rapman-education's posterous http://rapman-education.posterous.com Most recent posts at rapman-education's posterous posterous.com Mon, 07 Jan 2013 13:18:07 -0800 Cubex A new 3D printer http://rapman-education.posterous.com/cubex-a-new-3d-printer http://rapman-education.posterous.com/cubex-a-new-3d-printer

P76

Introducing the new 3D printer from 3D Systems ... The Cubex (big brother to the Cube printer).
It has a huge print bed (just like its predecessor the Bits from Bytes 3D Touch). 3 colour printing and new software.

Cool!.... I'll have to start saving for one of these!

Further details from the Cubify website http://cubify.com/cubex/index.aspx?tb_cubex_learn

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1324605/me.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5emrVdsQknst Dave White rapman-education Dave White
Thu, 22 Nov 2012 11:58:27 -0800 3D printing at university http://rapman-education.posterous.com/3d-printing-at-university http://rapman-education.posterous.com/3d-printing-at-university

Some wonderful new 3D printing developments have been happening over the last few weeks that I couldn't omit from my blog...

Early in November Ian Major from 3DS / Bits from Bytes presented a 3D Touch printer to the University of Bristol for use by their students. See the attached photos.

On the BfB forum the university also posted the following .... "The 3DTouch in the atrium of the Merchant Venturer's Building in the University of Bristol has been available to the students for just over a week now and has been in almost continuous use. So far the student have mostly been using it to print cases for their Raspberry Pis, though there has also been a Rubics Cube and I did a Venus de Milo to decorate my desk".

In another development the University of Warwick has just erased some information about some amazing new composite material that they are using for 3DP. The material that they are calling "Carbomorph" is conductive and is being used in some really interesting ways... Flex sensors, capacitive interfaces, and more. Check out this web page for more information http://www.3ders.org/articles/20121122-printing-electronic-sensors-using-low-... . This new material looks like it could have some real impact on 3DP projects made by students in schools if/when it becomes available.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1324605/me.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5emrVdsQknst Dave White rapman-education Dave White
Fri, 19 Oct 2012 13:47:00 -0700 The DfE and 3D printing in STEM http://rapman-education.posterous.com/the-dfe-and-3d-printing-in-stem http://rapman-education.posterous.com/the-dfe-and-3d-printing-in-stem

Department for Education: 3D printing in Physics, Maths and D&T.

 Up before 5am and boarding a train to London at the sort of time I would normally be stirring myself to get out of bed... All a bit keen really!... And the sort of thing that I normally have to have a good reason to do. And the good reason was that I was asked to do a presentation about 3D printing in schools for the Department for Education (the DfE is our government body in charge of education here in England). I must say that it was a real honour and privilege to be asked to do this.

 One of the reasons I was asked to do this was because the DfE is setting up a pilot project to look at how 3D printing can be used in STEM subjects... With special emphasis on the mathematics and physics areas.

 If you are a return visitor to my blog then you might realise that I am a D&T teacher at Clevedon School, but I have some experience of developing teaching and learning projects and resources in other subject areas... In fact I'm currently working on some new projects to try out with my own science department very soon (more of this in a later post perhaps)... And that's why I was asked along to share my previous experiences.

 Anyway I think my presentation kicked off the day ok... Some of the delegates even laughed (or raised a smile) at my feeble jokes (yes I do have a very strange sense of humour) ... Quite proud really as presenting in the first slot of the day can be difficult, people need to warm to the atmosphere and are often wondering what they have let themselves in for!

 But I expect you are wondering where the physics and maths fits in with all this and what the pilot project is all about. I suppose in a nutshell it really boils down to the fact that 3D printing has so far really only been in the domain of designers, technologists and engineers. This project is looking to break out of this and involve mathematics and science. And why not? I have exported some cross curricular links before but this project has really got my mind buzzing with the potential uses for this technology in these areas other areas of the curriculum and there should be more to follow in a later blog post about this.

 So, what else happened at the meeting? The other presentation was led by Stuart Douglas from Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy. Stuart's school is lucky enough to have some very high end 3D printing equipment and he brought a very different perspective to the project. The delegates were given an opportunity to explore what their first steps will be in introducing this technology to these other STEM subjects and Makerbot gave a demonstration of the equipment that is being made available.

