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Success in Education: Michigan Technological University Offers Comprehensive 3D Printing Technology Workshop to Teachers

Chelsea Schelly, Gerald Anzalone, Bas Wijnen, and Joshua M. Pearce, researchers from several different departments at Michigan Technological University, explore one of the most exciting aspects of digital fabrication in the world today, releasing findings from their study in relation to STEM education in the recently published ‘Open-Source 3D Printing Technologies for Education: Bringing Additive Manufacturing to the Classroom.’

Pointing toward the importance of STEM education (focused on science, technology, engineering, and math—also sometimes referred to as STEAM, with the oft-overlooked inclusion of art), the authors discuss the importance of 3D printing, along with the potential for interaction across curriculums—especially possible due to the communication and latitude offered through open-source technology and innovation.

While individuals are struggling to find jobs around the world, there has been an obvious source of frustration emanating from the STEM sector in terms of industry where employers are challenged to find suitably educated workers. Today, numerous international companies are offering special training programs, workshops for teachers and students, and there is continued emphasis on the need to encourage girls to pursue STEM education and jobs.

“Despite a protracted period of high unemployment, about 4 million jobs go unfilled in the U.S. due to inadequate numbers of college graduates in STEM-related disciplines,” state the authors.

While accessibility and affordability are touted as some of the greatest benefits to 3D printing, this is not always a reality for many educational settings. There may be budgetary concerns as administrative costs continue to rise on every level in education, funds are limited, and staff may not be sufficiently trained to step right in and lead 3D design or 3D printing endeavors.

Open-source technology is an enormous boon to eliminating budgetary obstacles in education, and especially with the use of RepRap-style 3D printers. The authors see ‘clear opportunity’ via STEM education with open source 3D printers (OS3DP), due to the ability for self-replication, ease in use with 3D printing, and accessibility to standard materials like PLA.

“These OS3DPs have already been shown to provide scientific labs substantial economic savings by customizing both simple and advanced scientific equipment,” state the authors. “For example, to outfit a high school teaching laboratory with 30 optics setups costs less than $500 using the OS optics approach, compared to $15,000 for commercial versions.”

“Furthermore, OS3DP technologies can contribute to a transformative educational experience among teachers and students alike. Educators can themselves become students during a workshop intended to teach them something new.”

This was evidenced in the workshop offered for this study, as the researchers observed teachers ‘experiencing a transformation of understandings.’ For this research, 22 middle school and high school teachers were recruited for participating, emerging from a combination of disciplines related to STEAM. During the workshop, they were involved in building, using, and even troubleshooting OS3DPs for MOST RepRap 3D printers.

The printers resulted in an expense of around $550 each, but approximately half of the parts could be 3D printed. The workshop was meant to be self-directed for the educators, accentuated with both online instruction and visual tools. Facilitators were designated for additional help as teachers learned how to build fairly complex 3D printers. In terms of research, the authors were able to study perceptions of the teachers during the process, along with understanding more about how they perceived the opportunity to use OS3DP technology in school.

Open-source 3D Printer Workshop Schedule

The workshop lasted three-and-a-half days at the Michigan Technological University campus, hosted by the Michigan Tech Open Sustainability Technology Laboratory (MOST), and funded by both Square One Educational Network and GM. A trained social scientist was on-site to observe, lead focus groups, analyze the material in workshop applications, and assess survey results at the end.

Assembly Kit: The assembly kit was given to each teacher team on the day prior to the workshop

“This research was intended to improve the workshop design for future workshops, explore the potential for developing a scalable online workshop, and examine the meanings teachers associated with OS3DP technology as well as how they understand their potential for the educational setting,” explained the authors.

Build instructions were divided into two streams, with all members ‘continuously engaged’ in the build process for the 3D printers on hand in the workshop.

Tandem MOST Prusa Mendel RepRap Build task list.

