3-D Printer: A new learning tool for students and teachersBy: Luelana Bustamante
– Staff Writer –
STLCC-Meramec students have a new ally to enhance their educational experiences. The Digital Arts and Technology Alliance (DATA) received a 3-D printer at the end of June called Z-Corp. 650. The machine cost about $67,000 and currently resides in the architectural technology department.
The 3-D printer may include prototypes for industrial objects, sculptural studies in the fine arts, stage designs in theater, room and furniture designs for interior design, and even models of medical conditions for the health care industry.
“We can transform ideas that up to now we have only witnessed on a computer screen into tangible 3-D color models that can be held in our hands,” said Mary Huelsmann, program coordinator of the
architectural technology.
Even though the 3-D printer is new for Meramec students, the ability to print in 3D is not something recent. The first 3-D model printer was launched in the market in 2000 by Z-Corp., the same company responsible for the Z-Corp. 650. Huelsmann said in order to print it in 3-D, the Z-Corp. 650 uses gypsum powder.
To complete the process, the person needs to create a 3-D model in the computer and import the document into the Z-print software. The software breaks down the model into individual and horizontal layers that are transmitted to the printer one layer at a time.
By laying down powder, it is possible to account for voids in a model and recapture unused powder to
use it again in other model building projects, Huelsmann stated. “But this is not a cheap
process. Each cubic inch of model cost $5 of material, including the gypsum powder and the binder,” Huelsmann said.
Huelsmann said in architecture technology, they intend to use it to create scale models of buildings and design ideals, models that faculty may use to demonstrate teaching ideas, and models that students can create their own building designs to put it on their portfolios.
Since the department got it the 3-D printer, the students haven’t had the opportunity to use it yet. The architectural students’ first assignment was to create a 3-D house model Huelsmann prepared for the class and translate it to the paper, with all the proportions.
“This is a teaching tool as the students are learning how to visualize three dimension space and notions of proportion and volumes,” Huelsmann said.
