How 3D Printing Actually Works

Now that 3D printing — the process of making three-dimensional solid objects from digital designs — is available and affordable to individual consumers, it's piqued a lot of interest across the tech space in the past few years. From scale models, gifts and clothing to prosthetic limbs, hearing aids and the prospect of 3D-printed homes, the possibilities seem endless. The concept of 3D printing is by no means new, however. Chuck Hull invented and patented stereolithography (also known as solid imaging) in the mid-1980s, when he founded 3D Systems, Inc. Since then, advances in the technology have been (and continue to be) made, including the size of the printers themselves, the materials they can use and more. But how do 3D printers actually work? Designing an Idea It all starts with a concept. Whichever program you choose, you're able to create a virtual blueprint of the object you want to print. The 3D Printing Process Now for the fun part. Pushing Innovation

3D Printers: Make Whatever You Want On most weekends, 14-year-old Riley Lewis and a few of his eighth grade friends gather at his house in Santa Clara, Calif. The group of about five, depending on who’s around, grab some chips and bean dip and repair to the garage, where Riley and his dad have created something of a state-of-the-art manufacturing hub. The boys can pretty much fabricate anything they can dream up on a machine called the RapMan. As the hours tick by, they cover tables with their creations: rockets and guitar picks and cutlery. They hold forth on plastic extrusion rates and thermodynamics and how such forces affect the precision of the objects they can produce. The kids obsess over what versions of the Linux operating system they run on their laptops and engage in awkward banter. Author Ashlee Vance as rendered by MakerBot Riley and his friends have accepted as a mundane fact that computer designs can be passed among friends, altered at will, and then brought to life by microwave oven-size machines.

Young Explorers Workshops (Grades 1-4) | DigiPen ProjectFUN DigiPen offers the following one-week workshops during the summer: Participants must be entering grades one through four to register for the Young Explorer workshops. New to the Summer Workshops? Attend a free Summer Workshops Preview Day Event in April to learn more and get a hands-on experience! RSVP online. Schedule for 2014 Young Explorers Workshops are offered during the following one-week periods. Tuition & Discounts The total cost for each workshop is $650 (including a $50 non-refundable registration fee and $145 non-refundable deposit). ProjectFUN offers the following discounts for one-week Summer Workshops at our Redmond, WA, campus: Early Bird Discount*: Register and pay the non-refundable $195 deposit for a summer 2014 workshop before March 5, 2014, and receive a $75 discount.Preview Day Discount*: Attend one of our Preview Day events in March or April and receive $35 off your tuition. * Please note: Combination of discounts may not exceed $75 for a single workshop.