Educación / Education STCC Manufacturing Program adds 3D Printing to Curriculum

SPRINGFIELD, MA | SPRINGFIELD TECHNICAL COMMUNITY

COLLEGE | July 17, 2023 –– How passionate is instructor Alexander Lozada about 3D printing? The Springfield Technical Community College assistant professor and 2020 graduate of the Mechanical Engineering Technology program loves the technology so much that he bought a 3D printer to design and produce parts at his home. He has created a lot of parts he uses around his house, including a custom silverware holder to fit into a kitchen drawer.

“I used the skills I learned here when I was a student at STCC,” Lozada said. “Being able to turn your ideas into reality is super fun and satisfying.” Lozada brings his enthusiasm for 3D printing every day to his job as an assistant professor. After joining STCC’s faculty in the fall of 2023, he suggested and obtained approval for the Mechanical Engineering Technology Department to create a 3D printing lab, also known as an additive manufacturing lab. This equipment complements existing rapid prototyping materials and technology already used by the manufacturing program.

The Department already was using 3D printers, but it was not a formal part of the curriculum which is known throughout the region for design and quality control elements. Lozada suggested creating a dedicated lab and purchasing three more 3D printers similar to the one he has at home. They are relatively inexpensive ($210 each). The lab now has nine printers.

“3D printing is becoming more common in the industry, so it’s important for us to stay up to date,” Lozada said. “Students should be aware of 3D printing before they graduate.”

STCC’s Dean of STEM, Lara Sharp, said a 3D printing lab will benefit students and the college’s industry partners. “Creating and visualizing student projects will connect design skills with application,” Sharp said. “I am excited to have the additive manufacturing lab as part of the MET program at STCC.”

Mechanical Engineering Technology degree-seeking students are learning about 3D printing in their second-level SolidWorks class. SolidWorks is a solid modeling computer-aided design and computeraided engineering application.

3D printing allows for the construction of threedimensional objects from a CAD (computer-aided design) model or a digital 3D model. Under computer control, the printers in the MET lab create models with plastic material being added layer by layer.

Students learn how to program the computers and operate the machines. The printers can design intricate objects with internal features that cannot be manufactured using conventional methods. Lozada points to one 3D-printed object – a fan with gears that were printed at one time.

“This is actually an impossible-to-assemble construction,” he said. “When you start 3D printing, the rules for how things are built are different, and it opens up new possibilities.”

Lozada displays several 3D printed objects in the lab, including a 3-foot model of a Saturn V rocket. Some of them such as a muscleflexing Pokemon character are fun and quirky. Others are practical and include gears and turning parts that could be used in machines. One class built a fender for a student’s wheelchair.

Lozada asked students to design a small toy-sized boat using a 3D printer. The goal was to see how many quarters their boat could hold without sinking. The 3D-printing exercise taught students engineering concepts about volume and physics.

“I made one too, because I wasn’t going to let them have all the fun!” Lozada said.

Interested in applying to STCC? Visit stcc.edu/apply or call Admissions at (413) 755-3333.

Dedican Tercera Edición de la Revista Engineering Now a la portación de la Mujer en la Ongeniería

continued from page 8 de cierta manera como profesionales de la ingeniería”, subrayó la doctora Domenech García.

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Como de costumbre, el diseño estuvo a cargo de la artista gráfica Junibeth Vélez Arcelay, de la Sección de Impresos del RUM, quien desplegó con gran elegancia y belleza estética esta edición que se destaca por hermosas fotografías y espacios amplios. De hecho, el

Museo de Arte del RUM (MUSA) transformó una de sus salas en un estudio para llevar a cabo una sesión de fotos que captó a las protagonistas, a quienes también se presentó en sus entornos de trabajo y laboratorios.

El equipo editorial estuvo compuesto además por las estudiantes colegiales Andrea N. Pérez Molina, asistente en la parte editorial y en la fotografía, quien estudia Ingeniería Mecánica; y Jaymarie Ramos Rivera, a cargo del Mercadeo, estudiante de esa rama en el Colegio de Administración de Empresas.

La presentación también contó con la asistencia de los doctores Bienvenido Vélez Rivera, decano de Ingeniería; Gustavo Gutiérrez, decano de Asuntos Administrativos, y William Hernández Rivera, ayudante especial del Rector en el área docente y no docente.