3D Printing and Global Innovation

By Henry Danielson

Last month I was at a superintendents’ symposium in Monterey and was privileged to see Juan Enriquez, who inspired me to write this article. Enriquez discussed 3D printing and the importance of educators needs to prepare students for upcoming technology. 3D printers are an important global innovation. Juan Enriquez states that 3D printing prototypes “are important because they make things that are hard for humans to build, and they decentralize manufacturing and prototyping, bringing in creativity and design from even the edges of the network.”

3D printers are changing this model; now we don’t need a large manufacturing plant to set up and create a prototype. I was blown away by this statement and observation. In Japan, instead of Internet cafes, people are exchanging ideas and prototypes thru 3D printers. I have attended local and large-scale MakerFaire in California and this is something we need to promote. Our students need to be introduced to free applications like NetLogo, which is a multi-agent programmable modeling environment. It is used by tens of thousands of students, teachers and researchers worldwide. I hope this opens some eyes up to the potential of 3D printers and teaching our students about 3D modeling.

For instance, Richard A. D’Aveni told the Harvard Business Review the following: “To anyone who hasn’t seen it demonstrated, 3-D printing sounds futuristic — like the meals that materialized in the Jetsons’ oven at the touch of a keypad. But the technology is quite straightforward. It is a small evolutionary step from spraying toner on paper to putting down layers of something more substantial (such as plastic resin) until the layers add up to an object. And yet, by enabling a machine to produce objects of any shape, on the spot and as needed, 3-D printing really is ushering in a new era.

“As applications of the technology expand and prices drop, the first big implication is that more goods will be manufactured at or close to their point of purchase or consumption. This might even mean household-level production of some things. (You’ll pay for raw materials and the IP—the software files for any designs you can’t find free on the web.) Short of that, many goods that have relied on the scale efficiencies of large, centralized plants will be produced locally.”

What it can do for education? Using this prototyping technology, students will be able to produce realistic 3D mini-models. It enhances hands-on learning and learning by doing—great for computer science, engineering, architecture, and multi-media arts students. My personal opinion is that this technology will engage students, teachers and the community and provide real world applications that excite and innovate for the future.

I hope this opens some eyes up to the potential of 3D printers and teaching our students about 3D modeling.

About the Author

Henry Danielson is the director of technology at Coast Unified School District, a CTO Mentor, and a lecturer at California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo.

REFERENCES:

NetLogo

http://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/

Juan Enriquez Ted Talk

http://goo.gl/aP04RS

Large Scale in San Mateo

http://makerfaire.com/

Local Mini MakerFaire

http://slominimakerfaire.com/

3D Printing “best of”

http://makezine.com/volume/guide-to-3d-printing-2014/