 I have just got home and its now 9:30pm... Feeling pretty exhausted, but it has been a fantastic day. I would just like to say thank you to the DfE for inviting me along to the day, and my school for letting me attend (and also the teachers who covered my lessons during my absence) and of course 3DS/Bits from Bytes for the support they give me (and my school) which has enabled me to have a bit of a head start in "3D printing in schools".

Oh, and finally, I hope to publish my presentation a bit later... It's a bit big to upload at the moment so ill have to do a bit of pruning and editing!

EDIT.... here is the powerpoint... it gives an idea of what my presentation was about, but without the verbal content it may not give the whole story.

 

DfE_presentation.pdf Download this file

 

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1324605/me.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5emrVdsQknst Dave White rapman-education Dave White
Wed, 04 Jul 2012 09:23:33 -0700 West of England ICT Conference 2012 http://rapman-education.posterous.com/west-of-england-ict-conference-2012 http://rapman-education.posterous.com/west-of-england-ict-conference-2012


Our D&T department got a special mention in the keynote speech by Tim Rylands at the WEICT12 conference?... All about the way we are using our Bits from Bytes 3D printing with students.

Rather than repeating about Tim's fact finding visit or what we actually do with our 3D printers why not scroll down through my department blog and see for yourself.... It really is cutting edge stuff!

http://www.clevedonschool.org.uk/blogs/products/

And of course here on my RapMan Education Posterous blog there is a load of information to browse.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1324605/me.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5emrVdsQknst Dave White rapman-education Dave White
Thu, 07 Jun 2012 05:18:47 -0700 To baldly go... (3D Printing)... Part 2 http://rapman-education.posterous.com/to-baldly-go-3d-printing-part-2 http://rapman-education.posterous.com/to-baldly-go-3d-printing-part-2

File

Following on from a previous post "To baldly go" Tim Rylands who visited D&T a couple of weeks ago has blogged about 3D Printing in the Design & Technology department here at Clevedon School. It makes a really interesting read, so check it out here http://www.timrylands.com/2012/06/07/3d-printing-at-clevedon-school/

Thanks Tim for the brilliant and very complimentary blog post!

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1324605/me.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5emrVdsQknst Dave White rapman-education Dave White
Thu, 27 Jan 2011 14:28:00 -0800 Students Recreate Eruption Effects with RapMan http://rapman-education.posterous.com/students-recreate-erruption-effects-with-rapm http://rapman-education.posterous.com/students-recreate-erruption-effects-with-rapm

Mercury1

I really don’t think I have to say too much about this article, just have a read J

North Somerset Mercury Jan 27 2011

 

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1324605/me.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5emrVdsQknst Dave White rapman-education Dave White
Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:26:00 -0800 Times Education Supplement http://rapman-education.posterous.com/times-education-supplement http://rapman-education.posterous.com/times-education-supplement

TES – The Times Education Supplement is published weekly for teachers and educators and has a circulation of over 50K copies in the UK.

On 14/1/2011 in the “Noticeboard” section the following brief article appeared about the use of RapMan in my school to print 3D terrain models – a cross curricular project with D&T and Geography.

It has already generated interest and as a result other schools have e-mailed to find out more details.

Free resources for this project can be found here http://wiki.bitsfrombytes.com/index.php/Geography_-_3D_Terrain and here http://wiki.bitsfrombytes.com/index.php/Geography_-_Mount_Saint_Helens_Volcano

Tes_recon

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1324605/me.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5emrVdsQknst Dave White rapman-education Dave White
Tue, 18 Jan 2011 10:38:00 -0800 Guardian Classroom Innovation Award - Results http://rapman-education.posterous.com/guardian-classroom-innovation-award-results http://rapman-education.posterous.com/guardian-classroom-innovation-award-results

Just a quick post to let you know the result of the Guardian Classroom Innovation Award competition….. we didn’t win L

Ok, so we didn’t win.... but we were not unsuccessful! Lots of people, teachers, students etc. got to hear about 3D printing as a new technology that is “accessible” to students, schools and colleges.  Clevedon School and BfB were "in the public eye", online, at the BETT Show and on BBC radio….  and to me, that makes it all the more worthwhile.

