Here are 3DPrintingIndustry we always like to see how 3D Printers are used on field.
Aachen University of Applied Sciences is providing students with an important education in 3D printing so that they are optimally prepared for their professional life after their studies. The extensive theoretical approach to 3D technology together with hands-on experience is a combination which is hardly provided in a similar way in the teaching of engineering. The PRotos V3 3D printer from German RepRap has been offering excellent service for years and is used in several projects to bring 3D technology closer to people.
Since May last year, there is also another 3D printing-related project that is helping to bring an extensive theoretical approach to 3D technology combined with practical experience closer to all those with a technical interest in this field. The project is called the 3D Printing Summer School and has already been very successful in Germany. The first Summer School was held at the beginning of the year in Pretoria, South Africa, at the TUT University, a cooperation university of the Aachen University of Applied Sciences.
The TUT University intends to set up an innovation center for the Additive Manufacturing area. The Summer School Project, which was the starter event, was an enormous success. In all, 25-30 participants, including university students and also employees enjoyed working with the German RepRap 3D printers over 5 days. Laura Thurn also attended in Pretoria, which is near Johannesburg: “We firstly talked generally about the subject of 3D printing, its applications and the processes involved. This also included the FDM process, i.e. plastics applications, which was then covered in detail. CAD was then discussed – how proprietary technical drawings can be designed and produced, and what requirements had to be observed.”
Summer School Project 2016 in Pretoria, South Africa
The assembly of the German RepRap 3D printer also takes up a major part. The PRotos V3 3D printers consist initially of printer kits and are assembled together with the participants in a hands-on workshop. Laura Thurn is delighted: “We are delighted with the German RepRap printer kits! Especially the assembly of the 3D printers together is very useful for working with the machine later and understanding the technology.”
The theoretical information passed on, combined with the hand-on experience gained, provided the most important basis for understanding the 3D technology, using it correctly and mastering it also on their own after the summer school. Information is passed on that is rarely taught in engineering courses. The German RepRap 3D printers are well established at the TUT University Pretoria. Laura Thurn explains: “The boys and girls from the mechanical engineering faculty who have taken part in the project are currently being trained as tutors and are then deployed accordingly.” The other courses with the 3D printers can therefore be supported and accompanied, so that the important knowledge transfer can be ensured. “It’s no use assembling a 3D printer if you don’t have anyone who has the necessary know-how. The knowledge transfer is a really important issue. Work is therefore currently in progress to regularly set up new seminars and courses on the subject of 3D printing. So-called International Weeks are already provided, which we hold twice a year in the form of workshops at the TUT university,” Laura Thurn continues, “TUT also offers further seminars which cover the software for the 3D printers.”
A Summer School project will also be started next summer. This will take place at the end of August, and several inquiries and registrations have now already been received. A few free places and further information are available at: https://www.fh-aachen.de/fachbereiche/maschinenbau-und-mechatronik/international/3d-printing-summer-school/
