4 Questions to Ask Before Buying a 3D Printer for your Elementary, Middle or High School

3D printing is a hot buzzword in secondary education and it’s increasingly becoming popular at the primary education level too.

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While it’s great to see educators, parents and students get excited about the possibilities of 3D printing, it’s important to make sure this technology is more than just hype and truly serves as a practical, meaningful teaching tool.

Before you purchase a 3D printer for your school, here are a few questions you should ask yourself to make sure you – and your students – get the most out of your investment.

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1. What type of software will we use?

We often refer to 3D printing as the end result of other efforts. That’s because with 3D printing – as with any other manufacturing technology, additive or subtractive – the design software is the key enabler of your vision.

In truth, it’s not enough to buy a hobbyist level printer and ask your students to download and print files from Thingiverse. Yes, this is a great way to expose students to the concept of 3D printing and see cool designs others have come up with, but what are they really learning about the process of 3D printing?

Luckily, the students of today, who were born into the 21^st century and are already technical inclined, can pick up CAD design software more easily than you might think no matter how young they are.

We understand that teaching design software can seem a bit daunting for educators, especially when you’re nervous about your ability to learn the software yourself. Here are a few CAD software programs that are great for student learning and fairly easy to teach:

SOFTWARE	COST	FEATURES	TEACHABILITY
Google SketchUp	Free Paid Student /Educator license also available	Easy to use Geared toward quick architectural models, but can be used to make anything SketchUp’s 3D Warehouse is one of the  biggest repositories of free 3D models	Easy
SolidWorks Education Edition	$300 for single seat Lab packs start at $1,000	Robust 3D CAD design software Often found in industry and at the university level Tutorials / tips built in to make learning process easier	Moderate

SolidWorks Education Edition is the best option for high schools because oftentimes rather than teach CAD software, engineering departments at universities just give students access to it. Your students will have a huge advantage if they already know how to use this software going into college.

2. Who will be responsible for maintaining my school’s 3D printer?

One of the more overlooked yet most important steps to take before purchasing a 3D printer is to identify who will be responsible for maintaining the machine.

This individual must have enough mechanical aptitude in order to make the continual adjustments necessary to the machine so that it does not sit there unused for weeks.

The type of maintenance your printer will require depends on the type of printer you buy:

PRINTER TYPE	MAINTENANCE KNOW-HOW YOU’LL NEED
Hobbyist Level Printers (like Makerbot)	Change material spools when you run out of material or want to change material color/type Make sure your build platform is level to ensure adequate build quality Fix head clogs as they occur Adjust the temperatures of the head to compensate for different melting points and materials from different suppliers Understand how orienting the model will affect where support structures will be printed (because most hobbyist level printers don’t typically feature soluble support even if they claim to)
Entry Level Professional FDM Systems (like Stratasys Mojo)	Change the material cartridge when you run out of material or want to change material color Empty the purge canisters as needed (these hold all waste materials) Periodically vacuum out material build up in the build chamber
Advanced Professional FDM Systems (like Stratasys uPrint or Dimension machines)	Change  the material cartridge when you run out of material or want to change material color Change the tips, every 2,000 print hours Empty the purge canisters as needed (these hold all waste materials) Periodically vacuum out material build up in the build chamber
Advanced PolyJet Desktop Systems (like Objet Desktop machines)	Clean the print heads and roller surface after every print job Perform a Pattern Test weekly Clean and inspect the wiper weekly

The main thing to consider when deciding between a hobbyist level printer and a professional level system is that hobbyist printers don’t come with service and support from your reseller. For example, when you purchase a professional level system from Amtek, you will receive a one-year warranty with an option to renew your maintenance contract each year.

3. What community will I become involved in to help my 3D printing program progress?

Take advantage of the wealth of resources available to you online.

Thingiverse has a new Groups feature that allows users to connect and share ideas related to a specific topic, like “education” or “SolidWorks.”

MakerSpace.com is another newer online community – this time from MAKE magazine. The site provides easy-to-use tools, searchable step-by-step directions and the ability to share your results. It’s a great place to establish an engaged community for educators who want to share ideas and best practices.

Both of these communities are fairly new and still need educators to help populate content and share ideas, but they are great avenues to get these conversations started.

Several 3D printing publications also have education-specific forums, like 3DPrintBoard.com and 3DPrintForums.

4. How will I make this technology function in a way that is meaningful to my school?

This really is the crux of the issue. We’d never recommend buying a 3D printer for the sake of the ability to say that your school has a 3D printer.

Rather, take the time to outline what you hope to achieve with this innovative technology. Is it to expose students to the power of invention? Teach product design? Teach middle school design principles?

By clearly articulating which programs your investment will support, you’re not only ensuring your printer will never sit unused, it’s also easier to make the case for the investment in the first place.