The Marshall University-affiliated Robert C. Byrd Institute for Advanced Flexible Manufacturing is hosting free workshops for educators who want to use three-dimensional printing in teaching.
The technology allows users to design objects on computers and have them molded by the printers. The printers often use plastic, but RCBI has one that forges metal objects. According to an article in Marshall Magazine, RCBI has used its printers to develop products for dozens of companies in West Virginia, including Toyota.
The technology is also known as additive manufacturing. Unlike traditional manufacturing, where material is subtracted from a larger piece through cutting or other processes until it fits the desired form, the article says 3-D printers add layers of material to create the object.
Workshops for educators who are new to the technology will be held 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 17 at the RCBI Advanced Manufacturing Technology Center in South Charleston, Feb. 24 at the center in Huntington, and March 2 at the one in Bridgeport. Another session for those with prior 3-D printing experience is scheduled from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 9 at the South Charleston location.
Those who attend that workshop will be asked to develop a project or lesson plan involving the technology that will be posted online as examples for others.
RCBI spokeswoman Becky Calwell said all types of educators are welcome. She said she has teachers, principals and perhaps someone from a community college already interested in attending.
"There's a lot potential for them," Calwell said of 3-D printers. "But they've got to know how to use them."
She said John Brown, a teacher at Kanawha County's John Adams Middle School who already uses a 3-D printer in his class, will be involved in each workshop.
Beyond showing how 3-D printers can be used in classrooms, Calwell said the sessions could answer questions about which ones to purchase. She said a lot of schools are purchasing the technology with grants. She said the workshops will discuss the Solidworks program for designing the objects 3-D printers make, and will also discuss software that's available for free.
The sessions are supported by a grant from NASA's Independent Verification and Validation Facility in Fairmont and a partnership with Marshall's June Harless Center. The workshops include lunch, and the first three include $50 stipends while the March 9 one will provide a $150 stipend to teachers who complete their project.
Seats are limited; apply at rcbi.org/online/3deducators. For more information, contact Calwell at bcalwell@rcbi.org or 800-469-7224.