Hello everyone,
A lot has been happening in the 3D Lab the past couple of weeks. There wasn’t time for last week’s blog, though I am now settling into routine again. Recently, the lab was involved with Wadsworth Intermediate Schools, Buckeye Event Center, and Heartland Education Community. More about these outreaches in later blogs.
Even though engineering students are not yet designing and printing model rockets for their classes, that doesn’t stop them from creating and inventing in the 3D Lab. That is the beauty of this space, an area where students collaborate, create, invent, and fabricate on their own steam, learning with their own motivation.
For instance, one of our students has a vintage lawn mower where the hard-rubber wheels are rotting from age.
Using the Solidworks CAD program, he reproduced the design on the computer.
He is now printing a prototype using both Taz 3D printers (generously provided by the Wayne County Community Foundation). Printing the wheel normally takes 12 hours of time given its large size. To save time, he used the free NetFab Basic program to “slice” the wheel into halves. Each half is printed on different Taz printers, cutting the overall printing time to six hours. The prototype will be glued together then test fitted before printing the final (whole) wheel. Quite clever!
Ben is making wonderful progress with a homemade CNC machine for carving wood. Using old printer parts, donated stepper motors, a Dremel rotary tool, and wood from his dad’s garage, Ben’s goal is to build a CNC for under $200. Based on his amazing progress, it just may be possible! Check-out the video of the machine’s first wood carving job:
Ben discovered that the stepper motors are too weak to push the Dremel’s drill bit through the wood. He visited SynHak (a makerspace in the Akron area) where he met a fellow CNC enthusiast. He was given lots of advice, including specifications on stronger motors. Zach will purchase new motors for the next revision of the CNC machine. Stay tuned!
The 3D Lab frequently makes road trips to area schools and organizations to introduce 3D printing, careers in engineering, and form service connections with community.
Recently, the Wayne Economic Development Council hosted a meeting where area manufacturers discuss latest treads. The meeting explored the application of additive manufacturing in various industries and new developments in areas such as materials, processes and technologies.
In addition to Wayne College, representatives from The Schantz Organ Company, Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network (MAGNET), and Stark State College of Technology were also present. The hope is to form a network of 3D users and service providers forming along the Route 30 corridor in Richland, Ashland, Wayne and Stark counties.
Students are making good use of the laser engraver (provided by the Romich Foundation). A staff member used a wooden plaque (provided by P. Graham Dunn) to create a key holder for home. The laser engraver applied the text as well as alignment holes needed for the drill press. The result turned out beautifully!
Big names are entering the 3D printing market. Not only Hewlett Packard and Dremel, but now Polaroid!
http://www.gizmag.com/polaroid-modelsmart-250s-3d-printer/41223
Did you know there are 3D printers that create designer food? Here is a confectionary 3D printer that will make your mouth water:
http://www.3dsystems.com/chefjet
Until next week,
Tom