Page 31 - Priorities #63- Winter 2016

CAD and 3D Printer
Last year, a new class was added to the Comput- er Science course offerings. This was no ordinary class. The new CAD (Computer Aided Design) and 3D Printing class teaches students how to use 3D printers to create anything their creative minds can think of. Students have printed a wide vari- ety of plastic objects, from a finger for a baby to a model prison system. The 3D printers can also cre- ate plastic molds which in turn are used to create products from different media such as metal and chocolate.
Students use a software called SolidWorks to design their products. There are five different 3D printers for their use. On average, they use about 4-5 spools of ABS filament per semester. Students can take the CAD and 3D Printing course for one se- mester or continue on to CAD and 3D Printing 2 for an additional semester. During the second semester, students learn how to market and sell their prod- ucts. Students will design and sell for a consumer demographic that shops 3D models on Shapeways. com and through a school-wide Etsy-like store. The topics include pitching ideas, market research, design solutions, production, marketing, and cost analysis.
The course is still expanding as new technology becomes available. The hope is to obtain additional devices that can create a model with a laser cutter, an electric cutter, or a CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machine. With a creative course like CAD, the hope is that students will feel more comfortable with computer science and turn it into engineering, architecture, robotics, and other disciplines.
Tinker Labs
The addition of two Tinker Labs on campus has al- lowed teachers to expand the student learning expe- rience into a more engaging and student-centered learning model. The Tinker Labs contain hundreds of items, including paint, cardboard, sewing ma- chines, drills, hacksaws, a circular saw, jigsaw, chop- saw, rotary cutters and two-by-fours. Student proj- ects have varied. Some have been abstract in nature, and others have been more concrete such as Jewish wedding canopies, cardboard and duct-tape chairs, and 3D replicas of artifacts. For example, when Alex Thayer’s American Democracy class was studying George Washington, they went into the Tinker Lab and created 3D replicas of George Washington’s teeth. Still other classes have used the Tinker Lab as an alternative learning environment, setting it up for a science experiment or a debate.
Yvonne Faisal, who headed up the movement, carried out the research for the Tinker Lab. She vis- ited similar spaces at other schools and did a lot of online research and dreaming. Faisal explained, “I really wanted a space that felt both welcoming and empowering. To that end, I chose materials and fur- nishings that were very durable yet bright and ap- pealing. Organizing the space into “zones” and stor- ing all materials in the open and/or in transparent bins was intentional to make it easy to find one’s way around and brainstorm about how to use materials and also to take ownership for keeping it organized.”
The plan is to slowly build up the Tinker Labs over the next couple of years. The hope is to add more technology like 3D printers and to have teach- ers integrate their classes more with the Tinker Lab.
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INNOVATION