Hello everyone,

After taking vacation for a week in the sunny state of Florida, I wondered (and even worried) about how things were going at the Wayne College 3D Lab.  It seems that the room generates a life of its own; there are always a smattering of students working on various projects and hanging out together.

Chris (a Wayne College student who also works in the Technical Support Department) is president of the R/C airplane club, now in its second semester.  This past Monday, a sizable group of students and community members flew almost two dozen radio controlled airplanes in the gym.  Part of the success of this club is from the 3D Lab, allowing students to create functional parts for their planes.  They’ve made engine mounts, wheels, landing skis, wings, propellers, and more.  The culmination of this club is the creation of a large plane with a five-foot wingspan!  Nathan is busy preparing it for its first flight hopefully next week.

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During the first year of operating the 3D Lab, we realized that 3D printers require constant maintenance just as copier machines and laser printers do.  There is always something to fix, calibrate, and optimize.  Thankfully, most of our 3D printers have annual service plans which cover the cost of replacement parts.

Our first 3D printer (generously provided by the Laura B. Frick Charitable Trust) has been a solid performer.  Last week, after 20 minutes into a print job, the print bed would not move up/down properly which resulted in a failed print and gobs of melted plastic everywhere.  Dusty took the time to tear the printer apart to discover stray plastic lodged in the z-axis rod.  Our engineers have no problem with getting to the heart of difficult projects!

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The week before last, we were invited to present 3D printing and careers in engineering to the Wayne County Business Referral Group (courtesy of Kevin Engle).  The members of the WCBRG are comprised of business people whose companies conduct business in Wayne County.  Members join together to help one-another succeed in business through the exchange of qualified business referrals. 

Morgan and I brought the portable printer and was well received as their monthly speaker.  The question and answer session was quite lengthy as folks were interested in the technology.  Most have heard about 3D printing but few have seen it in-action.  Morgan and I had a fantastic time with the group.

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Those of us “makers” in the 3D Lab are always up for a challenge.  One of our instructors found a figurine on www.thingiverse.com and asked if we could print it for her husband.  The result was a 21-piece figurine of a flying monkey from the Wizard of Oz.  We used our best printer for the job, the Makerbot Replicator 5th Generation provided by the Romich Foundation.  It took 12 hours to print all of the parts, then a student and Theresa Rabbitts’ son assembled them into a fully articulating figure.  Everyone helps each other in the 3D Lab, turning DIY projects (do it yourself) into DIT (do it together).  This is a nature of a true makerspace.

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3d-printing-news

Did you know that the International Space Station has a 3D printer that works in zero-gravity?  See how NASA “e-mailed” a ratcheting wrench to the ISS that was printed in space:

http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2014-12/19/3d-printed-space-wrench

See how the University of Utah used 3D printing to create a prosthetic ear for a four-year-old to help with fitting in with classmate during his first year of kindergarten:

http://3dprint.com/42341/utah-3d-printed-ear-4-year-old

 

Stay tuned for more happenings in the 3D Lab next week!

Tom