Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
JAMES HALVERSON, a Gogebic Community College professor, helps Rachel Kellas, a Gogebic-Ontonagon Intermediate School District student, build a 3-D printer Thursday at GCC.
By TOM STANKARD
Ironwood - To make math and science fun, students of the Gogebic-Ontonagon Intermediate School District have assembled 3-D printers for computer programming and robotics class during the spring semester.
James Halverson, the class professor, said Thursday a 3-D printer is a manufacturing technology that has made "rapid" prototyping and small-scale manufacturing easier and more accessible. He said the printer makes three-dimensional solid objects from a digital file.
After the digital file is uploaded, Halverson said making a 3-D-printed object is achieved using additive processes. In an additive process, an object is created by laying down successive layers of material in patterns until the entire object is created.
Over a three-week timespan, students used hand and power tools to assemble printers piece by piece, following an instruction manual.
Students attended the computer and programming class at Gogebic Community College and in Ontonagon via a web cam.
Halverson said students made three printers in two sets. He said some students were "handy" with tools, while it was the first time working with tools for others.
"Some have never touched a power drill," he said.
He said students had some difficulties making the first set of three printers.
Once they got the hang of it, Halverson said students had an easier time assembling the second set of printers.
Students then went online and selected what they want to build, Halverson said.
After they chose what to build, Halverson said students used computer-aided design software to manipulate the digital model to size and then uploaded it to the printer.
He said students used programming to tell the printer the material they used, the type of surface it was printing on and the speed at which the printer made the object.
He said students have built baby chickens, shamrocks and a bust of a person, so far.
While working on the project, Halverson said students learned math, science, computer and building skills.
Andrew Keller, A.D. Johnston (Bessemer) High School junior, said the experience of making printers will benefit him in the future.
"Maybe I can get a job in a (field) like this," he said. "I think this is interesting."
