Medical Lake Middle School receives 3D printer

An anonymous donor wanted Medical Lake Middle School students to have a leg up in the ever-changing world of technology, so they now have a 3D printer.

Exactly what they will do with it is still a work in progress, but the possibilities are virtually endless.

3D printing is used for both prototyping and manufacturing of actual parts or accessories for products.

Real-world applications are common these days, according to teacher and robotics coach Chad Powers, noting that a bicycle seat he just purchased came from a 3D printer. Powers teaches sixth-grade science and Project Lead The Way.

"You can imagine having a need for a part that you couldn't go purchase or didn't want to be metal," Powers said. At high levels the printers can produce metal parts.

A tray moves up and down while the arm travels back and forth feeding a string of tubular material to build the parts. The material is extruded through a head similar to that found on an ink-jet printer. Essentially it melts plastic, Powers said.

"This thing will build it layer-by-layer - I don't know how long this one (a nut and bolt) took to print but I'm guessing probably 50 minutes - so you can print 3-dimentional objects from our software," he explained.

Students work in a CAD, computer aided design, software called AutoDesk.

Valued at about $4,000, the donor, who wanted to remain anonymous, will also continue to supply the material to fuel the printer. Powers said he's not sure how much that will be.

"It's hard to gauge until we fully implement it," Powers said.

"The printer donor learned that we teach Autodesk Inventor through Project Lead The Way (PLTW) course to our sixth-grade students," Tim Kruger, assistant principal, wrote in an email.

The reason for wanting to donate the printer was the excitement that it would generate as students get to see some of what is created in the virtual world in class built into the physical world, he added.

According to their website, "PLTW students progress through a K-12 computer science pathway gaining mastery and independence by engaging in activities, projects, and problems that relate to and build upon one another."

"I knew a bit about the products out there as I had taught in a PLTW classroom where we had the fortune of purchasing a few printers ourselves," Kruger said. "He was our authority on them," Powers added.

The printer just arrived last week and performed test prints of a nut and bolt and several other items. Powers said one area that he knows that it will see immediate use is in his robotics classes.

"We are the recipients of the benevolence of community members who are helping to provide the very best opportunities for our students at every turn," Kruger said.

"(It's) new technology that will really help us move forward," Powers said. "It's a technology that's real and out there."

Paul Delaney can be reached at [email protected].