Replicators in Our Schools

It’s Star Wars in our classrooms with the arrival of replicators—3D printers. The “printers” work by reading designs developed by students using 3D software and then producing the designs through a layering process with an extruded plastic material. According to Worcester Prep (Maryland) science teacher, Colleen McGuire, “Some of my students are excited to ‘print out’ their own robotic designs without being constrained by the shape of Legos. Others are seeing the creative design potential to produce personalized products from jewelry to architecture. What we are doing gives our students a glimpse into the world that will be their lives.”

At the Southview Middle School (Minnesota), eighth graders are designing and “printing” better cup holders for automobiles. Teacher Peter Grimm says that the addition of the 3D printer has motivated more students to experience the engineering lab. Grimm explains that the printer adds excitement to learning because it brings “designs that existed only in students’ minds to life.”

Just think of what 3D printers can do now and what will be possible with this technology in the future.

Trash Into Cash

The FundingFactory and Scholastic are working together on the “Go Green” sweepstakes initiative in which educators have the opportunity to win $5000 to go greener with eco-friendly programs on their school campuses. To participate, you’ll need to complete a short form with information about your school and its current “green” programs and tell what you’d like to do with the prize money. The deadline is March 1, 2013.

Even if you don’t win the sweepstakes, you can always be a winner by recycling ink jet and toner cartridges and small digital devices through the FundingFactory. Just register, recycle, and earn rewards such as digital cameras, eReaders, printers, interactive whiteboards and more. It’s completely free.

Our World Is Changing Fast

Will 3D printers change the world as we know it?  Are Bot factories showing us the way to the future of manufacturing?  At the Bot Cave in Brooklyn, the company MakerBot uses its Replicator 2  to create products with eco-friendly materials.  It’s just the beginning of 3D printing, meaning that the output is often not exactly impressive. But, did you know that custom dental fittings are created through 3D printing and that many buildings, consumer items, and electronic gadgets were “prototyped on a 3D printer”?  In Japan, you can buy a 3D “action figure” of yourself, but you’ll need a head scan to do this. Students at school or home can turn their CAD designs into jewelry, figurines, and geometric puzzles. One day, 3D printers will be able to help you replace broken parts for products in your home, create fancy foods, and let you put your imagination to work to produce exactly what you want. The fact that these printers will soon be able to create electric circuits opens a whole new realm of possibility.  It seems to be important that just like our students were introduced to the first computers, they should be introduced to 3D printing. It is the beginning of what could become, as the Chris Anderson’s article in Wired says, “a Macintosh moment.”

What to Do with E-Waste

The Funding Factory wants you to know that 70% of the toxic material in landfills is the result of e-waste. You and your students can do something about it by recycling and thinking green. Laptops, cell phones, digital cameras, GPS devices, iPods/MP3 players, laser cartridges, and ink cartridges can be recycled, and the Funding Factory will help you with this effort and give you rewards, too. The program is free; the Funding Factory pays all postage and gives you boxes for sending in what you collect. Rewards are in the form of points that are redeemable for technology, other equipment, or cash. To find out more about the program, register online or call for a Jump Start Kit.

What Could You Do With a 3D Printer?

Until now 3D printers were so expensive that they were out of reach for school budgets.  But like most new technologies, these fascinating printers no longer cost exuberant prices.  You can get them from about $300+ and up, depending on what type you want and how well it works. Middle Schoolers in Edina, Minnesota use a Dimension 3D printer called uPrint to bring their own designs to life. Students in Grades 9-12 at Bishop Reding in Ontario created robots with golf clubs, which they took at to a golf course to try.  Some schools are experimenting with 3D RepRap printers that can replicate themselves. Those who are putting them to work in the classrooms say the printers create enthusiasm for engineering and math skills, along with creativity.  Besides, they’ve proven a special plus for school publicity.

If you are interested in one of these printers, you’ll want to look at a comparison chart that contains price, strengths, weaknesses, materials needed, size, and other categories. The uPrint 3d printers start at $290 a month, the RepRap printer starts at about $300+.  You’ll note in the chart that many of the lower-cost 3D printers are slower and lack the quality of output of the more costly printers.