Hello everyone,

It’s been a busy past couple of weeks, not just in the 3D Lab, but with other exciting events being planned.  It seems that the “maker movement” is exploding everywhere!  It is making national news.  The Akron local school system is expecting major upgrades this year to support the movement, including our own University of Akron.  There has never been a better time to be a maker and celebrate the maker in all of us.

June 17-23 is proclaimed by President Obama as the National Week of Making.  As stated, “Today, Americans of all ages have the ability to connect and showcase their creativity through a growing maker movement. Technologies like 3D printing and desktop machine tools are rapidly lowering the costs of production; additional sources of capital such as crowdfunding are reducing barriers to getting started; and the democratization of technology is empowering more makers, helping to boost entrepreneurship and stimulate American manufacturing.”  You can read the full proclamation here.

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With makerspaces popping up at Wayne College, The Schanz Organ Company, the Romich Farm, Northwestern Schools, Norwayne Schools, Orrville Schools, etc., it is easy to see that our community is firmly committed to enabling dreams for our children that will last a lifetime.

 

To help celebrate, the Schantz Makerspace is hosting its second Maker Monday next week on June 20th at 7:00 p.m. at the Schantz Organ Company in Orrville.  Be sure not to miss it as exciting projects will be announced.  It is also a good way to socialize with fellow makers, collaborate on projects, and more.  And there will be donuts.  🙂

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The 3D Lab made another Road Trip to Wooster Township Elementary to present 3D printing to dozens of students there.  We talked about what it means to be a “maker” and how problems are solved through engineering and a creative mind.  Our trips are always well received with lots of students asking questions.  The portable printer (provided by the Romich Foundation) is a big hit; students are fascinated with how the technology works.

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Wayne College is proud to announce that we will offer our first Mini Maker Faire for Wayne County!  In its early planning stages, the faire will happen in late Spring 2017.

Maker Faires provide a venue for makers to show examples of their work and interact with others about it.  Tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators, tinkerers, hobbyists, engineers, science clubs, authors, artists, students, and entrepreneurs all come together to show their projects and to talk about what they have learned. It is a community-based learning event that inspires everyone to become a maker, and connect with people and projects in their local community.

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If you have something that would like to show, be it a hobby, artistic work, electronics, robotics, drones, music, something fun for kids, food, anything, please consider being an exhibitor!  Send an email to tjh1@uakron.edu to be included as a “maker” in the faire.  If you would like to be involved in the production or sponsorship of this event, please let us know as well.

 

Near the end of Spring semester, one of our University of Akron engineering students used the 3D Lab at Wayne College for his final project; a mouse trap powered car.  You heard me right.  🙂  The downward force of the mouse trap’s spring is converted to tangential energy to the wheels.  Students compete to see how far each car can travel (typically eight feet) along inclines that get steeper with each test.  The student used a 3D printer to build the wheels.  And he won first place in the competition!

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Last but not least, the laser engraver (also provided by the Romich Foundation) receives daily use, even over the summer.  Community members visit the 3D Lab to engrave water bottles, wooden plaques, and other items generously provided by P. Graham Dunn, many of whom never used an engraver before.  We are so thankful that we can provide this service to the community, to help the community learn a skill that they never thought was possible.

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Speaking of laser engraving, here are the “best ways to fail” in hopes that you will get it right next time:

http://hackaday.com/2016/05/31/how-to-fail-at-laser-cutting

 

In the spirit of the National Week of Making, watch this inspirational video to unlock the maker in all of us:

http://pages.makerbot.com/Innovator-In-Everyone.html

 

Until next week,

Tom