4 minute read
This school was 3D printed
By Heather Barker Vermeer
Industry Reporter Classes began in the world’s first 3D printed school in July of last year.
It was built in just 18 hours. Traditional construction methods would likely have taken months. “The school is proof that 3D printing can play a key role in bridging our world’s education infrastructure gap by building high-quality classrooms for children in a sustainable, affordable and fast-paced way at scale,” representatives of the project said in a statement. The school was built in Malawi by 14Trees, a joint venture between Swiss cement maker Holcim Group and UK development firm CDC Group that aims to build affordable schools in countries with a serious shortfall of classrooms. In Malawi, for example, it would take 70 years to construct the 36,000 classrooms that are needed using conventional methods, according to UNICEF. According to 14Trees, this infrastructure gap could be bridged in just ten years with 3D printing. Kiwi schools trying to keep up with progress in the 3D printing space know how their introduction has revolutionised the teaching of many subjects from architecture to the arts, engineering to food technology, jewellery making to woodwork and more. When and where the first 3D printed NZ school will appear remains to be seen. At the start of the pandemic here in New Zealand, in March 2020, Hamilton Primary School made headlines when it put its 3D printers to use to create face shields for healthcare workers. After previously using the technology for making basic items such as keyrings, teacher Frank Young spearheaded The Shields Up project to put the printers to positive use, receiving over 6000 orders for mask parts by the end of March that year. With the uses for 3D printing only being limited by the imaginations of the users, who knows where this mind-blowing technology will lead us in the education sector and beyond? The range of careers accessible through gaining expertise in 3D is growing all the time. Medicine, video games, architecture, manufacturing, product design, special effects for TV and movies, automotive, construction, biotechnology and more now utilise 3D print for innovative purposes and to improve efficiencies. Creative STEM pathways can be explored through this means and more and more, 3D print technology is being showcased in tech week arenas, with some astounding applications (3D printed car, anyone?). Used productively, 3D printers have the capacity to effect untold positive change in the world. The more the world of manufacturing opens up through the use of ever evolving, increasingly accessible technology, the more potential risk, but also the more potential reward. Increasingly, schools are adding this technology to their toolkits, and they serve as an attractive draw to prospective students keen to be exposed to the most up-to-the-minute technology in their learning. New technologies provide ideal production platforms for students, putting product manufacture at their fingertips. The advent of ever more affordable 3D printers opens up new avenues in teaching that are increasingly accessible. Students with a predisposition towards tactile or kinaesthetic learning are among those most likely to benefit and to become engaged and enthusiastic learners.
Essential training support is available to enable teachers and students to use 3D printers safely. Suppliers will be able to tell you about the safety requirements, explain why a machine has been designed the way it has and what, if any, protective gear is required. Most suppliers offer training sessions and support for clients so that their machines are not only used, but maintained, correctly for maximum efficiency and longevity.
Creativity is calling
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