3D Printing – Activity 2

There are many easy to use applications that provide an entry way into the creation of 3D objects that can be used to bring students ideas to physical life. Tinkercad and Google Sketch up are two applications that come to mind. Our public school system has introduced individual printers to most intermediate schools and we have the luxury of having versed teachers to help students print their objects. I agree though with Rodney’s thoughts on budgeting for the cost of replacement filament as we ran into that issue with printers in schools. One issue I have with using 3D printers in schools is that I believe that all students should have access to the tools for learning not just a specific class. We have been fortunate to be able to access the Atlantic FabLab at the University of Prince Edward Island http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/fablab-atlantic-s-3d-design-engineering-not-just-for-students-1.3240659 for student’s projects that require a larger set of tools to complete. This interaction between students, business and post-secondary undertakings can create new learning and opportunities for our students that may not have been possible by just having one small printer in one class in a school.

While I'm confident 3D printing will continue to grow in popularity, I'm not entirely convinced that it is the saving grace in STEAM education. I love design and I think practicing, talking and doing design to be critical in our own practice as well as students practice. I do know there are small groups popping up all over the city (Vancouver), (also one in Surrey just opened: https://www.sfu.ca/sfunews/stories/2016/_maker-cube_-growing-innovation-in-surrey.html) that host maker labs, which is great. These will in fact act as libraries for the creative. Studios like these http://www.makerlabs.com/ will become increasingly popular, which is great and I think supporting them is what one should do in order to help them grow. They do however come at a price, which is fine, though I'm always a fan of doing something myself or trying to figure it out. There are ways to do it. Buy your own stuff, learn how to design, etc. I think its important to think about how we can set up our own spaces. Unfortunately most schools aren't equipped financially for this. There are ways around it obviously, new curriculum (which validates learning about design and making), fundraising, grants, etc...I think we need to understand its place and where it fits in your own practice. Have a look at these interesting reads/watches: http://hackeducation.com/2013/02/06/the-case-for-a-campus-makerspace, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ir1-nSAwQMs.

We are fortunate to have a fairly impressive Maker Space at our school so I could access 3D printing with ease. As a community member without this benefit, however, it's relatively easy in Ottawa to find the resources required to start a 3D printing project. I would likely not purchase the printer, filament, etc. but instead would outsource. The Ottawa Public Library has an Imagine Space which just opened in January, 2016. It's an impressive space that offers 3D printing and modeling (as well as laser cutting, photo, video and audio editing, green screen and video gear hand and tools and electronics, and wall-to-wall whiteboard). Algonquin College offers professional printing services at The Print Shop. Both these locations are fairly central, though in Nepean so west of the centre, but highly accessible by public transit if required as well. If I wanted to print, for example, my phone holder design, this would probably work. However, if i was on the cutting edge and wanted to do something like print real tissue which was mentioned in the Myth Busters section, I wouldn't be able to do that.

3D printing has a lot of possible application in my workplace, though I don’t believe we currently have one. After some Googling I have found that 3D printers are readily available in Vancouver. I can buy one of my own, or submit a design to one of a number of different companies and go pick up my product when it’s done printing. It would be very feasible for me to complete a 3D project with the resources available in my area. While I would lean towards the submit and pickup model, if I were looking to invest in one for personal use I am drawn towards the Ditto & Litto Tinkerine 3D DIY Printer Kits (http://store-ca.tinkerine.com/products/diy-kits). I really like the idea of building my own printer, and understating how it all comes together which I believe would make it easier to maintain in the long run.

I am an Instructional Designer in the Corporate and I work online majorly. So I am not sure how to apply 3D printing in my work life. But I must admit, I believed in may of the "myth"s listed on the website, and I would like to applaud the team on addressing that. After going through the website, I feel more confident about 3D printing use in common place. If 3D printing was available in my daily life, I would like to use it for printing : Simple electronic chips, our mobile phones often stop working as only one chip goes bad, If we know the specs of the chip , we can print it. Speaking for myself, I can repair many devices in my home very easily. Jewellery design: Being a creative person, I would love to print jewellery from simple items like clay, plastic, metals. In india, those are handmade till now. I think with a nudge from 3D printing capabilities, such industries can be scaled up exponentially.