 

I'm still really pleased that we made it through to the final 3 in a UK wide competition... maybe next year.... ????

 

If you missed out on all of this then have a look here for the results and to see the videos from the shortlisted entries. http://www.guardian.co.uk/classroom-innovation/classroom-innovation-awards-sh...

 

And finally, a HUGE thank-you to everyone who voted for us either by e-mail or at the BETT show.

 

Dave

 

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1324605/me.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5emrVdsQknst Dave White rapman-education Dave White
Mon, 10 Jan 2011 09:18:00 -0800 Guardian newspaper's Classroom Innovation Award .... UPDATE !!!! http://rapman-education.posterous.com/guardian-newspapers-classroom-innovation-awar http://rapman-education.posterous.com/guardian-newspapers-classroom-innovation-awar

UPDATE !!!!!

I have just heard earlier today that our entry to the Guardian newspaper's Classroom Innovation Award has been shortlisted. (for details see my blog entry 2 below this one)

The top 3 presentations are now to be shown on the Asus stand  at the BETT 2011 show in Olympia, London, UK. Visitors to the stand can then vote for the best idea.

So if you are going to the BETT show please drop into the Asus stand Hall/Stand:  K29and vote for us... J

Don't forget you will be voting for Clevedon School’s 3D Printing video in the secondary school category J

Dave

... Oh, and in all my excitement I almost forgot.... A HUGE thank-you  to everyone who e-mailed their vote for us

 

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1324605/me.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5emrVdsQknst Dave White rapman-education Dave White
Sun, 05 Dec 2010 04:21:48 -0800 Education Ambassadors at Euromold http://rapman-education.posterous.com/education-ambassadors-at-euromold http://rapman-education.posterous.com/education-ambassadors-at-euromold

We have just arrived back from the Euromold show in Frankfurt. Bits from Bytes and 3D Systems invited me and a couple of students as Education Ambassadors to highlight the use of RapMan and BfB3000 3D printers in a schools context.

Throughout the show I was able to give presentations at the 3D Systems theatre showing examples of students work in 3D printing and the work I have done in developing teaching and learning resources and projects to give educators a hand in getting started and developing their use of 3D printers in D&T, STEM and cross curricular lessons.

The students and I also supported some German universities in the “RapMan Challenge”… the students competing to build a RapMan and print their first object. As the challenge was so successful this was also followed by a challenge to print the most interesting, high quality, innovative object. The winning universities were presented with a prize of a RapMan printer, materials, and a double head upgrade.

The student ambassadors were able to talk to the university students, potential customers and other educators about how 3D printing has enhanced their education and how they are using our schools printers to make objects for their A’Level exams. The students were also able to visit the stands and see how Rapid Prototyping is done with the large machines that are used commercially.

Unfortunately we did have some technical difficulties with Wi-Fi at the show and were unable to do any live blogging at the event, however in a few days’ time I will hopefully publish a more comprehensive report of our visit and some more photos.

Frankfurt was very cold and snow had recently fallen but this didn’t stop us from visiting a Christmas market in Darmstadt and also eating typical German food in a restaurant.

We had a fantastic time and wish to thank BfB and 3D Systems inviting us to attend Euromold for their friendliness and generosity.

Dave

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1324605/me.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5emrVdsQknst Dave White rapman-education Dave White
Fri, 12 Nov 2010 12:11:00 -0800 Students visit Bits from Bytes http://rapman-education.posterous.com/students-visit-bits-from-bytes http://rapman-education.posterous.com/students-visit-bits-from-bytes

Last week a group of Design and Technology students visited the Bits from Bytes Headquarters in Clevedon, UK. The visit was intended to allow them to see first-hand different production methods in action. It is probably best for me to allow one of them to describe their visit....

 

In our recent visit to Bits from Bytes, we learned various things about the way in which their business works and how they operate. We were taken on a tour of the Bits from Bytes production facility, in an order identical to that of the resources used, what is meant by this is that we started where Bits from Bytes get there raw materials delivered, we then moved on to where the plastic is cut and shaped by laser cutters and finally finished where the products are finished and boxed ready for delivery.

