Jeff Moe and Michael Fitts of Loveland-based startup Aleph Objects Inc. want to share their 3-D printing technology with the world.

No really, they do.

Instead of actually buying one from them, anyone can visit LulzBot.com, download the plans and buy parts to build their own 3-D machine.

Doing that isn't easy, of course, so the partners are counting on selling many more printers than are ever built by do-it-yourselfers.

Still, the information-sharing aspect of their business has led to suggestions from the tech community that have helped Fitts and Moe improve their products. It's another open-source platform that has made technology like Linux computer operating systems so successful – with a twist.

"We're seeing that develop for the first time in the hardware world," Moe said.

Moe, Aleph Objects president, and Fitts, business development manager, got into the tech business despite their liberal-arts degrees. Moe has now worked in the industry for years; Fitts is applying his marketing skills to promote the product.

Drawing on technology developed by Adrian Bowyer of England's University of Bath through his RepRap Project, the men founded Aleph in 2010 based