Hello everyone,
Despite being the week of Spring Break, the 3D Lab at Wayne College is still a busy place. Students came to the college to work on projects for themselves, projects for others, and just to “hang out”. The R/C flight club also had their weekly meeting on Monday followed by a fun afternoon of flying outside in warm, windy weather.
Roche Harmon from Hiland High School invited Morgan and me to give two presentations on 3D printing, CAD design, and careers in engineering. We drove through beautiful Amish country to Berlin, Ohio to deliver the presentations. As usual, the students were interested in the technology and asked plenty of questions. Morgan was quite a hit and connected 3D printing with chemical engineering as well.
The students were enrolled in a CAD design class to build CO2 powered model cars using SolidWorks for the design program. This folded in perfectly with 3D printing, especially how it can finely control the weight distribution in the car body. We will soon host these students at Wayne College to show them the lab and offer a learning activity while there.
Back at the home front, Dusty is working with Bud to create a vinyl-cut sign. This particular project involves multiple colors of vinyl applied to the same surface. Dusty accomplished this by cutting the colored areas individually, then applying all pieces to the same sheet of transfer tape. The result turned out quite well! We plan to create complicated, multi-color projects using a solution that allows vinyl pieces to slide around during application onto a surface. Stay tuned as we learn more about the process.
During our presentation at the Wayne County Business Referral Group a while back, one of the attendees asked if we could repair a portable combination flashlight/television unit. The flashlight lens secures with a round brace that was broken in several pieces. Dusty designed a replacement brace using SolidWorks, then printed it with our portable 3D printer. It took several revisions before a perfect fit was achieved. But that is the beauty of 3D printing, as revisions are quick to implement. We are happy to report that the unit is fixed!
You never know what projects students are cooking up in the 3D Lab. One student is designing a sophisticated liquid cooling system for his computer using 3D printed ABS plastic. Chris, one of our own from T.S.S., is determined to make one of the engines from last semester run on compressed air. You can see him busy at work below:
There is lots of interesting news to reveal next week as the semester begins again in full-swing.
In addition to 3D printing making breakthroughs in the medical field, 3D printed electronics is becoming a reality. Imagine printing LEDs, electrodes, and semiconductors directly into the object you are making, no wiring needed!
http://www.engadget.com/2014/11/23/3d-printed-quantum-dot-led/
And here is an almost-ready printer that makes this possible:
http://3dprintingindustry.com/2015/01/05/voxel8-unleashes-electronics-3d-printer-ces-world/
Until next week,
Tom