UAWC3 Lab (Page 13)

Hello everyone, There has been a lot happening in the 3D Lab lately, with enough interesting stories that I could write two dozen blogs and still have stories yet to tell.  But I will focus on some of the highlights in this post.  But there are so many interesting creative projects going on!  The 3D Lab is a real testimony of student ingenuity and community. Before I forget, there is a maker faire close to home this weekend, the Akron Mini Maker Faire being held at the Akron Public Library this Saturday!  The event runs from noon to 4:00 and is an experience that youRead More →

Hello everyone, Much has been happening in the 3D Lab over the past weeks, despite the brief lapse of regular news from this blog.  I have a good excuse for the delay; we are hard at work preparing for the Wayne County Mini Maker Faire in May! Maker Faire is a gathering of fascinating, curious people who enjoy learning and who love sharing what they can do. From engineers to artists to scientists to crafters, Maker Faire is a venue to for these “makers” to show hobbies, experiments, projects. We call it the Greatest Show (& Tell) on Earth — a family-friendly showcase of invention,Read More →

Hello everyone, As with last semester, the 3D Lab is packed with students most every hour of the day.  Some complete homework, others work on inventive personal projects, and some simply hang-out with friends to enjoy the energy that is felt there. One of our students, Ashton, is going full-bore with building a personal 3D printer from scratch.  He is researching how to modify existing circuit boards to suit his needs and how to manually machine metal printer parts such as filament drive screw, gantry system, and other systems.  We’ll have more to report about this exciting project soon. Students in the Tools for EngineeringRead More →

Hello everyone, Our freshly cleaned and waxed floors in the 3D Lab are now littered with dirt, plastic shavings, discarded airplane parts, candy wrappers, and unidentifiable objects, signs of a healthy and busy makerspace.  The two Taz 3D printers provided by the Wayne County Community Foundation are true workhorses and are printing all day long. One particular student is determined to build a 3D printer from scratch, so he is busy printing parts using our existing printers, recycling used stepper motors and extruder assemblies from our older printers, reading voraciously about similar projects on the Internet, etc.  Once his project starts coming together, we’ll haveRead More →

Hello everyone, It has been a hectic couple of weeks in the 3D Lab.  Or, since last week, an empty room!  Our Maintenance Department graciously offered to clean and wax the lab’s floor which was quite filthy from two years of high traffic.  That meant removing everything from the lab.  For many of you who visited the 3D Lab, you know how tightly packed everything is with machines, furniture, equipment, etc. It only took two days to remove everthing, but over a week to install stuff back into place!  The lab should be mostly functional by the start of fall semester.  We literally had folksRead More →

Hello everyone, This year is poised to be one of the hottest on record globally.  NASA’s data revealed each month in first-half 2016 was the warmest globally in modern temperature record, which dates to 1880. With all of this heat and humidity, now is the perfect time to hang-out in the Wayne College 3D Lab!  Even in the middle of summer with students taking a break from studying, they and community members visit the lab each day.  This week witnessed the creation of laser engraved dedication plaques for the new PlayLab experiential playground in Wooster, a video game programming camp for kids, custom designed t-shirts,Read More →

Hello everyone, Not a day passes when someone isn’t using the 3D Lab to work on projects, even in the middle of summer when most students are on break!  It is a good time to clean-up the lab, fix minor problems with the machines, and improve procedures for using them.  It is always wonderful to see people from different backgrounds come together to provide advice, teach each other how to use the equipment, and just have fun making things together. Summer also means summer camp, and this summer brings kids from the Orrville Area Boys and Girls Club to the 3D Lab to build “chuckRead More →

Hello everyone, It’s hard to believe that almost 2-1/2 years passed since the birth of the University of Akron Wayne College 3D Lab.  Starting with one Makerbot printer on a side table in my office (thanks to the Laura B. Frick Charitable Trust), we now have not only a dedicated room and more equipment, but more importantly, a community of “makers” whose lives are enriched daily by inventing and connecting with each other.  What an adventure it’s been!  If you want to read about our past activities, please visit our blog here.  You will certainly find something that perks your interest. Progress on the WayneRead More →

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 theirRead More →

Hello everyone, The first week of summer has certainly started with a bang at the Wayne College 3D Lab.  What I thought would be a mostly empty lab with students on summer break turned out to be a bustle of activity!  Yesterday, representatives from the Orrville Boys and Girls Club laser engraved dozens of water bottles to promote their organization, a new community member visited the lab to 3D print items from rubber and resin, and today there are folks using the laser engraver and working on radio controlled airplanes.  The lab truly is a place where people come to collaborate and create.  Many thanksRead More →