The project consisted of the following instructions:

  • High-quality digital photographs of completed sections
  • Animations demonstrating 3D view of parts
  • Images demonstrating each stage of the build, with ‘clear documentation’
  • Short presentations and demonstrations

The MOST RepRap Printer, which is color coded for easy assembly both in the physical parts but also in the animated graphics and on the wiki. Key: Silver: Frame (vertexes, rod clamps, wire holders, Melzi board mounts); Black: X-axis (motor and idler ends, x-carriage, belt terminators, end stop holder, 12 tooth T5 pulley); White: Y-axis (motor mount, belt terminators, y-carriage corners and bearing saddles, 12 tooth T5 pulley); Yellow: Z-axis (motor mounts, guide rod clamp, z-motor couplings, bar clamps, end stop holder); Red: Extruder (extruder drive body, idler, gears, extruder drive spacer with Bowden nut trap, extruder drive mount).

“As users can immediately see the results of their geometric designs, OpenSCAD is a good way to teach students geometry and coding,” explained the authors. “Despite the relative ease of use OpenSCAD is a powerful solid modeling program and was used to design all of the components in the 3D printers that were printed. Finally, OpenSCAD allows for parametric designs, which is the ability to alter a design to specifications by changing the parameters of the geometry of an object (e.g. shapes are written with variables that others can change).”

“This allows changes to be made to the design easily and quickly by simply changing the value of user-defined variables—so once one person designs it, everyone can quickly customize the design for themselves.”

Assembly, Day One: A teacher assembling the printer frame on day one of the workshop.

Each team successfully completed the building of their printers and teachers were 3D printing parts by the end of the workshop.

Group photograph of workshop participants (teachers and workshop facilitators) and their 3D printers after a successful RepRap build.

“Not only were the teachers successful in building their printers, and printing with them; they also experienced the empowering and transformative learning that they described as possible among students with the help of OS3DP,” stated the researchers. “Teachers were active participants in the creation of both knowledge and objects, communicating with and learning from each other, throughout the workshop.”

Teachers rated the workshop in a survey, with 85 percent reporting that they found the instruction method to be either extremely or very effective. All participants agreed that speakers during the workshop were effective, and comments regarding the technology were positive.

The data conclusively showed that the teachers participating did experience transformative learning regarding OS3DP, gaining an understanding of the value for their students, along with the opportunity for influencing students who may not be as involved in class, and challenging gifted students who may be typically bored. The researchers described feedback as ‘overwhelmingly positive,’ with comments from the survey making it clear that such education offers ‘powerful potential,’ and especially with the use of active learning.

“Teachers described how their understandings of these newly emerging technologies evolved via workshop participation, as they learned about their environmental, economic, and social impacts. They also described the sense of empowerment resulting from the experience of making something, in turning a pile of parts into an operable printer and then an abstract design into an actual object,” concluded the authors. “The teachers discussed this transformative potential as an important consequence of getting OS3DP in the classroom, as students themselves may be able to experience a transformation that allows them to see themselves as active creators, makers of objects and their own educational experiences.”

“We argue that OS3DP is transformative and empowering in an educational setting; we observed firsthand its effect of teachers, and believe it may bring transformative educational experiences into the traditional classroom by empowering students to be active creators rather than passive consumers of both knowledge and materials, transforming their perceptions of themselves and their abilities through active, participatory education.”

What do you think of this news? Let us know your thoughts! Join the discussion of this and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com.

Assembled Printer, Day Two: A teacher with their assembled printer at the end of day two of the workshop.

[Source / Images: ‘Open-Source 3-D Printing Technologies for Education: Bringing Additive Manufacturing to the Classroom’]

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Researchers develop low-cost 3D printed polarimeter for classroom use

Science and technology classes, particularly at University level, often require specialist apparatus that can be costly and difficult for students to get to grips with. This is where 3D printing can be of assistance, offering a low-cost method of manufacturing components for technical learning tools. Paweł Bernard from Jagiellonian University and James Mendez from Indiana […]
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Researchers Create Low-Cost 3D Printed Polarimeter for Use in Chemistry Classrooms

The adoption of 3D printing in the classroom has opened up new horizons for creating teaching tools. Science teachers, in particular, can make personalized models of nanostructures, and educational tools like colorimeters. But there haven’t been any 3D printable designs for polarimeters, which measures the angle of rotation of polarized light once it’s passed through an optically active solution or substance. Paweł Bernard from Jagiellonian University and James D. Mendez from Indiana University – Purdue University Columbus published a paper about their creation of a low-cost 3D printed polarimeter.

