Back in July of 2013, the technology firm Supplyframe found that the online DIY hack/modding website Hackaday was up for sale and quietly but promptly purchased the popular site. Shortly thereafter, they introduced Hackaday.io, which is a collaborative Maker section on the site where users can collaborate with one another on various projects and post how-to’s on open-source hardware and software.

No surprise, it’s been a huge draw as it’s reigned in almost 100,000 users since it went live. They’ve also introduced the annual Hackaday Prize where contestants compete against each other with open-source projects, with the winner receiving a trip… into space… or a cash prize of over $196,000.

In an effort to make it easier for users to get their hands on the electronics needed for their varying projects, Supplyframe has recently acquired online marketplace Tindie — a place where Makers can buy and sell their respective products.

Supplyframe feels that their recent acquisition will fill an important gap between prototyping and manufacturing where crowdfunding is not an option for some just yet. Users may be working on revision 1 for the project and want to see what “lean manufacturing” can do before committing or revising their projects, while others may simply want to produce only a few copies of their projects. Crazy, purchasable gear is sure to flood in the second it opens.

Our friends, colleagues, and community have been on Tindie for years. It’s a great way to get their creations out into the world and joining forces with Hackaday will make that even better. -Mike Szczys, Managing Editor of Hackaday

No doubt, Tindie fills that gap quite nicely and Supplyframe is making it easy to provide users with the tools to design, develop, prototype, and manufacture their projects all under one roof, which could be seen by many as a boon for the Maker and DIY worlds where the only limitation is imagination. This couldn’t be a smarter purchase, in my opinion. Ever read the comments at Hack-A-Day, every thread has a “where can I buy one” entry… that place will now be close.