The Thing O Matic introduced a number of advancements over the Cupcake. Most notably the Automated Build Platform, a belt system which allowed multiple objects to be print out sequentially without manual removal.
The Thing O Matic 3D printer was introduced by MakerBot in September 2010 at a price of $1225. The design was open source and files were made available on the Thingiverse. Improved reliability and a low price point allowed many new users to experiment with 3D printing technology.
Parts are fabricated using acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) or polylactic acid (PLA) with an extrusion head with z axis mobility and a platen with x and y axis mobility. Fully assembled, the exterior dimensions are 300 × 300 × 410 mm (12″ W × 12″ D × 16″ H) with a build envelope of 100 x 100 x 100 mm (4″ W × 4″ D × 4″ H) when using the automated build platform. The device interfaces using USB or SD card.