“3D printing and simple electronics were used to create a polarimeter suitable for a variety of chemistry courses,” they wrote. “This device allows instructors to demonstrate optical activity but is also easy to use and low cost enough to be widely available for student use, as well. The instrument uses an LED light source and detector housed in a 3D-printed base. By rotating the top piece, users can visually detect changes in brightness or measure this directly with a multimeter.”

A polarimeter consists of a sample chamber, monochromatic light, and a polarizing filter before, and a rotatable one behind, the sample. This second filter can be adjusted to the angle of the rotated light, after it’s passed through a sample, in order to “minimize or maximize the transmitted light.”

Basic polarimeter schematic and working theory.

High school and college teachers normally demonstrate the optical activity of substances using overhead projection, as most regular polarimeters are too expensive for use in a school laboratory setting. One researcher created a no-cost polarimeter using sunglasses and a mobile phone, which was good for demonstration purposes, but not for student experiments. Another inexpensive polarimeter was made using a shoebox, but it wasn’t durable enough.

“Therefore, the use of 3D printing technology is a perfect solution,” the researchers stated. “The body of a polarimeter can be printed in a reasonable time; the price of the plastic and electronics is low, and the actual assembly of the elements is relatively simple.”

3D printed polarimeter schematic.

A basic polarimeter can use either a test tube or 3D printed cuvette, and light detection can be merely eyeballed, or precisely measured with a low IR radiation sensitivity photodiode. Both are compatible with low-voltage, inexpensive LEDs; the RBG diode at the bottom can be plugged into a 4.5 or 5 V battery, or a standard 9 V battery can be used with a simple circuit.

9 V power supply circuit schematic.

“In the construction, two layers of polarizing filters (polarizing film) are used. It is a low-cost, commercially available material, used for the construction of 3D glasses among other things,” Bernard and Mendez explain. “Our experience shows that it is easier to identify the lowest (rather than highest) intensity of the light passing through the sample; therefore, we advise arranging two layers of polarizing film rotated by 90°. In such a setup at neutral position (0° angle) without a sample, or with a sample of optically nonactive substance, it is dark, showing the lowest light intensity. 

“The construction of the device using a test tube as a sample container is simpler but also more problematic in use. The bottom of a test tube scatters the light. Usually, the center of the light spot is darker, but there is an unpolarized light ring around it.”

A test tube does not ensure a complete blackout at the minimum light point, so a 3D printed container with a flat bottom is useful. The researchers 3D printed the elements out of ABS and PLA filaments, which were black to ensure stable light readings. PVA supports and a dual extruder printer were used to 3D print the rotary cup and main body.

(a) Operating 3D printed cuvette polarimeter with photodiode detector at zero position (minimum signal); (b) operating 3D printed test tube polarimeter (maximum signal); (c) operating 3D printed test tube polarimeter (min signal); (d) operating the 3D printed cuvette polarimeter (max signal); (e) operating 3D printed cuvette polarimeter (min signal).

The researchers tested 50 high school chemistry students in Poland and 15 organic chemistry university students in the US on taking measurements with the 3D printed polarimeter. Working in groups of 2-3, they ran measurements with pure liquids first, and then aqueous solutions. It’s quick and easy to use – the students can change samples and adjust a cap rotation in less than a minute, though they must be told which way to rotate the tool for different substances as “the device gives the same readings in both directions (90° = −270°).”

“It is also advised to adjust the concentration of the sample solution and path length so that the readings are in the range of the provided rotation scale (from −180° to +180°). Using measured rotation and simple mathematical relations, students can calculate a substance’s specific rotation,” the researchers said.

The students used (R)-limonene, fructose, and sucrose, and ran initial measurements both visually and with the 3D printed polarimeter, which allowed them to take measurements with three colors thanks to its RBG diode. They made 4 to 6 measurements for a sample and after dilation for the aqueous solutions.

“The results were a starting point for a discussion on optical rotatory dispersion phenomena. Calculating the specific rotation of the substances was homework, verified by the teacher during subsequent classes,” the researchers stated.

