This paper focuses on several initiatives that have been implemented at an academic library to improve accessibility to 3D printing for its campus community. This project, and its engineering and technology educational components, have evolved from a direct collaboration between the College of Engineering and Technology and the main campus library. Resources have been published for educating, training, and automating in order to increase access to the University's 3D printing resources. 3D printing workshops have also been offered to students, faculty and staff to improve their understanding of 3D printing technology. While the time devoted to training varies, all training is lab-based and hands-on. Workshop participants have come from a diverse array of disciplines within the natural sciences, health sciences, humanities, and the social sciences. Faculty members from different colleges, departments, and disciplines have brought their classes to the library so their students can explore 3D printing technology. In less than a year, this initiative has grown and become a full-fledged campus wide endeavor with more growth expected. This paper reports on the model and methods that have been adopted to foster the success of this initiative.
This paper focuses on the deployment of a tool that will enable any category of end user to match their needs and product specifications to 3D printers by means of a webpage. Any user connected to a network can enter the CAD geometry and product specifications into a web based form to select the most appropriate 3D printer. The parameters that drive the selection of 3D printers have been inspired by the largest/biggest/most well-known 3D printer manufacturers. The purpose of the selection system is to display printer specification in a common format so users are able to make "apples to apples" comparisons. The resource and the database will continuously expand and improve the 3D printing pairing engine. The technology, techniques and methods of designing the 3D printer selection engine is reported in this paper.
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