3D Printers

Funding from the Training and Development Agency, has enabled provision of nine Dimension BST 768 machines, which means that nine support centres, one per government region, have ownership of this state of the art machinery. This equipment means that they can provide 3D printing capability to promote the development of innovative, high quality activities to enhance the secondary design and technology curriculum. These centres offer a range of additional training opportunities to maximise the use of the printers across the region.

If you have items that can be made on the printer (in ABS) please make contact for details of file formats and maximum size. The preparation software (CatalystEX) can be made available to partner schools so that pupils can explore the manufacturing parameters before sending to the printer.

In addition, some centres now have a Rapman 3D printer (see picture) - details below.

Printer locations

Region	Printer type	Contact name	Printer Site	Address	e-mail	tel
North East	Rapman	Mike Nelson	Woodham City Technology College	Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, DL5 4AX	m.nelson@woodham.org.uk	01325 300328
North East	Rapman	Michael Mullen	Gateshead CLC	Unit 13 Keel Row, The Watermark, Gateshead, NE11 9SZ	mmullen@ictgateshead.org	0191 460 2900
North East	Dimension	Jeff Knox	Sunderland University	Forster Building, Chester Road, Sunderland, SR1 3SD	jeff.knox@sunderland.ac.uk	0191 515 2181
North West	Rapman	Stuart Douglas	Ripley St Thomas CofE High School	Ashton Road, Lancaster, LA1 4RS	douglasstu82@hotmail.com	01524 64496
North West	Dimension	Charles O'Brien Paul Spencer	Edge Hill University	Design and Technology Department, St Helen's Road, Ormskirk, Lancashire, L39 4QP	obrienc@edgehill.ac.uk spencerp@edgehill.ac.uk	01695 584 210
Yorks and Humber	Dimension	John Lee	Sheffield Hallam University	Centre for Design and Technology Education, Sheaf Building, City Campus, Pond Street, S1 1WB	j.c.lee@shu.ac.uk	0114 225 2710
East Midlands	Rapman	Sarah Davies	Nottingham Trent University	School of Education, Maudslay Building, Nottingham, NG1 4BU	sarah.davies@ntu.ac.uk	0115 848 2666
East Midlands	Dimension	Mike Finney	TBA	44 Rivehall Avenue, Welton, Lincoln. LN2 3LH	m.d.finney@btinternet.com/	01674 860144
West Midlands	Rapman	Malcolm Eyre	Staffordshire STEM Centre	Faculty of Engineering, Computing and Technology, Staffordshire University, Beaconside, Stafford, ST18 0AD	m.eyre@staffs.ac.uk	01785 353348
West Midlands	Dimension	Paul Gardiner	Finham Park School	Green Lane, Coventry, CV3 6EA	paulgardiner@dsl.pipex.com	02476 418 135
East	Rapman	Paul Moore	TBA	A Norfolk School	moore.cadcam@ntlworld.com	01603 501 183
East	Dimension	Jonathan Burge/John Harris	Notley High School	Notley Road, Braintree, Essex CM7 1WY	Jonathan.Burge@notleyhigh.com Jrh_consultancy@hotmail.com	01376 556300
London	Rapman	John Backwell	Department of Design (PDU)	Goldsmiths College, University of London, 13 Laurie Grove, London, SE14 6NW	j.backwell@gold.ac.uk	020 7919 7788/79
London	Dimension	Alan Patterson Bernie Holloway	SETPOINT London East	Soanes Centre, London E3 4PX (Nearest tube station: Mile End)	london_dt_digital@btinternet.com bernie.holloway@btinternet.com	0208 252 6644
South East	Rapman	Stephen Herd	Department of Design (PDU)	1 The Common, Stokenchurch, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, HP14 3UH	sherd@badcock-herd.com	0845 6443314
South East	Dimension	Gerry Heather	Education Business Partnership	15 Doolittle Mill, Froghall Road, Ampthill, Beds, MK45 2ND	heatherg@blebp.co.uk	01525 408 691
South West	Rapman	Phil Wightman	The Ridings High School	1 High Street, Winterbourne, Bristol, BS36 1JL	pwightman@ridingshigh.org	01454 525 017
South West	Dimension	Lois Leonard	Helston Community College (until July 2010)	Church Hill Helston, TR13 8NR Cornwall	lleonard@cornwall.gov.uk	01209 719 354

Hints and tips for 3D printing

CatalystEX version 4.0.1 is now available from the update link with version 3. The Dimension machine serial number is required. Download the release notes here.