Measured rotation for aqueous solutions of sucrose in the concentration range of 0.05–0.35 g·mL, a series for red, green, blue light measured with a 3D printed polarimeter, and accompanied by results from commercial polarimeter with a sodium lamp 589 nm.

In another project, instructors prepared kits with all of the materials needed to assemble the polarimeter, including breadboards and the 3D printed body. 16 chemistry majors in Poland and four US undergrad students constructed the device, working in pairs, and none had previous experience using breadboards or building measuring devices. But they followed detailed instructions, with some help from teachers, and succeeded in building operational polarimeters in less than one hour.

Discuss this and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts below.

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3D Printing News Briefs: February 28, 2020

In today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, AMUG has announced the recipients of its two scholarships, Ultimaker is marking a milestone with a new online marketplace and new Cura features, and a company has created a revolutionary 3D printed helmet to help children with flat head syndrome.

AMUG Announces Scholarship Recipients

The Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG) just announced the two recipients of its annual scholarships, who will now be recognized at the AMUG Conference in Chicago next month. The Guy E. Bourdeau Scholarship is awarded to one college student with a passion for AM, and this year it went to Katherine (Kate) Schneidau, who is pursuing a master’s degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Louisville. Chris Kaminsky, the Lakeshore Fab Lab manager at Muskegon Community College, received the Randy Stevens Scholarship, which is awarded to one educator who emphasizes or focuses on AM. Schneidau learned about SL, DLP, FFF, SLS, DMLM, and other methods of 3D printing through her engineering co-op, and taught others how to use the equipment, in addition to developing new process parameters for plastic and metal materials. Kaminsky makes 3D printing and design accessible to others by co-founding the MI3D organization, and is also a guest speaker about the technology.

“I’m so excited to announce that Ms. Schneidau and Mr. Kaminsky have accepted the scholarships and will attend AMUG 2020,” said Brett Charlton, chair of the AMUG Scholarship Committee. “Once again, the pool of applicants was strong, and their experiences were vast. I’m certainly in awe—the experiences of our 2020 applicants in AM are astonishing, and it bodes well for AM’s future! The talent pool made it a challenge to select the right individuals, but both of our recipients are amazing and truly deserving of this honor.”

Ultimaker Introduces Marketplace and New Cura Features

To celebrate its milestone of preparing 2,000,000 print jobs per week through Cura slicing software, Ultimaker launched a new online Marketplace, along with the release of Ultimaker Cura 4.5 and its additional features. Cura now has over 600,000 active users a month, and at the end of 2019, it was preparing twice as many print jobs per week as it had in 2018. Ultimaker Marketplace gives users access to plugins for standard software platforms, while the latest software release connects the Marketplace to Cura with new cloud functionality, which associates the plugins and optimized printing profiles directly with the user.

“Ultimaker Cura is continuously powered by its open source community and dedicated in-house software team. We see our user database is rapidly expanding every day with new students, makers and professional users. Where one user is more eager to manually tweak and test every setting available, others want to fully integrate 3D printing into existing workflows,” said Ultimaker’s CTO Dick Moerkens. “I am proud of our open approach and agile development strategy, which allows us to fully streamline and simplify the 3D printing workflow now and in the future.”

3D Printed TiMband Air Helmet

UK company Technology in Motion specializes in plagiocephaly (flat head syndrome) solutions for babies and children – namely, remolding helmets that are 3D printed so they’re more lightweight and comfortable. According to research, orthotic helmet treatment is the best way to treat severe head shape deformity, and the customizable TiMbandAir helmet (also known as the Talee in EU countries) is made with patent-pending bio-responsive technology for a better, more breathable fit – allowing the head to correct as it grows over four to six months. It has a unique three shell construction: the inner layer is a soft easy-clean liner to minimize sweating, while the mid-layer is important for shock absorption and offers flexible, gentle pressure, and the outer layer holds shape, gives strength, and provides protection. Thanks to 3D printing, these shells are also thinner than in other similar helmets, and the helmet features a breathable design to promote ventilation. Technology in Motion takes a photographic 3D scan of the baby’s head, and 3D printing, provided by partners at Invent Medical, ensures a custom fit. In 2018, the company received the prestigious Red Dot: Best of the Best design award for its recently launched TiMbandAir helmet, available in Technology in Motion clinics across the UK.

