New Matter to Donate $200,000 Worth of 3D Printers and Supplies to US Schools

CES 2016 events have begun in Las Vegas! The consumer technology symposium, which runs until the end of the week, always attracts a lot of big names, and this year is no exception. Tomorrow marks the official opening of the show floor with its multitudes of exhibitors, which include major corporations as well as small startups. One of those startups is New Matter, who will be exhibiting their flagship printer, the MOD-t, which was officially released to the public last year after a successful Indiegogo campaign. The inexpensive plug and play printer, along with the company’s online marketplace the New Matter Store, have helped to make New Matter remarkably successful for such a young company. Part of their success may be due to the mission they’ve been emphasizing since they started, which is to make 3D printing accessible to everyone.

“We have created a 3D printing experience that everyone can enjoy,” said Steve Schell, New Matter’s CEO and co-founder. “We accomplished our goal of simplifying the 3D printing process by creating an easy-to-use 3D printer and an integrated 3D design marketplace. We feel that the market is poised to take this next big step in integrating 3D printing into everyday life, and New Matter is here to make the experience seamless and user-friendly.”

What’s the next step for New Matter? One of the most important parts of increasing 3D printing’s accessibility is increasing its presence in schools, and New Matter is now targeting educational institutions with their new “Educate and Inspire” initiative. Today, the company announced that they will be donating more than $200,000 in 3D printers and supplies to schools through the Educate and Inspire Grant. The deadline for application is February 5, and each of the 100 recipients will receive 3 MOD-t printers, 15 spools of filament, and 15 additional build plates. Application is open to schools across the US.

“Our 3D printing ecosystem gives educators a unique opportunity to integrate science, technology, art and engineering in the classroom,” said Schell. “Many teachers who use 3D printers in their classrooms say they often run into a bottleneck from having too many student projects to print, but not enough printers to print them all. Because of the affordability of the MOD-t, it is now possible for schools to have multiple printers in their classroom to print more student work, faster.”

Meeting the needs of schools and teachers was actually a priority when the MOD-t was designed. Beyond the affordability of the printer, it was also designed as one of the quietest desktop printers on the market, making it ideal for classroom and library settings. It’s also extremely easy to use, which is a big plus for teachers, who often find themselves having to quickly learn the basics of 3D printing themselves before they can teach them to their students.

“Since our launch, we have been eager and excited to launch meaningful education programs and partnerships to give students access to 3D printing at school,” Schell continued. “New Matter’s ecosystem was designed to be simple and efficient. We are working with educators to ensure that the MOD-t is the easiest and most intuitive 3D printer for the classroom.”

For a company that began through Indiegogo less than 2 years ago, the fact that they are already successful enough to launch such a large educational initiative is impressive. New Matter has already won several awards and nominations for the MOD-t, which they will be demonstrating at CES this week. If you’re at the symposium and would like to see the printer for yourself, you can visit New Matter at Booth #72135.  Discuss this donation in the New Matter and Education forum on 3DPB.com.