3D Printers and Printing

Brian Wagaman has taught Woodshop, Engineering and Technology, and Advanced Manufacturing and Logistics. He also served as the Vice President of the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) for Indiana from 2016-2017. Wagaman focuses on giving kids the knowledge and skills pertinent to what they’ll experience in the world. Taking Off with 3D Printing Brian Wagaman’s classes were recently introduced to 3D printing when their school acquired an Afinia H400 and the Dobot Magician robotic arm. “I’m extremely impressed and excited about the machines,” explains Wagaman. “The students have taken off with them. The 3D printer has had nonstop use for months!” Students use the printer to solve real-world [Read more…]

David Shircliff is the Technology Education teacher for Loudoun County schools. He has been teaching for 26 years, and loves when students have the “ah-ha” moment when they figure something out for themselves. A Surprise Start to 3D Printing Prior to the school purchasing the Afinia H800 3D printer, David Shircliff did not have experience with 3D modeling or printing. “It was actually a surprise when we got the 3D printers,” he says. “We came in, and it was just sitting there! We had an inkling it might be coming, and knew some school administrators had been researching school-friendly 3D printers, but we had no idea they had made the [Read more…]

Project-based Learning STEM Kits that incorporate 3D printing are an excellent way for educators to introduce 3D printing to their students. They foster important skills that involve problem solving, creativity, and critical thinking. To better serve our education customers, we now offer 11 STEM 3D kits through our online store and our education reseller* network nationwide. Each kit includes hardware, a Student Workbook, and CAD templates. These STEM kits can be purchased in several quantities. Multiple quantity packs include the previous list of materials, along with one Teacher Workbook. Project-based Learning STEM kits available: Mini Boom Box Balance-Bot Warrior Night-Light Solar Powered Battery Charger (shown) Derby-Dash Crash Heart Rate Watch [Read more…]

Shane Helmich is the 7th and 8th grade PLTW teacher at Olive Peirce Middle School in Ramona, CA. He teaches Design & Modeling and Automation & Robotics courses, incorporating 3D printing into each. PLTW Building 3D Printing Experience Olive Peirce Middle School purchased the Afinia H480 3D Printer two years ago. “The principal gave me the go-ahead to get a 3D printer because we had some extra funds, and wanted to expand the STEM curriculum,” explains Helmich. At the time, Helmich did not have experience with 3D printing, so he researched the 3D printers on the market. “The Afinia brand was recommended by Project Lead The Way (PLTW)” Helmich says. [Read more…]

Todd Hummer is a Satellite Teacher for Butler Tech, teaching a 7th grade Project Lead the Way STEAMM (science, technology, engineering, art/design, math, and medical) class. Butler Tech is a career-technical school for adults and high school students in Hamilton, Ohio. Partnering with Butler Tech “The partnership that our district has with Butler Tech is very exciting. Butler Tech offers classes to high school students, adults, and businesses wanting to educate their workforce. They also provide satellite programs giving 7th through 12th graders the opportunity to learn about engineering and the biomedical fields. Seventh graders are all encouraged to take the Project Lead The Way (PLTW) Design and Modeling class, [Read more…]

Ebelt is a pilot, participated in NASA’s Zero Gravity flight, and enjoys gliding on the weekends. Kaye Ebelt is an inspired educator and life-long learner who has a BA in Elementary Education, ME in Computer technology, and MS in Science Education. She is currently an Albert Einstein Fellow, serving as the Directorate for Engineering at the National Science Foundation. Ebelt also participated in NASA’s MicroGX and Reduced Gravity Flight in 2011. The Power of Passion It is clear from Kaye Ebelt’s background that she has a passion for learning. During her interview, we learned how she is passing that passion on to other teachers and students. As the Directorate for [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…]

Dr. Chris Williams, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor at Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering in the Department of Engineering Education. Dr. Williams also directs the DREAMSLab at Virginia Tech (Design, Research and Education for additive manufacturing Systems), which contains eight different 3D printers representing five different 3D printing technologies. A strong proponent of additive manufacturing and 3D printing, Dr. Williams was interested in developing a way for K-12 STEM teachers to bring the technology to their schools. As part of its outreach program, the DREAMSLab holds 3D printing workshops for K-12 STEM teachers at the National Science Foundation (NSF) center for e-design’s Research Experience for Teachers (RET). During the week-long [Read more…]