“We are extremely proud of the TiMbandAir helmet. We have had an amazing response so far, with almost 50% of parents opting for the TiMbandAir since its launch,” said Steve Mottram MBAPO, Managing Director of Technology in Motion. “We understand the distress, uncertainty and confusion parents undergo and we are excited to offer parents an improved form of flat head syndrome treatment for the future.

Discuss these stories and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts in the Facebook comments below.

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Kentucky’s Somerset Community College 3D Prints in Metal on Modified FDM 3D Printers that Cost $600 Each

While 3D printing, 4D printing, bioprinting, and additive manufacturing processes abound in the US and around the globe, some programs are not previously as well-known but are also real powerhouses of digital fabrication. Offering two main campuses and four centers, the Kentucky-based Somerset Community College has just announced that their additive manufacturing program has completed the successful 3D printing of numerous 316L stainless steel metal parts on multiple desktop 3D printers that cost only $600.

Modified low cost desktop 3D printer producing infused stainless steel plate

Bringing affordability and accessibility to their student base in an extraordinary way, the SCC AM faculty and staff began the program with several FDM 3D printers costing less than $450 each. They continued with customizations, including upgrading the machines to accommodate metal filament extrusion (with metal infused filaments provided by Virtual Foundry and BASF). They also modified the 3D printers for improved build plate adhesion. While normal issues such as shrinkage had to be accounted for, parts were soon 3D printed.

Stainless steel parts produced on a desktop 3D printer, with the back left and right plates having been welded together after printing

“This project is one of the first applications where fully metal parts that were 3D printed on a sub $600 desktop printer have been successfully welded together using conventional welding techniques,” stated the SCC team in their recent press release sent to 3DPrint.com. “SCC’s process is based on Bound Metal Additive Manufacturing (BMAM), predicted by researchers to be one of the fastest growing methods of additive production over the next several years.”

SCC sought help for the de-binding and sintering process, working with DSH Technologies. In the final phase of production and post processing, senior Welding Professor, Karl Watson of the SCC Welding Department, and his team ‘worked their magic’ using gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) on six samples, adding fillet and groove welds.

Watson noted that the finished parts have not shown any inconsistencies despite some tests showing hardness values slightly less than stock 316L. Welding of stainless materials also yielded higher levels of heat dissipation than normal.

“The welds flowed very smoothly and we had very good penetration control,” said Watson. “Because of the nature of 3D printing and research we have seen around the concept of welding such parts, I expected to see more porosity in the weld, but that wasn’t the case with these specimens at all. I am looking forward to doing some bend tests to determine the potential malleability as well as welding other samples using SMAW, GMAW, and FCAW.”

SCC Professor Karl Watson TIG welding the 3D printed parts together

On the heels of this successful project, SCC states that their goal now is to offer 3D printing technology with metal to both schools and the workforce throughout Kentucky. SCC plans to provide workshops, as well as offering setup of 3D printing equipment for ‘select educators’ in high schools and other community colleges, all funded by the Kentucky National Science Foundation (NSF) EPSCoR (or Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research) grant, titled Kentucky Advanced Partnership for Enhanced Robotics and Structures.

SCC will also be partnering with Autodesk to provide training in advanced AM design processes, integrating the use of Fusion 360’s Generative Design suite. They will also partner with both the University of Louisville and the University of Kentucky for introducing low-cost BMAM skills, with the Tennessee Technological University (TTU) for assistance in working over state lines, and then they will be choosing training sites for instructors to educate interested members of the Kentucky workforce.

“We are so very grateful for all of the funding and support we have received from the NSF, USDA Rural Business Development, Southeastern Kentucky Economic Development (SKED), the Office of Career and Technical Education and Student Transition at the Kentucky Department of Education, and the Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation, as well as the support from local businesses that fully understand the disruptive power of additive,” says Eric Wooldridge, Director of SCC’s Additive Manufacturing program. “Being able to bring truly low cost metal 3D printing and advanced product design directly to schools and colleges across Kentucky is a chance of a lifetime opportunity for us, and we are very excited to get started.