The factory itself is divided into two parts, one side was dedicated to creating the RapMan kits for customers to purchase and build the machine themselves. A great investment for those who would like the experience of building it themselves and also would like to save money, as the kits cost less than the pre-built machines. The second area was dedicated to making BfB3000 machines for customers to buy and install without having to build or configure any parts, although these are charged at a higher price.

It was good to see the differences between the two methods of production and to be able to see one-off, batch production and production lines all operating in the same place.

Learning about manufacturing and production systems in a real life situation was much better than just researching or reading about it and should help us with our A ‘Level Design and Technology exam. Thank you to everyone at Bits from Bytes for allowing us to visit and making us so welcome.

Ollie Elson

 

… Couldn’t put it better myself!

But I would just like to add an "official" thank you from The Design & Technology Department at Clevedon School.

Dave

 

 

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1324605/me.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5emrVdsQknst Dave White rapman-education Dave White
Thu, 21 Oct 2010 14:44:38 -0700 TCT Live http://rapman-education.posterous.com/tct-live http://rapman-education.posterous.com/tct-live
Imag0064

Apologies for the slow posting…. End of term and lots to do!

Anyway, some of you may be aware that BfB and 3D Systems asked me to attend the TCT Live 2010 show in Coventry, UK. I was lucky enough to do a presentation at the show about “The Democratisation of Additive Technologies” …. Obviously RapMan and BfB featured heavily in this! I was really proud that my presentation had a large audience – nearly full to capacity and even people crowding around the edges. So I’m really pleased that we were able to capture so much attention. Even if only a few of those present will now start thinking about ways of using this sort of technology to help students to become better designers and engineers in the future then it was a really worthwhile “event”.

Talking to some of the visitors to BfB’s stand has also generated some interesting ideas for further projects and possible links to develop more educational projects and learning resources…. So keep an eye open for some more developments!

Iain at BfB has posted a Blog entry with more details of the event. http://rapmanv3.blogspot.com/2010/10/tct-live-great-success.html

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1324605/me.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5emrVdsQknst Dave White rapman-education Dave White
Fri, 08 Oct 2010 13:01:51 -0700 Want to see a RapMan or BfB3000? http://rapman-education.posterous.com/want-to-see-a-rapman-or-bfb3000 http://rapman-education.posterous.com/want-to-see-a-rapman-or-bfb3000

There are some opportunities to see RapMan and BfB3000 machines at a few events over the next few months

19 -20 October 2010- TCT Live 2010, Coventry, UK.  http://www.tctmagazine.com/x/exhibition.html “THE event for the Product Development and Manufacturing Industry!” Exhibits cover the vast range of RP&M machines and technologies. In addition, the exhibition brings together major players from the sectors of Inspection, Scanning and Digitizing, CAD/CAM/CAE Software and Materials all of whom showcase their latest offerings presenting the perfect opportunity for the prospective visitor to appraise all of the latest technologies on the market.  BfB are on stand G1 /H6, 3D Systems on stand M6/8

18 -20 November 2010 – D+T with ICT Education Show, National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, UK. http://www.dteducation.co.uk/ The Design & Technology exhibition is the only subject specific event of its type relating to teaching Design & Technology in schools. It brings together suppliers, educators, resource providers, associations, professional bodies and teachers who have one common goal - to develop and encourage a technologically motivated generation of students who will provide the UK with the engineers and designers that the country needs in the future. Technology Supplies Ltd the UK distributor for education will be at Stand C62… there are sure to be machines on other stands too Denford Ltd? A1 Technologies? And more!

01 – 04 December, 2010 Euromold Frankfurt / Main, Germany, http://www.euromold.com/index.php?id=51&l=1 World Fair for Moldmaking and Tooling, Design and Application Development…. Sorry, no details at present but check on the website.

… so if you are thinking of buying a machine or just interested to find out more have a look at these events…. You never know we might even meet up there!