While the idea of buying, setting up, learning about, maintaining, and ordering supplies does sound enticing, my research produced similar alternatives to those in the other comments. http://www.3dhubs.com/vancouver/ lists 144 3d printers available in Vancouver. 3D Hubs offers a simple 3-step platform: Upload your design, choose a service based on reviews, and pick up your order. Signing up is free and easy, and you can browse printers in your city and beyond. This is a sustainable options for schools concerned about investing in 3D printing technology which tends to have very high up front costs. Schools, businesses or individuals could also consider leasing their printer, such as through http://www.fargo3dprinting.com/services/lease-a-3d-printer/. There are also great options available for anyone who just wants to start learning about the process. The Vancouver Hacker Space offers a variety of tutorials on topics such as 3D printing, soldering, laser cutting, and more. It operates through a membership fee which allows them to pay the rent for the space as well as acquire materials. There are similar co-operatives like this in cities all over the world, and many are capable of hosting entire school classes for a field trip.

Like rstpierre, I found 3dhubs.com to outsource my printing project. If I wanted to get my own printer, I could also buy some filament from seacams.com in Langley, BC for $23.99 + $10 delivery (I don't have a car) and simple printers were fro sale on Kijiji for $350-500. $385-$535 is reasonable for a hobbyist or a classroom but pretty expensive to produce my little smart phone holder. Since I like to spend my free time riding bicycles or making music on wooden stringed instruments, I wouldn't likely use a 3D printer often enough to justify the purchase of one. I'd probably go with https://www.3dhubs.com/vancouver I found it a little annoying that a lot of sites would not post a price on new printers and wanted me to ask for a quote (so they could have my contact information). Fortunately I won't be purchasing one and if our school does, I won't be the one trying to buy one so I won't have to deal with that. This assignment was a good way to have many people bust the cost myth locally for themselves. Nice work.

Living in Vancouver, I will have very good access to Tinkerine, and MakersLabs. I think Tinkercad could be a very good application for students in my IT8 class to play around with because we had already done something very similar with Sketchup, the main difference is that with Tinkercad, the students could potentially 3D print off their design if they wanted to. I think it would be very feasible for myself, or my students to complete a 3D printing project.

I'm involved in online education, so I don't think I would use this technology for work. For personal use... it's not my thing, but it's good to know that there are some good resources in Vancouver, like Tinkerine and MakerLabs, in case I decide to try it.

I found the interesting site 3dhubs.com, which connects you with a company or an individual offering 3D printing services. My local site for Halifax lists 25 printers in my area. On closer inspection, only 4 were really within a 30 minutes drive. It seems that almost all of these are hobbyists who decided to offer their printers for outsourcing printing jobs. This is a great grassroots kind of movement which allows people to access printing without making any investment in hardware. It reminds me of tool lending libraries where you can become a member and borrow a tool when you need it. Most of the stuff (tools, appliances, etc) we accumulate just sits around taking up space ready for those few times we might actually need it. If I needed to print an object in Halifax I could use one of these 3D hubs, the Halifax Public Library or Dalhousie University (both institutions have MakerBot Replicators, the university possessing 4 of them). I have heard rumours that our high school is moving in the direction of setting up a makerspace. I am tempted to suggest a purchase of the MakerBot Replicator 2. At $2499 USD, it is not the most inexpensive machine on the market, but is does have a strong community base and the library of downloadable designs at http://www.thingiverse.com . Apparently, however, thingiverse is not well liked by everybody (http://hackaday.com/2013/10/02/3d-printering-the-problem-of-thingiverse/) I realized that the designs at thingiverse are not specific to to the MakerBot and could be printed on any machine. I read through a number of reviews (http://3dforged.com/best-3d-printers/) and setttled on the LulzBot Mini Desktop 3D Printer, which is in the enthusiast category $1000-2000 and priced at $1250. It received many great reviews on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/LulzBot-Mini-Desktop-3D-Printer/product-reviews/B00S54E1AI/ref=cm_cr_getr_d_paging_btm_next_6?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1&sortBy=recent&pageNumber=6) While the initial cost of the machine is a factor, restocking the filament is what will quickly get expensive. In planning for the purchase of a 3D printer, schools will need to take this into account and budget accordingly or they will end up having a printer sitting in the corner and no funds to buy the materials to use it.