Construct3D 2017

The culminating unit in a 3 week Interim term course was focused on high school students designing useful objects for members of the school community - (e.g., laptop charging stations, displays for the school archives, headphone cable management for lower school students). These students were asked to utilize a design cycle that included planning and measuring, making an educated prototype, gathering end user feedback, and iterating towards creating a final finished product

In this session, we will conduct a post-mortem of this unit. I will discuss what worked, what didn't, and what I would change and iterate the next time I teach this unit. Participants will model the design process as we review and revise this activity so that each attendee can take home a second-generation lesson.

Access to prosthetic devices has increased due to the advent of 3-d printing and other inexpensive prototyping platforms. This prompted a boom in the fabrication of 3-d printed hands and arms for children and teenager, allowing for the easy replacement of parts as the recipients grow or damage their devices. However, recipients are asking for more specialize, custom devices to play and be involved with sports. Our student organization, GRiP, developed the playful prosthetic in response and has delivered custom devices including drumstick arms, a kayak paddle holder and a guitar arm. Beyond the development of these devices, they created STEM sessions to interact with the recipients and teach them about the design process.

Engineering design integrity is dependent on the elastic properties of the materials used. Reliable measurements of the elastic properties is crucial to develop a prototype of a functioning model of the design. Young’s modulus is a mechanical property that can determine the stiffness of an elastic object. It is a crucial property that can determine the strength of materials and how they react to tension and compression. The infill density, infill patterns, and nozzle diameter can affect Young’s modulus since they change the amount of material that is printed in an object and how porous it will be. As the infill density in a print increases the material approaches the properties of a cast object with the same material. Moreover, the young’s modulus can also be affected by the slicer because all slicers do not accomplish the additive process for the same infill density and infill pattern identically. Therefore, the elastic properties will tend to change with the machine for the same infill density and fill pattern. In this research three commonly used thermoplastics: PLA, ABS, and Nylon Bridge are used. Cylinders of different fill patterns and fill densities were printed in three different 3-D printers and they are compared.

After determining the varying Young’s modulus of these three filaments, the next challenge is to create a single object that has multiple infill densities or patterns as required in a prototype. The applications for this in engineering is vital for enhancing the structural integrity of 3D-printed objects like impact resistant helmets. Most 3D printers today do not have the generic ability to print a single object with multiple infill densities or patterns. In addition to the availability of Simplify3D which is viable for some machines, it is possible to bypass the slicing software tied with the printer to potentially create an object that varies in its infill across its component parts. This research also tests this innovative mechanism of printing with multiple infill densities in the design of impact resistant helmets for sports.

Presenters/Researchers: Corin Smith and Matthew Morninstar
Mentor: Sundaram Thirukkurungudi

As an application of 3D printing technology to the construction industry, a semi-autonomous drilling tool was designed as a proof of concept to help reduce the use of human labor in dangerous construction environments. The drilling tool, composed of custom, 3D-printed PLA components, was built to traverse along the length of an I-beam and drill at any given 2D point along the beam using a second, stepper motor powered axis of movement. The tool was 3D printed in 8 separate pieces designed with Autodesk Fusion 360 and assembled along with the drill, wheels, motors, Arduino microcontroller, and electronics necessary to coordinate the system. This tool was able to successfully move along a testing I-beam (wooden) and drill at preprogrammed points.

This design is now being adapted to a quadcopter mounted system. The frame of the quadcopter is also custom designed using Autodesk Fusion 360 and being constructed by 3D printing in PLA. Several components of the tool are being redesigned to reduce weight, and the new flight components (ESCs, rotors, flight batteries, etc.) will be added to the design. This allows the entire tool to fly using four rotors, land on an I-beam, and carry out the drilling process. The tool can then take off and land on a separate I-beam to continue its task.
This would serve as a prototype for a larger-scale, real life application of drone technology in the construction field.

The frame factors of a k-12 environment are unique in nature for integrating new technologies into the curriculum. 3D-printing is also a unique area which lies in the intersection of science, technology, engineering, arts, and math. Such an opportunity to integrate curriculum needs a paradigm shift in resource planning in a k-12 environment. Traditional sources of money, allocation and training of manpower, usage and maintenance of machines or equipment, and time planning are inadequate to meet the challenges and reap the rewards in this integration process. The authors will share their experience in this area of integrating 3D printing into the curriculum and the changes they made in resource planning and maintenance. This has been a living breathing process that has evolved over a period of three years. It has involved the participation of all the stake holders to make it a sustainable learning environment that can integrate the advancement of technology into curriculum. Currently it has reached a threshold where it has started attracting even those who were originally apprehensive to join the process.

Co-creator of the course "Make It, Print It, Sell It: Intro to 3D Printing and Digital Entrepreneurship" Design Evangelist Lauren Slowik will discuss how Shapeways EDU partnered with the New York Public Library Tech Connect team to use free resources, networked capabilities and advanced manufacturing to teach new skills to library patrons in person and online. In an effort to replicate efforts like this and grow the potential for open source curriculum this section will feature a "warts-and-all" chat about how we piloted the program, most important learnings, how to act as an advocate within your organization and between the private and non-profit sector for open-source resources and training.

