UAWC3 Lab (Page 17)

Hello everyone, With the start of Fall semester next week, the busy 3D Lab is about to become a lot busier.  Engineering classes building LEGO Mindstorms controlled robots will use the lab to augment their designs, perform material stress tests, and more.  Our multi-material 3D printers have yet to arrive; students will put them to good use later this semester. New students visited the 3D lab over the summer to use the equipment and 3D print their CAD designs.  Various members of the community work on projects here as well.  One of these people is an avid bird watcher.  He uses AutoDesk’s free 123D MakeRead More →

Hello everyone, With two weeks of summer remaining before the start of fall classes, we are cleaning and preparing the 3D Lab for another busy semester.  The pending arrival of two additional 3D printers (courtesy of the Wayne County Community Foundation) will help with the print load as our existing three printers were frequently running simultaneously last semester. 3D printers can and do cause problems on a regular basis, requiring maintenance and repair.  Our first 3D printer, the Makerbot Replicator 2X, developed jammed filament in its extruder head, requiring replacement.  The company shipped two extruder blocks and a replacement fan; Anthony accepted the challenge toRead More →

Hello everyone, We have a lot to do in the 3D Lab to prepare for the Fall semester of activities and classes.  In the works are designing a brochure and business cards to promote the makerspace when interacting with the public, creating maintenance schedules for the various equipment, and the installation of two new forthcoming 3D printers funded by the Wayne County Community Foundation.  Anthony, our summer student assistant, has been wonderful by helping community members and working on lab projects. One of our community members is an avid photographer, designing improvements to his cameras and other optical devices in CAD, then reproducing parts onRead More →

Hello everyone, It’s another busy week in the 3D Lab.   Various community members frequent the lab on an almost daily basis, depending upon projects they are working on.  All of our equipment gets a regular workout.  The vinyl cutter, 3D printers, and laser engraver was used this week by past and current students, community members, and staff.  We also hope this equipment will save money with college projects, being able to craft our own products instead of buying expensive pre-made ones. The summer camp with the Orrville Area Boys and Girls Club officially finished last week.  It was an exciting time for the kids andRead More →

Hello everyone, It is wonderful to see the 3D Lab being discovered and used by the community on a regular basis.  Some students from Spring semester visit to work on projects, but even more folks arrive from the community, hearing about the 3D Lab through various channels (friends, radio, newspapers, etc.).  The laser engraver and 3D printers are used equally as much, enabling users to make things at various skill levels.  We see people of all ages, too.  It’s especially wonderful to see kids interested in the technology, often their first foray into 3D and 2D objects, design, and engineering.  Our multiple methods of fabricationRead More →

Hello everyone, With mention of the 3D Lab in The Daily Record, radio advertisements, and public demonstrations, community members stop-by the lab each week.  We are starting to have regular visitors to work on various projects.  Younger members of the community take particular interest in the 3D printers and laser engraver.  Thanks to donated materials by P. Graham Dunn, we teach them how to create custom laser engraver pieces to take-home, even during the first visit.  Their excitement is wonderful to behold. One such community member (an Orrville resident) is an avid bird watcher, brought his binoculars to the lab.  Since he wears eyeglasses, theRead More →

Hello everyone,   It seems there is so much activity in the 3D Lab that I can’t keep up with the news.  And that’s a good problem to have.  Students, staff, and community members are using it for many different reasons.  It is rewarding to see people coming to the lab with different goals and projects, yet coming together to help with each other’s projects.  We have community members giving advice to students, students helping employees, and lab staff helping everyone.  It’s a wonderful way of exchanging ideas and forming a learning community. A few weeks ago, a local business found our website and requestedRead More →

Hello everyone, The 3D printing initiative at Wayne College continues to garner awareness from the community.  The Daily Record posted an article a couple of weeks ago and folks reported hearing about us on the radio, too.  Community members are requesting to see and use the lab for various projects this summer. Also raising awareness is our summer camp, already halfway through its 10-week run.  The radio controlled planes are assembled, now kids and instructors are working on mounting motors and connecting linkages that control the ailerons and rudders.  As the planes near completion, kids practiced flight control by connecting their controllers to a computerRead More →

Hello everyone, It was another busy week in the 3D Lab which is amazing for the summer session.  We are teaching staff and community members how to use the laser engraver for a variety of needs.  It is also a way to observe how it is used, aiding in developing usage and safety procedures.  The summer break provides time to write documentation, signs, and posters to make the lab easier to use.  Our first 3D printer (the Makerbot Replicator 2X) is in need of repair, so that is a project as well.  There is always something that needs improved or fixed in that lab; thoughRead More →

Hello everyone, We are into our third week of the 3D Lab summer camp where kids from the Orrville Area Boys and Girls Club build radio controlled airplanes using laser cutters, 3D printers, and other technology.  Anthony is learning the ins and outs of the new resin 3D printer, while Kaleb is laser engraving items for the first time.  It’s amazing to see how busy the 3D Lab is, even in the middle of summer. Last week, Chris (our camp instructor) showed the kids how to laser cut their planes from a single sheet of foam board.  He created an amazing setup where the laserRead More →