. - February 2017: MakerBot announced a restructuring with another round of layoffs, Fortune reported. - July 2016: A court dismissed the investor class action over the fifth-generation printers and Smart Extruder, finding the statements at issue were not actionable. - April 2016: MakerBot moved printer manufacturing from Brooklyn to the contract manufacturer Jabil and parted ways with an undisclosed number of Brooklyn staff, The Verge reported. - July 2015: A class action was filed against MakerBot and Stratasys alleging investors were misled about problems with the fifth-generation printers' Smart Extruder. - April 2015: MakerBot laid off about 20% of its staff, roughly 100 people, under a new CEO, Motherboard reported. - June 2013: Stratasys bought MakerBot in a stock deal worth $403 million at the time. - September 2012: With the Replicator 2, MakerBot stopped publishing its machine designs, a break with open-source hardware that co-founder Zach Smith criticised publicly. ## MakerBot printers for print farms Running a print farm with SimplyPrint: https://simplyprint.io/print-farms The best 3D printers for print farms: https://simplyprint.io/articles/best-3d-printer-for-print-farms ## MakerBot printers for education - [MakerBot Sketch Sprint](https://simplyprint.io/compatibility/makerbot-sketch-sprint): Enclosed, filtered, PIN-locked and sold with lesson plans, though it uses MakerBot's own tools instead of SimplyPrint's approval queue and costs more than comparable printers. SimplyPrint for schools and universities: https://simplyprint.io/education The best 3D printers for schools: https://simplyprint.io/articles/best-3d-printers-for-schools ## Frequently asked questions ### Does MakerBot work with SimplyPrint? We list 8 MakerBot printers. 1 of them works with SimplyPrint. Each printer's page says how it connects, and how to set it up. ### How open is MakerBot? Mostly closed: 2.3 of 5 on our openness scale, rated from public sources on firmware, local control, filament and slicers, repairs, privacy and community. ### What is MakerBot's newest 3D printer? The MakerBot Sketch Sprint, launched November 2024.