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Aloysians get to grips with 3D Printing

Delight in Learning

The College’s Art and Design pupils got to grips with a state of the art 3D printer this term and S2 were delighted to see their very own Hunger-Games inspired designs come to life in 3-dimensions.

St Aloysius’ College acquired a 3D printer when Art and Design teacher, Mrs Ferns, secured a loan from the Ultimaker Education Project after attending an event on 3D printing in Glasgow’s Lighthouse Museum.

The Ultimaker Education website claims 3D printing is already having a large impact on the world and is “changing the game in design” through its involvement in creating  “prototypes in manufacturing, bespoke replacement joints in medicine and scale models in architecture”.

It is a real privilege for the College to gain access to such an exciting piece of equipment and the pupils were delighted to have the chance to design and build their own 3D models using AutoDesk Inventor Design Programme.

The S2 Aloysians were given a brief to design a keyring or a piece of jewellery to be worn by a character from The Hunger Games, and the results included intricate keyrings, bracelets, rings and dog-tags.

Mrs Ferns who secured the 3D printer and arranged the project said,

“The pupils very much enjoyed this project and they loved seeing their designs being created and being able to actually wear them.”

Not only did the innovative 3D printer project expose the pupils to an important new piece of machinery, it also covered many areas of the technologies curriculum such as understanding computer aided design and manufacturing, and showing creativity and innovation to plan and produce a useful item.