Prosthetics, superhero badges, and young patrons

Hello everyone,

It’s been another busy week in the 3D Lab. Throughout the day, there is almost always someone in the lab, but when classes let-out, it becomes a bustling place with various projects being worked / talked about. Students discuss mathematical equations on the whiteboard, fashion plane parts from foam board, complete homework assignments, and continue work on personal and class related projects. The energy in that room is amazing.

We are thankful for the six 3D printers in the lab, provided by the Laura B. Frick Charitable Trust – PNC Bank Trustee, the Romich Foundation, and the Wayne County Community Foundation. It seems to be the perfect amount of printers as they are often used simultaneously yet with rarely someone waiting in-line.

If you haven’t heard of www.thingiverse.com, be prepared to lose a good part of your day exploring its ingenious inventions, all of which can be 3D printed. One of our students has a father who lost his index finger in a machinery accident. The student discovered a finger prosthetic on Thingiverse that uses wrist motion to control a prosthetic finger with life-like motion:

The prosthetic was printed on our Up! Plus 2 3D printer, a small printer that is surprisingly fast and prints the highest quality parts compared to our other plastic based 3D printers. Because the design involves multiple parts that snap together, the printer attached temporary plastic “supports” that the student removed after printing. We hope to hear back from the student after his father has tried it on! Thingiverse is testimony of people from all over the world inventing things that can’t be bought, yet freely shared with everyone.

Josh, another student who has been at Wayne College shortly after the start of the 3D Lab, has become an expert in CAD design. In addition to the objects that he designs for himself, he has created fashion designer eyeglass frames, musical instruments, and electronics accessories. Being an avid animé fan, Josh recently designed a badge to accompany his costume for an upcoming event. The badge is from the “Steins;Gate” television series.

To achieve the two-tone appearance, John paused the printer after printing the badge’s gray base, quickly loaded the brown filament spool, the resumed printing. We’ve heard that another popular trick for multi-color prints is to use magic markers to color white filament at various lengths before it enters the printer. Regardless, Josh’s badge looks authentic and was a hit at the event!

Last week, a young community member and his mother dropped by the 3D Lab. They first heard about the lab during Wayne College’s presense at the Buckeye Event Center’s “Trade & Employment Convention” in February. This visit was their second experience with 3D printing and other “making” activities. In two hour’s time, the young patron learned how to use a 3D printer, laser engraver, vinyl cutter, and 3D sculpting software. These activities really sparked his creative interest, hopefully provoking thoughts of becoming an engineer one day.