“There is a lot for us to learn about practical welding of 3D printed metal parts, especially parts that have been produced on a desktop 3D printer. Factors of shrinkage, potential zones of weakness, and the best welding practices are still to be determined. These are very exciting but uncharted waters to be sure,” continued Wooldridge.

The ultimate goal of SCC is to see that individuals working in AM processes with metal and polymers find it to be ‘the norm and not the exception.’ Their plan is extensive, meant to establish programs in schools, and then they will seek added funding to begin working with businesses and entrepreneurs.

“When you look at all the big investments in additive manufacturing by the aerospace and automotive industries, the announcements from the Department of Defense, and the number of products already on the market that are produced using 3D printing technology,” says Wooldridge, “practical skills in this technology are what any advanced workforce needs. Having a state-wide workforce that is capable of 3D printing metal parts at a fraction of the typical cost; that’s just an innovation revolution waiting to happen.”

Find out more about SCC’s Additive Manufacturing program here or check out their YouTube channel, The Additive Guru. Somerset Community College is a comprehensive two-year institution of higher education. SCC has campuses in Somerset and London, and centers in Clinton, McCreary, Casey, and Russell counties.

TIG welded specimen, with a corner joint and fillet weld

TIG welded specimen; butt joint with groove weld

Close up of several stainless steel 3D printed parts, including a ball valve housing and a planetary gear assembly

Schools at all levels today are engrossed in teaching 3D printing and AM processes to their students, and many young innovators are soaring to new levels with their imaginations as they enjoy workshops, learn to bioprint, and even create visual aids for their own classes. What do you think of this news? Let us know your thoughts; join the discussion of this and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com.

[Source / Images: Somerset Community College]

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MakerBot SKETCH Classroom Helps Educators Integrate 3D Printing into Schools

After introducing its Method X manufacturing workstation in August, MakerBot is now launching another new system, which is part of what promises to be a very reliable classroom 3D printing setup. The new MakerBotSKETCH Classroom, which incorporates the company’s entire education ecosystem, will help students and educators access the resources and tools for 3D printing classroom success.

“With SKETCH, we are changing the way 3D printing is used in schools and advancing the possibilities of learning to boost student innovation,” said MakerBot CEO Nadav Goshen. “We believe that SKETCH Classroom is the best 3D printing setup for the classroom, with an ideal student-to-printer ratio, making 3D printing more accessible to students, and setting educators up for 3D printing success.”

Four years ago, the company announced a shift in focus from consumer to professional and educational 3D printing, and has been making good on this change with its MakerBot Educators and 3D printing certification program for teachers. MakerBot 3D printers are in over 7,000 schools across North America, and its comprehensive AM education ecosystem gives multitudes of educators the necessary tools and resources to adopt 3D printing curricula in their classrooms and teach their students skills that will be extremely useful in technology-heavy fields.

But in order to teach their students how to use a 3D printer, educators themselves need to learn, as well as successfully integrate the technology into lesson plans and properly manage classroom resources. The SKETCH Classroom is a comprehensive solution that includes what MakerBot calls “interactive certification courses,” which teach educators how to create and deploy curriculum, teach students critical thinking, design thinking, and problem solving with 3D printing, and, most importantly, how to use the MakerBot SKETCH 3D printer. The setup also teaches students how to use the printer.

SKETCH Classroom’s workflow solution offers a great, very accessible classroom setup, taking into account the often difficult, yet very important 3D printer-to-student ratio. Additionally, the SKETCH firmware and printer management software are both connected to the MakerBot Cloud platform and provide a range of 3D printing applications, such as management, print design, and preparation. Students can submit designs to the Cloud through their MakerBot account, and teachers are able to easily manage, queue, and monitor 3D print jobs. Because the platform is so easy to set up and use, teachers can spend more time focused on what’s really important – integrating 3D printing into their curricula.

