3D Printing
John Glenn has three 3D printers, open to be use by all classes. They are located in the Science Wing, providing easy access for students to use.
Our school uses the MakerBot Replicator. It features Wi-Fi connectivity, an app, on board camera for print monitoring, diagnostics, the ability to pause a print when something is wrong, and more. This model is user friendly, and creates professional quality prints.
There are different websites that can be used for the printers, our school often uses is Tinkercad.com. When you first sign up for the website, it takes you through a few different tutorials to help show you how to use it. After you have the basic knowledge, it’s extremely easy to use. Tinkercad lets you browse other users' projects, offers a blog with different information such as what materials you’ll need to run a 3D printer, and a community center so you can talk to other users about their designs and ask any questions someone may have.
At John Glenn, we use technology often in the classroom and in extracurricular activities. 3D printers add another layer of technological opportunities to our education. When students use programs to build models, they gain problem solving skills and learn how to think on their own.
Another website that is often used while designing a 3D print, is Thingiverse.com. This website allows you to look at what other people have created, and download their creation to print. Often, these creations are downloaded to save time when creating something in Tinkercad. An example would be the bobcat on the name plaques below. Creating the mascot would have taken several hours to complete, and depending on the user's talents, may not have turned our as well.
Both Thingiverse and Tinkercad make creating things on the 3D printers extremely easy and fun to do.
The 3D printers at John Glenn are great ways to gain students' interest in STEM activities and they make learning fun!
more about 3d printing
So what's all the hype about 3D printing? What makes it so groundbreaking? Well, 3D printing, while a great way to learn about coding and engineering, has much more to offer. For example, an article written by Drew Hendricks called "3D Printing Is Already Changing Health Care" explains how 3D printing in the medical field is saving lives! Another article written by Jacopo Prisco called "'Foodini' machine lets you print edible burgers, pizza, chocolate" describes how 3D printing is becoming important in the food industry. These two examples alone show how beneficial 3D printing has already become, so who knows what will come next!
students learn to 3d print
Mr. Maison's science classes were able to participate in Star Wars Day (May 4th) this year in a unique way. They all 3D printed their own light sabers! Students had the ability to use Tinkercad to customize their light sabers before printing them. For anyone interested, the lesson plan is below so everyone can learn about the process our students went through, or even create a light saber themselves.
3D Printing and Chief Science Officers
This year at John Glenn, one of our Chief Science Officers has been using the 3-D printer to create several different things to be used around our school. She has made a sign for Wildfire Credit Union, who helps support John Glenn's 3D Printers, a sign for Chemical Bank, who supports our CSO program, and name plaques for our principle, Mr. Decuf, assistant principal, Mr. Bacigalupo, our secretary, Mrs. Werner, all the teachers in the science department, and a few others.
This is a great way for our students to learn how to make creations on the 3D printers. These plaques will be used for years to come, and they can be used as examples for students who may be interested in learning about 3D printers.
Want to see how it's done? Click here to follow a link to see step by step how our CSO made a 3D printed keychain!
3D Printing around campus
Click HERE to see how we 3D printed a table part for our library.
Out with the old and in with the new! It’s time to replace all the room number signs around our school, and guess what? They’re going to be 3D printed! Stay tuned for updates.
Fundraising
Great news everyone, we are now making these 3D printed name plaques below as a fundraiser! So parents, students, staff, and anyone else who wants one can order them here: https://goo.gl/forms/vwOkinpvItNCtEvb2
They are $10 for Bangor Township Schools staff, and $15 for everyone else. All the money goes right back into our CSO program. These name plaques make great gifts for the upcoming holidays, and accent any desk, in an office or at home, perfectly. Order yours today!
