3D Printing

3D Printers: The Disruptive Technology Headed To Your Libraries

Your Library As A Maker Space:

As a main source of information to the public, Libraries have always offered books and other resources to assist students in their educational programs as well as offer a place to study and connect with other like-minded individuals. And while the library still has thousands of books the advent of the electronic books, Nooks, Kindle Fires, etc. have created some opportunities for libraries to repurpose some of their space for other forms of information technology.

In the past 10 years most libraries throughout the US have repurposed some of their space to include room for 5 to 20 computers or more to provide internet connections and computer use to the public at little or no cost. Go into any Library today with this service and your often find all the computers are in use with people waiting for one to become available.

Libraries have also modified their Youth/Child areas to offer more materials and resources that offer the children an opportunity to assemble, create and build 3 dimensional objects rather than just draw or paint a picture. And because children as young as 4 are now comfortable operating their parents tablet or smart phone, their digital skills are being honed at a very early age. This has opened the door for Libraries to create digital labs to enhance the children’s computer skills.

3D Printing Technology:
From The Wright Brothers To Ion Engines In Four Years

If you need to quickly prototype a new engine design:
…You Print It.

If you need to develop a new way to make a body part:
…You Print It.

If you need to make a new Titanium Golf Driver:
…You Print It.

If you need to replace the broken gear for your machine:
…You Print It.

If you want to create new, intricate art work designs:
…You Print It.

If you want to build a new prosthetic in one day:
…You Print It.

In The Beginning

In August of 2012 the Englewood Incubation Center was created as a non-profit company whose primary mission was to help change the economic landscape in the greater Englewood community by helping entrepreneurs and small businesses develop new “hard” technologies to create businesses that actually made a product and produce higher paying jobs rather than develop another service-based business that creates low-end paying jobs.

Working with STEM engineering students at various High Schools EIC found they were using advanced 3D Modeling software and were beginning to experiment with 3D printing. The ability for students to quickly create 3 dimensional objects on software and then immediately transfer that file to a 3D Printer and create the object in an hour and then hold it in their hands was revolutionary.

Fast forward to 2016 and EIC has its own facility with 7 different 3D Printers and is also working with 12 different schools in both Sarasota and Charlotte Counties assisting them in placing 3D Printers in their science rooms in Elementary, Middle and High School. In addition, EIC is providing 3D Mini Camps for students ages 8 to 12 and In-Service Education programs for teachers.

Public Libraries:
The Next Best Place For 3D Printers

Even though 3D printing started over 30 years ago, in the last four years, 3D printers have burst into the personal printer market and stories on how 3D printing is changing the world are an everyday occurrence.

3D printers have improved exponentially in the last two years with machines now capable of printing with over 50 different materials with prices ranging from $1,250.00 to $2,500.00. To be sure, there are 3D printers available for under $400.00 but these are very limited in their build sizes and printing materials capabilities.

While many schools now have 3D printers, there are a limited number of students who have access to these machines and more often than not the only practical way for large numbers of students to use them is through after school 3D clubs.

Placing 3D printers in Libraries offers one solution to this access issue and because Library hours are not limited to school hours, students and adults alike can access this technology evenings and weekends. It also allows the Libraries to offer classes in 3D modeling and 3D printing and provides a reason for the younger generation to re-engage with the Library.

Many of the students who work with the EIC programs are very capable of creating 3D printable files using simple 3D modeling software such as Tinkercad, Sketchup, Inventor and even Minecraft. For these students having access to a 3D printer will allow them to create that object and experience the joy of creating something they can hold in their hands. Considering the fact that schools no longer have any wood shop, metal shop, engine shop or other vocational manual skill set programs, the 3D printer, in one machine, can replace an entire machine shop…in less space than a 30” flat screen TV.

In December of 2015 EIC’s founder created a for-profit company, LiteWorld LLC, to market and sell a line of high end 3D printers ( Lulzbot TAZ Units), printer enclosures, replacement filament and in-depth training in both 3D modeling and the use of 3D printers.

Working with the Education Foundation of Sarasota County and the Sarasota County Libraries, LiteWorld has been contracted to install a new Lulzbot TAZ 5 3D printer model along with a protective enclosure at the North Port Library in Sarasota County, scheduled to take place in May 2016. The short-term goal is to place 3D printers throughout the entire Sarasota County Library system over the next year giving thousands of people access to this technology.

In Conclusion

3D printing, now also referred to as Additive Manufacturing, is considered the one technology that could help the US reverse its’ slide from a “service based only” economy and get back to creating new products, a return toU.S based manufacturing, R&D and the eventual return to higher paying jobs. Libraries can be the connection.