Earlier this week, our class took part in a Build-a-3DPrinter event. I took part in the event by helping build out the extruder head and part of the box frame. Most of the pieces from the kit were either metal or plastic, with various metal parts scattered throughout. Even though the process was a lot of following instructions, there were complexities that surprised me. Instructions weren’t always thorough, and parts were often hard to find. Additionally, sometimes pieces wouldn’t fit quite right, or required unorthodox methods of fastening together. For example, in creating the sliders for the extruder, I had to used the handle of a wrench as a makeshift hammer to get multiple wooden pieces to fit around a copper tube. Nevertheless the whole process was largely enjoyable.

Towards the end of the session, a rather interesting problem presented itself. We were missing a small rectangular piece. After much hubbub about where it might have gone or where we should find another one, a maker-esque solution was reached. Kyle and I measured the specs of an identical wooden piece, and modeled one in Fusion 360. We brought it up to the Maker Lab on the 3rd floor and printed a replica out in under 4 minutes. Unfortunately our time with the kit was at an end, but I’d say the Maker mentality was alive and kicking throughout the whole day!

This week’s class was one of my favorite’s so far, because not only did we get a chance to build with our hands, but we also got a chance to see what teamwork and maker ingenuity could produce. This makes me even more excited to get started on our semester project, and working with my peers in the future.