<s>
In	O
August	O
2022	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
completed	O
a	O
merger	O
with	O
its	O
long-time	O
competitor	O
Ultimaker	B-Device
,	O
the	O
new	O
entity	O
keeping	O
Ultimaker	B-Device
's	O
name	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Smith	O
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
founding	O
members	O
of	O
the	O
RepRap	O
Research	O
Foundation	O
,	O
a	O
non-profit	O
group	O
created	O
to	O
help	O
advance	O
early	O
research	O
in	O
the	O
area	O
of	O
open-source	B-License
3D	O
printers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
April	O
2012	O
,	O
Zachary	O
Smith	O
was	O
pushed	O
out	O
,	O
involving	O
disagreement	O
on	O
adherence	O
to	O
open-source	B-License
principles	O
,	O
and	O
likely	O
also	O
about	O
integration	O
with	O
Stratasys	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
August	O
31	O
,	O
2022	O
,	O
the	O
MakerBot	O
division	O
was	O
merged	O
with	O
Ultimaker	B-Device
,	O
with	O
Stratasys	O
keeping	O
a	O
minority	O
share	O
in	O
the	O
new	O
Ultimaker	B-Device
company	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
of	O
the	O
open	B-License
source	I-License
nature	O
of	O
the	O
product	O
,	O
any	O
suggestions	O
for	O
improvements	O
came	O
from	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
device	O
interfaces	O
via	O
USB	B-Protocol
or	O
a	O
Secure	B-Device
Digital	I-Device
(	O
SD	O
)	O
card	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Thing-O-Matic	O
is	O
open-source	B-License
hardware	O
and	O
is	O
licensed	O
under	O
the	O
GNU	B-License
GPLv3	I-License
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
the	O
last	O
open-source	B-License
MakerBot	O
printer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
2013	O
,	O
MakerBot	O
released	O
the	O
Digitizer	O
,	O
a	O
3D	B-Algorithm
scanner	I-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
Connectivity	O
is	O
WiFi	O
;	O
Ethernet	O
;	O
USB	B-Protocol
cable	O
;	O
USB	B-Protocol
drive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MakerBot	O
hosts	O
the	O
online	O
community	O
Thingiverse	O
,	O
where	O
users	O
can	O
upload	O
3D	O
printable	O
files	O
,	O
document	O
designs	O
,	O
and	O
collaborate	O
3D	O
printing	O
projects	O
and	O
on	O
open	B-License
source	I-License
hardware	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
its	O
detachment	O
from	O
the	O
open	B-License
source	I-License
community	O
,	O
the	O
departure	O
of	O
its	O
founders	O
,	O
reliability	O
problems	O
with	O
its	O
'	O
smart	O
extruder	O
 '	O
and	O
questionable	O
user	O
clauses	O
on	O
the	O
Thingiverse	O
site	O
,	O
there	O
were	O
several	O
controversies	O
related	O
to	O
the	O
Makerbot	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
departure	O
from	O
the	O
previous	O
open-source	B-License
hardware	O
model	O
was	O
criticized	O
by	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
community	O
,	O
including	O
co-founder	O
(	O
and	O
now	O
former	O
employee	O
)	O
Zachary	O
Smith	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Community	O
members	O
accused	O
MakerBot	O
of	O
asserting	O
ownership	O
over	O
their	O
designs	O
when	O
those	O
designs	O
had	O
been	O
contributed	O
with	O
the	O
understanding	O
that	O
they	O
would	O
remain	O
open	B-License
source	I-License
.	O
</s>
<s>
Then-CEO	O
Bre	O
Pettis	O
released	O
a	O
statement	O
dismissing	O
these	O
critics	O
,	O
citing	O
patents	O
that	O
had	O
been	O
filed	O
for	O
unique	O
inventions	O
prior	O
to	O
any	O
community-created	O
designs	O
,	O
namely	O
that	O
the	O
patent	O
for	O
the	O
quick	O
release	O
extruder	O
was	O
originally	O
filed	O
in	O
2012	O
while	O
the	O
open	B-License
source	I-License
design	O
was	O
first	O
published	O
to	O
Thingiverse	O
in	O
2013	O
.	O
</s>
