User:Ian Beavers
Hello my name is Ian Beavers and I'm a senior at Penn State majoring in Agricultural Sciences with a focus on Food Science. I am also the web master for the 3D printing club at Penn State. I am currently taking a class called Edsign 497J so I can learn as much about 3D printing and the printers themselves as I can.
I will be posting blogs pertaining to the class and the work I've done in and outside of class.
BLOGS
Blog #1
1. "Something amazing and beautiful"
A puzzle that looks like its designed after a piece of coral
2. "Something funny or strange"
A random animal bone
3. "Something useless"
A coffee cup sleeve with spinning gears
4. "Something useful"
Mr. Door Stopper
5. "Printable Raspberry Pi case"
A cool and printable case
Blog #2
One of the topics we have talked in class that has really interested me is the idea of recycling and reusing old "scrap" PLA (Polylactic acid)which is normally made from biodegradable starches from corn and other plants. I have heard about people making these recyclers and putting things like old water bottles and milk jugs in and extruding usable plastic filament that can be used to print out new things from the 3D printers. I find this to be an awesome idea and I hope the technology and brain power we have this semester will produce a fully functioning model! I also think it could open up new ways of thinking about and using 3D printed objects. For example if you have a plastic pulley or gear on a machine and it breaks you could either go buy a new one, make a new one using new material, or melt down the old one and remake the part. This would also let people have the ability to upgrade their 3D printers (or other equipment) whenever they wanted without requiring a ton of new material and would allow people to make their own colors of filament which could also open up a whole new market in customizable merchandise on demand. I could also see this being extremely useful in areas where it can be hard to find nice spools of PLA or where PLA isn't available at all. Someone could set up one of these recyclers and throw in old plastic trash and make good usable filament which can be then used whenever and wherever it is needed. I cannot wait to see the recycler our class produces this semester!