Our friends at FreeFab 3D having been participating in Gulf Coast MakerCon since the beginning and we’re very happy to welcome them back for our 5th annual MakerCon event this year! FreeFab 3D is a notable not just for being the local “Made in St. Petersburg” 3D printer manufacturer, but also for their community engagement, helping to create a makerspace near downtown St. Petersburg with the St. Pete Makers, and holding monthly 3D printer Maker Night Meetups in their office. Mo Eppley tells us a bit more about her company here.
GCMC: What do you Make?
ME: We make our own 3D printers – the Monolith and the Eight3! We are 3D printing 
enthusiasts and want everyone to have a great experience so we provide free training and support on all machines we sell.
GCMC: Why got you interested in making your own 3D printers?
ME: We weren’t happy with the other machines available on the market at the time, so we decided to build our own, combining elements from several other printers. But we believe in open source, so we publish our parts list on a Github account and don’t require propriety software to run the machines.
GCMC: Why do you think what you make is important? What will Gulf Coast MakerCon guests be able to see or do at your booth?
ME: There are lots of choices for 3D printers and 3D printer kits, but we are a local 
company with our own unique spin on 3D printers. Our parts lists and STLs are on Github and you could build your own Monolith or buy a fully assembled one from us. You can meet the team of friends working behind the scenes at FreeFab 3D.
GCMC: Why do you think Gulf Coast MakerCon is important?
ME: We are makers! We love GCMC because we are with our people! We are a local manufacturer. Our 3D printers have been purchased by area schools, libraries, small manufacturers, hobbyists and inventors! This is a perfect place to showcase what we do and show it off to others than can use it too!
GCMC: What do you hope to get out of attending MakerCon?
ME: We hope to meet other makers and show off our 3D printers and look forward to selling 3D printers and hoping others have fun with 3d printing!
GCMC: Anything else you’d like to add?
ME: We just opened a new production facility in the Warehouse Arts District in St. Petersburg and plan on expanding to retail sales of 3D parts and filament. We’ve realized people see us as the 3D printer experts so we are branching out into repair services, too. Now that St Pete Makers is open we’re hoping to work with them and offer some classes or introductory workshops. Keep an eye on our Facebook page and our website and details about our Grand Opening in few weeks – date to be announced.
_____________
We can’t wait for the FreeFab 3D Grand Opening, and we can’t wait to see this great group at Gulf Coast Makercon 2016 again!
Get Your Tickets by April 8th!