Garden International School (GIS) has purchased its first ever 3D printer. The revolutionary printer is one of a new batch that allows images to be created and then printed in 3D.
Design and Technology teachers Mr Stokes and Mr Gordon were among the first to try out the new printer, watched by several IB students.
This kind of printer is set to change the world of printing – and also adds a whole new dimension (literally) to Design and Technology lessons.
The first item printed by the new GIS 3D printer.
The technology for 3D printing has been around for some years but the price of the machines and software has limited their use outside the industrial sphere.
However, due to open source software becoming available and the cost of the machines coming down they are now much more accessible. They work on the same theory as a normal printer. However, they use plastic, rather than ink, which is melted and simply squeezed out of a nozzle layer by layer to create a 3D object.
The object can be designed on a computer using a range of 3D modelling programmes. The design is then split into layers using a software programme and then sent to the 3D printer for making. This technology is set to revolutionise the way we manufacture products.
Now the new printer is in action, it opens up a whole new world of design possibilities for students and provides them with state-of-the-art technology.
Students are looking forward to using the 3D printer.
IB students work out how to use the new 3D printer.
