Hello everyone,
The Fall semester at Wayne College is drawing to a close, snow is beginning to fall (again), and blistery winds are keeping students inside more than out. We’ve had a busy past few weeks, with not enough time to keep-up on the activities happening in the 3D Lab!
Perhaps the most exciting time was the “Mini Mini Maker Faire” held in the Wayne College Student Life Building a couple of weeks ago. The event was to promote and raise awareness for the upcoming, larger scale “Mini Maker Fair” on May 20, 2017. Thanks to the help of faculty and staff from the college’s Teaching and Learning Committee, we pulled together an amazing event with only two weeks of preparation.
And was it amazing! There were giant Jenga blocks, flying drones, computerized Christmas lights, a human brain in a jar (still living?), 3D printed bird watching accoutrements, custom Nerf parts, LEGO Bionicles toys, a CNC machine, boomerangs, a fitness obstacle course, and more. Lots of students, staff, faculty, and community members milled about, asking questions to the “makers” and having a good time. There was free popcorn and even Zippy made a special appearance on the second day of the faire, too!
The event was a big success and we are confident that the bigger faire in May will be jaw dropping. If you want to be a part of the Mini Maker Faire, please sign up as a “maker” by visiting http://waynecounty.makerfaire.com. It will be an experience that you will never forget. Thanks to everyone who made the “mini mini” faire possible on such short notice.
Here are highlights of the faire as pictures are worth so much more than words:
Back in the 3D Lab, we are proud (and humbled) to announce two additions! Many thanks to SmithFoods here in Orrville, the Wayne County Community Foundation, and the Aldrich Family for providing more creative possibilities in the lab.
SmithFoods donated a large-format printer capable of printing 3-1/2 foot wide posters of any length. This monster of a printer uses eight ink colors to creating stunning, photographic prints. And just look at Nathan; he’s no stranger to the camera!
Maintaining supplies for this printer is no small matter, so the Wayne County Community Foundation stepped up to provide funding for consumables. The Foundation also provided funding for the upcoming four-axis CNC mill capable of carving soft woods, plastics, and other materials. We are quite excited about that!
The Aldrich Family donated a high-end dye sublimation printer and supplies to the 3D Lab. This machine prints full color images onto special paper. This is heat transferred onto almost anything, such as shirts, mouse pads, mugs, jigsaw puzzles, tablet and phone cases, just about anything! We appreciate their generosity as the lab now supports full-color services with the dye sub printer and the poster printer. Josh is quite happy about it.
The Wayne College 3D Lab is free and open to the public, so feel free to bring yourself, your family members, your friends to create something! Our hours of operation are posted here. Want to create laser engraved holiday gifts? Thanks to the generation of P. Graham Dunn, we have a variety of wonderful items for you to learn laser engraving with.
Last but not least, a community member visited the 3D Lab several weeks ago with a high-end Kitchen Aid mixer. One of her favorite mixing bowls is too tall for the mixer, causing the mixer’s factory lid to not fit when attached to the bowl.
Nathan took measurements of the existing lid, then designed a shorter version using Solidworks, our students’ favorite CAD program. Given the size of the new lid’s design, we printed it on our large-format Taz 3D printers (also provided by the Wayne County Community Foundation). The result turned out beautifully! I hope that Julie doesn’t mind purple to match her white mixer. 🙂
See how 3D printing is used to create a stop-motion animation:
http://hackaday.com/2016/09/29/3d-printing-a-stop-motion-animation
See how laser engraving & cutting is used to create a mesmerizing optical illusion:
http://makezine.com/projects/animated-records-phenakistoscopes
Want to make illusions yourself? Try building one of these “infinity mirrors”!
http://makezine.com/2016/09/01/20-infinity-mirror-projects-to-reflect-on-forever
Until next week,
Tom