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1324605/me.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5emrVdsQknst Dave White rapman-education Dave White
Tue, 05 Oct 2010 12:06:00 -0700 BfB Teams up with 3D Systems http://rapman-education.posterous.com/bfb-teams-up-with-3d-systems http://rapman-education.posterous.com/bfb-teams-up-with-3d-systems

First of all I would like to add .... Congratulations to all at BfB.

For a huge company like 3D Systems to be teaming up with BfB must mean that they respect what BfB has done in the development of new machinery for 3D printing - and making it available to many people who would not otherwise be able to enter the world of RP and manufacture.
From an educational point of view many schools, colleges, students, teachers and lecturers now have contact with methods of designing and making that could only be dreamt of only a couple of years ago. The dream is now a reality, and this has only been possible because of BfB’s dedication and interest in making their products “accessible”. The next generation of designers and engineers are in our schools and colleges now... how will the world continue to develop unless we capture their interest and curiosity and expose them to exciting developments and technologies?
Teaming up with 3DS will, I’m pretty sure, enable BfB to invest even more in ensuring our young people can become excellent designers and engineers.  I look forwards to seeing what the future holds and the developments that this teaming up will bring.

 

More information on the BfB  Blog

 

Discussion on the BfB forum

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1324605/me.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5emrVdsQknst Dave White rapman-education Dave White
Thu, 23 Sep 2010 11:57:46 -0700 In the news http://rapman-education.posterous.com/in-the-news http://rapman-education.posterous.com/in-the-news
Times

In my previous post on 9th September 2010 I reported about the donation of a new BfB 3000 printer by BfB for me to use in my capacity of Advanced Skills Teacher for North Somerset (UK). Well the local press have eventually caught up with this fantastic development and two newspapers have published a report. I thought you might like to see it so I’ve attached a copy here.

Dave

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1324605/me.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5emrVdsQknst Dave White rapman-education Dave White
Thu, 09 Sep 2010 12:31:11 -0700 Thanks to BfB. http://rapman-education.posterous.com/thanks-to-bfb http://rapman-education.posterous.com/thanks-to-bfb
Bfb3000

Ok, so by now most of you guys in “RapMan Land” know a bit about me and the things I am getting up to with 3D printing in education, but I thought I would break some fantastic news I have about some recent developments.

I am what is known in the UK as an AST (Advanced Skills Teacher) so as well as teaching Design & Technology in a “normal” secondary school (11-18 year olds) I also work with schools in my local area of North Somerset.... It also means that I try to get involved in some of the new developments in teaching and learning and that’s one of the main reasons I have been so enthusiastic about what RapMan and 3D printing can offer to D&T (STEM) students.

To help schools and colleges get the best out of setting up and using 3D printing I started to produce some Teaching and Learning resource and I made these freely available on the BfB Wiki http://www.bitsfrombytes.com/wiki/index.php?title=Teaching_Resources  and to date the main page has been accessed over 4500 times.... so, if only a small portion of these visits have resulted in these resources being downloaded and used by teachers with their students then I’m more than a little bit happy... and as it turns out so are Bits from Bytes!

So, what is the fantastic news? .... well, BfB have donated a new machine to me for use in my school and around the local area.... It’s a lovely twin head BfB3000! Of course what this means is that students will be able to experience some of the new advances in printing with support materials and a choice of ABS or PLA without too much filament swapping etc.

The other thing is that students (worldwide) will also benefit as I am now in a much better position to produce Teaching and Learning materials specifically for the BfB3000, printing with support and other more advanced technologies.

You may be wondering what’s going to happen to my RapMan.... well it won’t be forgotten now that we have a new machine to play with... RapMan Roadshow is about to start happening... The unfortunate RapMan is going to bounce around in the back of my car visiting other schools and as I mentioned previously I’m going to look at doing Masterclasses in cross-curricular projects that involve 3D printing.

Anyway, much too excited to blog any more tonight (Ok so I am a bit of a geek) ... I’m now off to process some .stl files to print on the BfB3000 tomorrow morning when i get back into school... watch this space and I’ll post some photos.

And most importantly.... Thanks to all the guys at Bits from Bytes, from me and students all over the world!

Dave

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