The SKETCH 3D printer is UL-Certified, and spent over 46,000 hours being tested by MakerBot for print quality testing and system reliability. It has a build volume of 150 x 150 x 150 mm, a heated build plate, touchscreen controls and on-board camera, and also comes with an enclosed chamber and built-in particulate filter for safe classroom 3D printing. The printer is compatible with MakerBot’s PLA and Tough Materials.

Full integrations with MakerBot Cloud, as well as other features, will be coming at a later date.

However, while this all sounds well and good, there are some who aren’t quite enamored with the SKETCH. Joel Telling, the 3D Printing Nerd, seems less than impressed by this new setup, stating on Twitter that the new 3D printer looks rather…familiar.

 

If you look at some of the comments and other posts, other issues people had ranged from the price of the SKETCH and the small number of materials it’s compatible with to how cloud-based printers aren’t great for limited WiFi environments, i.e. schools. So, some in the community are taking MakerBot’s announcement with a grain of salt. At this point, it is unclear if the 3D printing community is just very skeptical about everything that Makerbot does because of past transgressions and we should give them more of a chance or if the skepticism is focussed on the product offering itself.

SKETCH Classroom comes with the following:

  • Two SKETCH 3D printers, each with 1 extra build plate, 1 snips, and 1 spatula
  • Ten student and two teacher licenses for ISTE-Certified MakerBot Certification programs
  • The MakerBot Cloud platform, which is integrated with top CAD design software like Autodesk Fusion 360, Onshape, and TinkerCad
  • Thingiverse Education, which offers access to more than 600 teacher-created 3D printing lesson plans for all subjects and grade levels
  • Support from MakerBot’s team of 3D printing experts

MakerBot’s SKETCH Classroom is on display for the first time at this week’s TCEA Convention & Exposition in Austin, Texas; visit the company at booth #2514 to learn more. The platform should begin shipping in North America on February 17, 2020, and will soon be available in other regions as well.

Discuss this and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts below.

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Future plans to implement 3D printing in more schools, a BETT 2020 report

We visited the BETT 2020 education technology industry show at London Excel to see the latest trends in 3D printing for the education sector and learn how the technology features on the current curriculum. Among the 800 plus companies exhibiting were the booths of 3D printing companies including Dremel, MakerBot, and CraftBot partner Maker’s Red […]
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AstroPrint 3D Printer Management Software opens new education plan beta access

Hartford, Connecticut – (January 28, 2019) After a successful test run, AstroPrint is opening today its second phase of a beta program for 3D Printer Fleet Management. This second phase will open the platform to an additional 100 institutions, primarily universities, schools, and other multi-user facilities that share 3D Printing resources.

In October of 2019 AstroPrint allowed just 10 organizations to test and give feedback on the first Beta version of the Fleet Management system. These institutions varied from Ivy League universities to K-12 schools. The feedback from these institutions helped shape the platform into the exact type of system needed in Multi-printer/Muli-user facilities.

Ideal candidates for the Beta program are Universities, Educational Districts, and Enterprises that have a fleet of 3D Printers, share them across multiple user types, and need to extract data/analytics on the usage of the machines.

Follow the link astroprint.com/beta-for-education to get your beta access now.

Hartford, Connecticut – (October 16, 2019)  AstroPrint is launching a bespoke version of its popular 3D Printer Management Platform for Universities, K-12 schools and other education institutions, aimed at making 3D printing more accessible to students, increasing the efficiency of school fleets, and reducing related costs in staffing and resources.

While rolling out the successful AstroPrint for Enterprise program earlier this year, several K-12 schools got in touch to integrate AstroPrint for their STEM (Science Technology Engineering & Math) curriculum, while many universities wanted a better resource-sharing and control system for their 3D printer farms in their schools of Engineering, Architecture, and Art.

While their requirements were largely similar to enterprises, such as remote fleet management, automated control, and data-driven optimization to reduce cost and waste, we realized that education institutions had unique needs that were not characteristic of a commercially-run fleet.

For instance, schools typically see large cohorts enter and leave every academic year, and students are typically just starting to learn to use 3D printers and may not be conscious about printing efficiency and resource sharing. Moreover, most schools operate on tight budgets which limit available manpower, man-hours, and printing infrastructure and resources. The education version of AstroPrint is designed to address these demands of education.

