Last Friday I got to talk about how 3D printers work & demonstrate printing to a class at Tzouanakis intermediate school in Greencastle. A lot of the math skills being learned in 4^th and 5^th grade math, at least in the current common core curriculum, are used when printing on a 3D printer. Obviously simple length and dimensions are needed and almost all 3D printer software controls are entered using metric dimensions. In contrasting a 3D printer with an ink jet printer (which the kids all have seen) we could bring in how coordinates are used with the printer head so the plastic goes on the right place on the printer bed (some of the kids have already been plotting x and y coordinates on charts).

There was lots of other things briefly covered related to math & science, including how the software being used (Cura) estimates how much plastic will be used (both length and weight). By having them measure the diameter of the filament used, we worked through calculating the circle’s area and then volume so they could see how much plastic will be used. Some of the kids have been exposed to unit volumes in the current curriculum, and while it was covered pretty rapidly perhaps the rest will remember it when they get that in more depth next year.

We also talked about the temperature settings and how that melted the plastic, asking if the 206 degree setting was hot enough to melt plastic. Some of the children that have been overseas immediately recognized that this was in centigrade rather than degrees F, so we worked through a conversion equation so everyone could realize these were oven like temperatures.

After printing out a mini-whistle, I then showed them how the scaling function could change the size with a few clicks and re-printed a larger whistle. Most of the kids guessed correctly that the larger whistle would have a lower sound/pitch, but there was a lot of looking around to see who was raising their hand when they were asked to vote.

A special thanks to Mrs. McCoy for allowing me to come into her classroom for the printing demonstration. The class was scheduled at the end of the day & each of them got a 3D printed mini-whistle. Hopefully their parents are still speaking to me! I certainly hadn’t realized how loud 28 small plastic whistles blown at the same time would be!! You can listen to it in a video here…

One of the things that makers (and good entrepreneurs) have is persistence. It’s a basic part of the DIY (Do It Yourself) culture, you don’t give up even if you don’t know exactly how to do it. A fair amount of uncertainty and vagueness are expected, you simply believe it will work out in the end. Even if it doesn’t work the first time. Or the second.

I’ve been going through a lot of that in building a 3D printer the last few months. Picked a kit versus a fully assembled so I’d learn more about how they work. But have to admit, there has been several times that I’ve felt like throwing in the towel. Even with good documentation it’s hard to cover every possible wrong step. And the technology is still… ‘developing’…

What has been a key has the online 3D printer community. When I had a problem with a z-axis nut that wouldn’t fit, others with the problem confirmed that grinding off some metal would fix it. When my first prints had problems and I posted a picture of the problem, I had detailed suggestions on what to change in the software parameters within 30 minutes of my post!

But writing out detailed questions and getting answers still takes more time than talking in person. While I love the sheer number of people you can reach with an online post, it still has some disadvantages versus talking to an expert in person or sharing what you’ve learned with others directly.

A local community of makers could help that. There are at least 3 other groups of people here in Greencastle using 3D printers that I know of and I believe there are more. We need to create opportunities for people to share their experiences and help the knowledgebase to grow.

Castlemakers as a group is exploring some events to do exactly that, including a local competition for 3D printers and designers. If you have an interesting in helping, please contact Chris directly or send an email to chris@castlemakers.org .