The virtue of 3D printing in an educational context is its versatility to be integrated into any subject area across any grade level, making it an ideal vehicle for STEAM-based learning. By leveraging the mobile makerspace concept with a 3D printer cart that travels from classroom to classroom, 3D printing extends beyond the domain of any one teacher or discipline and becomes a shared learning tool that is applicable and accessible to all. A mobile 3D printing cart can achieve the greatest reach and most tangible impact when supported by training for teachers and a clear articulation of how 3D printing connects organically to curriculum and learning goals. We will offer examples of this 3D printing model in action within a K-12 public school environment in order for educators to leave with ideas on how to more effectively bring 3D printing into their classrooms.

This presentation examines projects that have used 3D printing and CAD exploration as tools to engage youth and local communities in conversations centered on culture, community, and place-making. Looking at a range of 3D printing projects conducted in various settings such as museums, libraries, and out on the street as pop-up events, what are the lessons learned? What are ways to address the issues of long print times and CAD software learning curves in such drop-in settings? We will discuss these issues, as well as ways to create inviting spaces for exploration and conversation through 3D printing and CAD tools. Come ready for a bit of play as we look at 3D print projects that invited the public to improve public spaces, share cultural food stories though artifacts, and honor special people through 3D print Dia de los Muertos calavera de azucar.


https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1_RQS03QhVxXLbjYOfTBfD9YGM3fHH000dGNrmI2QgJw/edit?usp=sharing

Students today are hyper aware of issues that pertain to their community and abroad. They are not only equipped to join the conversation but also be active and create solutions. With topics like homelessness, inequality, climate change and this idea of smart cities, we are able to use our fab lab to prototype projects that go beyond the classroom. Gabriel-Bello Diaz is the engineering instructor eat TAF Academy, where he has curated a space for 6th - 12th grade to explore interdisciplinary engineering. He will show examples of how to scaffold the conversation and skills as they move through the curriculum. Through combining technologies like 3D printing, micro electronics and laser cutting, students have been able to prototype like industry professionals. Topics of conversation include cultural awareness, arch-adapting, think globally act locally, fab lab culture and community engagement. Diaz looks forward to presenting the projects that have emerged from these conversations and open a dialogue on implementing them into a classroom.

The presenters will discuss the various phases in the development of an award-winning functional model of an autonomous algae skimmer submitted for the Community College Innovation Challenge sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the American Association of Community College. Specifically, they will discuss how the student designers used their classroom and extracurricular knowledge to incorporate 3D-printed parts, parts from a toy kit, motors, and various other objects in the model; how the students collaborated on troubleshooting and fixing design flaws; and what they learned from the experience. They will also discuss how to incorporate a similar innovation project as part of a project-based learning activity. They will use the actual functional model to illustrate the major points of their talk.

3SPACE (3 Dimensional Solid Printing Active Classroom Experience) at James Madison University is the first 3D printing classroom in the country built for general education courses that are open to all students and departments at the university. The classroom features consumer level filament printers in a hands on environment with at most two students per printer, and since Fall of 2013, has hosted a wide variety of events, both for the university and for the general public. Our flagship course is a one credit general education science lab that has been taught every semester for the past four years. This presentation will outline some ways to teach such a course from a general scientific perspective. We will cover a variety of options, including 3D design programs (all free for educators and students), assignments, group projects, common complaints, and ways to make the class more or less `scientific'.

In this session, a number of stories will be shared about youth enterprises that have resulted from access to 3D printing. The stories will feature youth who have presented their businesses to President Obama and youth who have continued their 3D printing businesses into adulthood. I will share lessons learned, how to take advantage of learning opportunities that are presented in entrepreneurial efforts, and the impact we’ve seen in these youth.

In this session participants will explore the multiple approaches to teaching faculty 3D printing at James Madison University. Whether through an experimental sandbox experience, a scheduled workshop or a Tinker Thursday session, faculty learn everything from how to push print on a pre-made object to scanning or designing their own object. Participants will walk away with details on how these programs are set up and run.

In this presentation, 3D Printing and Digital Fabrication in a Design Curriculum, participants will come away with new ideas for using 3D printing and scanning in a design thinking paradigm.The foci will be on Charter High School of Architecture and Design’s working relationship with Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.The Penn Museum and CHAD students have been working closely since last year to 3D scan and print artifacts from their permanent collection so that visually impaired students and guests can enjoy the museum using replicas that are able to be handled and used in the museum and in the field.The presentation will also discuss the use of design thinking in reference to digital fabrication and 3D printing in a design curriculum.Several projects will be referenced such as a Community Chess set, TurtleArt, and other maker-based design thinking curricula.