Ease of Setup, Ease of Use

Designed for the education environment, AstroPrint for Education offers administrators advanced user management features such as the bulk import of new users during matriculation season, and can organize them into multiple user-groups with different roles assigned within each group. Each user role will be configurable with unique permissions, such as the ability to add to the print queue, start/stop prints, or modify printer queues.

SSO Integration, Multi-Platform Support

Access is also simplified for education institutions, with possibility for SSO integration with Active Directory, Google for Education, and other platforms, further reducing the complexity for adoption. Unlike enterprise environments, students may also use a variety of computer platforms and mobile devices. With AstroPrint for Education, they will be able to get full access from anywhere and on any platform, such as Chromebooks, Mobile Apps, or Desktop browsers.

Taking Out the Guesswork

With data-driven analytics built-in, stats such as printer performance, printer maintenance, filament usage, success/failure rates, and operator effectiveness will drive greater efficiency and less waste in tight-budget education environments. Administrators can now answer questions such as:  What are my funding needs/costs for the 3D Printer Farm?  What will it cost to scale the 3D Printer Fleet?  Which filaments give better print-success rates? What slicer settings work best in their facility? Do students that take a 3D Printing course get more successful prints?

Reduce Cost, Enhance Experience

Remote-control, system automation, and distributed governance means you can do more with less manpower and man-hours. Departments do not need to roster or hire dedicated staff to constantly watch the fleet, and are freed up to focus on more vital tasks. Students can be automatically funnelled into Smart Queues, depending on the prioritization of their projects and their level of training. This means that printer fleets can be controlled and monitored to prevent excessive spend on elective projects or non-approved prints.

Why it Matters to AstroPrint

“It was challenging to adapt our platform to the new multi-user plan but it was a clear market need that we kept hearing from our customers. The new plan gives you the reliability that you can expect from 5 years of experience building the best 3D Printing experience coupled with new superpowers that will help you manage your 3D Printer fleet,” commented Daniel Arroyo, CTO at AstroPrint.

“Feedback from the first universities has been very positive. We improved the platform a lot so every student feels comfortable using this technology, while administrators have the freedom to manage printers and users according to their specific needs,” added Raul Frutos, Head of Business Development at AstroPrint.

Sign up for Beta Testing Today

Get more information on AstroPrint for Education and sign up for the Beta Test today. AstroPrint for Education is slated for full release in early 2020.

About AstroPrint

AstroPrint is a venture-backed company with offices in Hartford, San Diego, and Malaga (Spain), and is the fastest growing cloud (IoT) platform in the Additive Manufacturing industry.  AstroPrint has processed over 2M 3D Prints from 100K+ users. AstroPrint’s cloud-based platform simplifies 3D Printing control, networking, and optimization processes for businesses, schools, and enterprises, as well as 3D printing enthusiasts.

AstroPrint Media Resources:  https://AstroPrint.com/media

Learn more about AstroPrint for Education:  https://www.astroprint.com/3d-printer-school-university

The post AstroPrint 3D Printer Management Software opens new education plan beta access appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing.

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Students make Star Wars themed 3D printing and electronics projects #3Dprinting #CircuitPython #Feather #CircuitPlaygroundExpress

In the Adafruit Discord, middle school/high school teacher Daniel writes:

I’d like to show some Star Wars projects my students made for this semester. I’m finding it difficult to make the Wednesday night Show and Tell show due to family life, so forgive the forthcoming dump of photos. I teach high school 3D modeling and Middle School programming. I had a combined theme of Star Wars this semester. High School designed lightsaber hilts and 3D printed them. Middle School programmed the electronics (M4 Feather + Propwing) that went inside.

Middle School also made a bunch of Circuit Playground based Star Wars projects as well. (Everything is CircuitPython). We then showed everything off to the 3rd to 5th graders in a big Star Wars showcase.

Lightsabers designed in Blender. I wrote a Python script in Blender to form the base pommel, hilt, and blade holder. Students then designed their own lightsaber from there. Time of fun. Used both CP Express and some alpha CP Bluetooth.

Pictures from the post are below. Great job folks!! You too can join the Adafruit Discord – go to adafru.it/discord for more details.