Last Thursday GAMC students had their second workshop on 3D printing entitled, “3D Printing: From Local to Global.” We started with a tutorial on Inventor; for some students this was a beginner’s guide and for most this was a refresher. Things that were discussed during the tutorial was how to create a 2D geometry, how to revolve a figure around an axis, how to create additional sketches on existing surfaces, how to extrude a 2D geometry, and how to create a circular pattern of an existing 3D feature.

Next, we had a lecture about the history of 3D printing, current developments as far as industry (Manufacturing, Biomedical, Fashion, etc.) as well as discussing the future prospects of the technology.

During the workshop, I had the machine running and had it print some test parts so they can see it in action and get used to seeing it as well as hearing it.  Hearing the printer run is something I don’t get tired of hearing for some reason.

Finally each person had a chance to upload their file to the Makerbot software to be printed. They were taught how to save the Inventor part file as an .ipt extension as well as the important part; the .stl extension which is used for the actual print job.

The students enjoyed watching the printer working.  They had a lot of questions and I enjoyed answering as much as I could.

The students came out with some really great pieces. I only gave them a rough guideline to follow and they used their creativity to make some really unique looking chess figures.