3D Printing: From the classroom to the operating room

3D Printing: From the classroom to the operating room

How 3D printing is revolutionizing education

What is 3D printing and how does it work?

3Dprinting.com defines 3D printing or additive manufacturing as “… a process of making three dimensional solid objects from a digital file.” (3DPrinting.com) Lots of information there, huh? To break it down a little bit more 3D printing uses an STL (stereolithography) file created using a CAD (computer-aided design) program on a computer, that file is then loaded onto a 3D printer, most consumer grade 3D printers use plastic  filament (it usually comes in rolls like wire) but 3D printers can use any number of different materials from wood, metal and ceramic to human cells.

How can 3D printing be used in the k-12 classroom?

Giordano, T. Screenshot of the 3D Printer Workflow from Invent to Learn text

3D Printing has almost unlimited applications in the K-12 classroom. It can be used to teach computational thinking (The BBC has a great primer that breaks down the basics of Computational Thinking here) 3D printing as a process can be daunting, there are a lot of pieces that go into a successful print. This is where computation thinking comes in, students learn to break down a problem into manageable pieces and come up with a set of steps to tackle the problem. 3D printing is a great tool to teach students about computational thinking without sitting them down and teaching them computational thinking. They will figure out the competencies on their own and will truly understand them because they have already put in the practice. The instructor will have to scaffold the lessons to support learners' understanding of the core competencies, working on breaking down the printing process into smaller pieces, understanding the process from start to finish and troubleshooting any potential issues.

3D Printing can also be used to teach iterative design. When working from scratch on a design the chances of succeeding the first time are pretty slim. It's important to be able to recognize the faults in a design and come up with a better iteration. This teaches students resilience, if at first you don't succeed try, try again. Every version of a print will get better until the student has a finished product that meets their goals.

Giordano, T. screenshot of 3D model of toy bear in Rhino 3D

Giordano, T. Pieces of a 3D Printed Bear Toy 

Giordano, T. Red 3D Printed Bear toy with articulated limbs

Students (or instructors) can use a 3D Printer to create math manipulatives, students could have the pride of creating their own tools for learning (thus creating buy-in) or instructors have the opportunity to create tools that meet their exact needs in a fairly cost-effective manner.

3D printing is also a great opportunity to teach students about creative commons and copyright laws. There are millions of designs out there on the internet for students to find, adapt and print on sites like Thingiverse and Pinshape. These sites allow users to share designs that others can use, these designs are covered by Creative Commons licensing. Some users will allow modification of their designs, others prefer that they stay in their original form. This is a hands on way for students to learn about attribution in conjunction with other skills.

Giordano, T. Screenshot of Creative Commons license on Pinshape

3D printing can also be used in a much more basic way, giving students the opportunity to make things that they are interested in. In an inquiry-based learning project having a 3D printer opens up a whole new world for students. There is an opportunity for students to create pretty much anything, a model of an ancient monument for their history class or a prosthetic limb for another child in need.

How is 3D printing being used to educate future doctors?

Cadavers are hard to come by, they only have one of each organ (well there are a few organs with duplicates) and realistically everything inside of them is the same color. 3D printing can alleviate the shortage of organs available to students who are learning about human anatomy, get rid of the potential hazard of formaldehyde and other similar chemicals that are used to preserve cadavers. 3D printing also means that medical professionals can duplicate unique tumors or defects so that other medical professionals can learn from them no matter the distance. 

Giordano, T. Screenshot of Grey's Anatomy Season 11, Episode 10

3D printing can be used for models to teach that mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell or printing heart valves from a patient's own cells. Popular TV Series Grey's Anatomy featured 3D Printing prominently in the 11th season, the screenshot above features a 3D model of a tumor that was used as a reference to figure out how to resect the tumor. 

How is 3D printing being used in other fields?

Artists are using 3D printing to push the boundaries of their art forms, small scale jewelers are using 3D printers to make multiple copies of a piece that would have taken them significantly more time to do by hand.  3D printing also gives jewelers the opportunity to mock up their designs with less expensive materials to figure out any kinks with the print file before switching to the more pricey materials. Young artists have the opportunity to outsource their printing to companies like Shapeways to print their work removing the need for direct access to a 3D printer. Music students could be printing their own instruments at a much lower cost than purchasing new instruments, making replacing worn-out or broken instruments less prohibitively expensive. Animators can model characters on the computer and print all of their different facial expressions so that they don't have to be individually molded by hand. Engineers can print models of buildings to get an idea of what they look like at scale before building them. 

Why 3D printing?

Forbes says "it will transform the way we make everything from clothes to ancient monuments destroyed in conflicts, reducing waste, energy and water use along the way." (Scott, M.) 3D printing has the potential to change the way the world works; education, medicine, manufacturing and everything in-between. 3D printing started as a process that was only accessible to corporations or wealthy hobbyists but these days a consumer can get a desktop printer for a few hundred dollars and use free software like Tinkercad to design anything from toys or pieces for model trains to tools and replacement pieces for household appliances. The possibilities of 3D printing are endless, it just takes some creativity.

Works Cited

Chong, S., Pan, G., Chin, J., Show, P., Yang, T., & Huang, C. (2018). Integration of 3D Printing and Industry 4.0 into Engineering Teaching. Sustainability,10(11), 3960. doi:10.3390/su10113960

Ford, S., & Minshall, T. (2018). Invited Review Article: Where and how 3D printing is used in teaching and education. Additive Manufacturing. doi:10.1016/j.addma.2018.10.028

KS3 Computer Science - Introduction to computational thinking - Revision 1. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/guides/zp92mp3/revision/1

Martinez, S. L., & Stager, G. (n.d.). The Game Changer. In Invent to Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom. Constructing Modern Knowledge Press.

Scott, M. (2017, January 26). 3D Printing Will Change The Way We Make Things And Design Them In 2017. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikescott/2017/01/25/3d-printing-will-change-the-way-we-make-things-in-2017/#39cea65e310e

Bower, M., Stevenson, M., Falloon, G., Forbes, A., Hatzigianni, M. (2018). Makerspaces in Primary School Settings – Advancing 21st Century and STEM capabilities using 3D Design and 3D Printing. Sydney, Australia: Macquarie University. Available at: https://primarymakers.com.

Could 3-D Printing Save Music Education? (2018, November 07). Retrieved from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/could-3d-printing-save-music-education-180970743/