3D Printers and Printing

Rod Batschelet is the Technology Specialist at Benson Village School in Vermont. In his role, Batschelet instructs teachers how to integrate new technology, such as 3D printing, into the classroom. He also has an Associates Degree in graphic arts, and a certification in technology from Champlain College. Introducing 3D Printing at Benson Village School Benson Village welcomed the Afinia 3D printer into their school system three years ago. “After I had talked about 3D printing for some time, our district technology manager suggested we move forward with the idea,” says Batschelet. “I did plenty of research to find what I thought would be the perfect fit. Over and over, I [Read more…]

Eric Haddad is Chief Problem Solver at DiFi3D (Dimensional Fidelity). DiFi3D makes product development accessible for ‘the little guy’ by keeping costs down in the prototyping phase by using the Afinia H800 and H480 3D printers. DiFi3D Makes Dream Designs a Reality Haddad 3D prints parts on the Afinia H480 and H800 3D printers, and assembles them to show his clients a completed prototype. Haddad started DiFi3D in 2012 as a side-gig, and has grown it into a full-time job that he’s passionate about. “I help people refine and visualize their dream design, and set their product on the path to reality. I work a lot with individuals, and many [Read more…]

Patrick Logan is a professional engineer with 33 years experience in manufacturing products from Bicycles to Space Stations. He currently works with small and start-up companies as a consulting engineer, designing products for performance and manufacture. He uses the Afinia 3D Printer to provide clients with a 3D print of their part. His website can be found at www.kridleytech.com. With over 30 years of manufacturing products under his belt, Patrick Logan is no newcomer to functional 3D design, or even the concept of 3D printing. However, it was only recently that Patrick began 3D printing designs himself, with the help of the Afinia 3D printer. “Currently, I work with small [Read more…]

Greg Herker is the Fab Lab Program Coordinator for Gateway Technical College. He designs and coordinates the programs and is in charge of Fab Lab operations. Herker describes the Fab Lab as “A movement. A place where ideas and innovations happen.” The Lab is open to students, businesses, and the entire community. Fab Lab: The Movement “Our Fab Lab was started over a year ago. Fab Labs started in a class out of MIT by Dr. Neil Gershenfeld, the class “How to Build Almost Anything” and quickly found, that through digital fabrication, there would be a revolution allowing individuals to make all kinds of items for personal use. This sparked [Read more…]

TANDEMKROSS is a New Hampshire-based company that locally designs and manufactures gun improvement products. Their mission is to solve firearm problems that the manufacturers can’t or won’t: Making good guns great. Competitive Shooters Their market is predominantly gun-owners who use their firearms for competitive shooting. They make magazine expanders, front and rear sights, and kits to simplify the takedown of guns for cleaning, as well as many other accessories for Ruger, KelTec, and other manufacturers. “The firearm industry, as we know it today, has been around since the 50’s. When you look back at the number of manufacturers that have been around for a while, there aren’t that many. Colt, [Read more…]

Vadym Chalenko: Designer, Inventor, and Manufacturer Vadym Chalenko began his career as a graphic designer and has created illustrations for a number of retail t-shirt customers. He also has an interest in photography/ videography, and therein lies the start of his journey from Inventor, to 3D printing to Manufacturing. Capturing Inspiration “Last September I was looking for another phone and was really surprised by the photographic and video-graphic quality of the new models. I selected a Galaxy S3 and started using it more as a camera than as a phone.” The Beastgrip is a universal lens adapter and rig system for Iphone, Android or Windows phones. “Overall, camera phones have [Read more…]

Students get an edge with 3D printer packages designed for Next Generation Science Standards Afinia teams with Pitsco to offer affordable 3D printing education Rapid prototyping is all the rage as 3D printers pop up in companies and schools everywhere, but teaching about it has been a go-it-alone journey. Until now. 3D printing, which creates three-dimensional objects by laying down successive layers of material, is becoming widespread in engineering and manufacturing for rapid prototyping and production. Considering this, giving students an opportunity to understand the technology is important for the future of industry. So Afinia, a supplier of desktop 3D printers, teamed with Pitsco Education, a provider of STEM learning [Read more…]

by Aaron H. Pratt, VP Marketing – Microboards Technology/Afinia Almost exactly one year ago, we made the decision to enter the fray of 3D printing. What we saw then, and what we see now, was a disruptive technology, positioned to change business, that was beginning to make its way into the desktop market. Technologically speaking, we knew we were a late entrant. 3D printing, sometimes called Additive manufacturing, had been around for 30 years in one form or another. But marketwise, we saw a window of opportunity. Suddenly, garage tinkerers and back-room hobbyists were beginning to produce a product that met the economic requirements and piqued the interest of a [Read more…]