NOTE: because the Dimension machines are out of warranty, currently the CatalystEX software cannot be updated. This is being pursued with the company. New machines marketed under the HP brand are not sbject to this restriction.

Products should have a minimal wall thickness of 1mm Take care when scaling models that the wall thickness is not reduced to below 1mm
Circular shapes acquire 'flats'. This is may be useful where holes are required in which things must fit
Make sure you select the correct printer type when outputting
The selection of an appropriate chord length when exporting from Pro/DESKTOP to STL effects facet or step details. In Pro/ENGINEER set 0.00 in the dialogue box and the software will select the most suitable chord length
Grain direction (the way the product is printed) will effect whether it is stiff, or more springy
Just because Pro/DESKTOP can create a 3D model does not mean CatalystEX can create the correct slices - sometimes exporting as a STEP file and re-importing to Pro/DESKTOP corrects the model
Rounding of features cannot be done where material changes direction and has a radius of 0.5mm.
You cannot send whole assemblies to the 3D printer - send separate parts or it will create one fused product.
Wear on the platen effects adhesion of builds. The plastic gets shiny during the removal of parts.
Clearing out support material is very hard or impossible in complex parts, for example internal threads.
The build orientation effects the amount of support material and the build time.
Hollow objects may be better built with the hollow upwards, otherwise it will be filled with support material

Curriculum ideas

Gears and linkages and custom fixings
Casings for textiles projects
Parts for larger a-level projects
Jewellery
Watch cover and strap
Shelf supports
Board game shapes / tokens
Light key fob
Laptop light
Armatures / belts / buckles / zip pulls for textile products
Handles
Model which can be used as a pattern for aluminium casting or silicone tooling
Models which can be printed on using the "pictaflex‟ system

Resource Links

Inspiration in the use of digital manufacturing technologies in the creative process of designing and making 3D objects from Falmouth College: http://www.autonomatic.org.uk/

Other interesting sites: http://www.automake.co.uk http://www.futurefactories.com and http://www.metropolitanworks.org

Rapman supplier: http://www.rap-man.com/index.htm

Dave White of Clevedon School has posted his ideas for using the Rapman at http://www.bitsfrombytes.com/wiki/index.php?title=Teaching_Resources

Fabbing, 3D Printing and Desktop Manufacturing http://www.fabbaloo.com/

Fab at home wiki http://fabathome.org/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

RepRap http://dev.www.reprap.org/bin/view/Main/WebHome

Dimension 3D Printers http://www.dimensionprinting.co.uk/html/printer_bst.htm

Techsoft's range of 3D printers http://www.techsoft.co.uk/3D_Printing_Machines.asp

Videos on RepRap http://opensourceschools.org.uk/node?page=1

Free 3D printing software - edit, repair and analyse STL files http://www.netfabb.com/basic.php The netfabb engine drives the Rapman Printer (BfB 3000).

TechSoft Dimension 3D Printer News
Following the appointment of TechSoft as the UK’s only full Dimension 3D Printer Educational Reseller by Stratasys, we are now able to offer our customers more services.
Material discounts – Educational Bonus Pack for £2,750, Save £1,364
The Educational Bonus Packs of materials and bases give significant savings when compared to purchasing them separately. We can offer the following, all priced at £2,750 + £30 delivery + VAT. Save £1,364 (14 cartridges @£3,850 + 48 bases @ £264 = £4,114)
If you’re not sure which pack code is suitable for your machine, please contact us before ordering.
For Dimension 768BST machines (grey breakaway support)
TPM-BST768-W Education Materials Bonus Pack for Dimension BST/BST 768 (White) (Contains 10 White ABS Cartridges; 4 Breakaway Support Cartridges; 48 Plastic Bases)
TPM-BST768-C Education Materials Pack Bonus Pack for Dimension BST/BST 768 (Colours) (Contains 2 red, 2 blue, 2 green, 2 yellow and 2 grey ABS Cartridges; 4 Breakaway Support Cartridges; 48 Plastic Bases)

Schools may like to consider a joint order. Mixed colours are possible.