Tree of Science, February 1

Today, there was an interesting presentation from a group of students who constructed a 3D printer from scratch.  Here, we see them in Chemistry 202, with the Tree of Science peeking through the window.

For those who seek it, Winter Study provides a great opportunity to work together on joint projects.  In this case, a dozen students worked with staff in the machine and electronics shop (we'll undoubtedly meet that staff later), to construct a device that is able to print 3D parts from ABS plastic. Students worked in groups to engineer the hardware and software.  Here, for example, they're discussing the calibration of the extruding device, a thermocouple controlled cone-shaped nozzle that, along with a stepper/ratchet shapes plastic with sub-millimeter accuracy.

You can read more about their efforts, here.