Starting a 3D Printing Club

A 3D printing club is an excellent way to ensure steady, continuous use of your library’s 3D printer(s). Participants in a club which meets regularly have the opportunity to build a deeper proficiency in computer aided design (CAD) software over time, rather than haphazardly taking and retaking various introductory classes, or courses focused on specific projects. The skills learned in a club may then be applied to each individual’s particular interest.?

Setup

Your setup should largely resemble that of a design class, meaning one computer, laptop, Mac, or Chromebook with an attached mouse for each attendee. An instructor should be connected to either a projector or two-way monitor to facilitate demonstrations.?

Your Inaugural Meeting

?For your first club meeting(s), you should focus on both 3D printing and 3D design. Have your 3D printer on hand so you can go over its anatomy before giving a printing demonstration. Explain the basics of the technology. Show participants the materials used in 3D printing and some sample printed items. Aside from the hardware, you should next tackle the software! In the case of TinkerCAD, you can have your patrons work on one of the curated lessons or choose to teach the software basics yourself. If you’re vastly outnumbered, pre-made lessons will allow you the flexibility to assist anyone who is struggling, while still keeping the group moving. It is also important that you establish some ground rules early on. These include:

• How often are you printing? Printing can be a time consuming process! Even a small chess-sized print could take 45 minutes to an hour. Multiply that by the number of club members and you can see a potential logjam! Your club may meet weekly, monthly, etc. It is important that you come up with a schedule that can accommodate your patrons’ creativity and the workload of your staff and printer.
• What are the specifications of your prints? Often, when it comes time to print, your patrons will want to “make it as big as possible”. In terms of time and material, this is impractical at best. You may wish to define some limits for your prints, using either print time or the amount of material. Aside from managing workflow, this will also allow you to accurately budget for your filament. A secondary consideration is whether your patrons are choosing their material types and/or colors. Swapping material can be time consuming and material types can vary dramatically in price.?
• What is appropriate to print? Familiarizing patrons with the basics of your 3D print policy will allow you to be transparent and consistent. Better to have a set of clear rules to point to rather than making it up as you go!
• Will you be charging for prints? Depending on the age of your audience and your library’s preference, you may wish to waive print costs for items designed during print club. Rather than a hard yes or no determination, you could consider a material allocation (ex: one hundred grams of filament per month) after which a patron would need to pay.?

Regular Activities

Generally, your club can be run as a sort of “freestyle”. In a freestyle, participants simply design what they want to. The instructor of the class is present to offer advice and otherwise troubleshoot as patrons create their designs. You can run the entirety of your club in this format, or use it as a break from more formalized sessions. When a participant has finished a design, the instructor gives it a look-over, ensuring it is a printable object that observes your club’s guidelines. If it checks out, the design is downloaded as an .STL file, which can be formatted for printing in whatever design software your printer runs on (Cura, Makerbot Desktop, etc). Most often, this printing will take place outside of the club, given time constraints.

Even after a design is printed, there’s often more to do. Designs commonly have excess material that serves as a support structure while they are printed. Beyond that, prints can have rough edges or “fuzz” that requires cleaning. Depending on the size and intricacy, excess material can be removed by hand, sanded away or clipped with simple tools such as scissors and needle nosed pliers. Cleanups may be time consuming, but they can also be fun!

These post-print sessions are also an opportunity to see what went wrong, or at least, what can be improved. An ideal design is one that takes into account the limitations of a 3D printer. As your patrons examine their printed works, they may discover design flaws that lead to poor prints–too much overhang, weak connections, not enough contact points with the build plate, etc. Many times, a design session is actually spent reworking a prior design to make it more printable. This is exactly the benefit of the club–it represents an ongoing learning process!

Beyond your club itself is a greater community of 3D printing enthusiasts. Sites like Thingiverse allow designs to be uploaded and shared with others, who can then print them, or even incorporate them into new designs. Creating a Thingiverse site for your library is a great way to collect and showcase these works online. Depending on the age of your audience, they may also create their own sites which can follow or be followed by the library. Set aside some time for your club members to upload their proven (successfully printed) models if they wish. These designs can be added to a collection within Thingiverse, allowing you to organize by club, project, or any other criteria you wish to use.?

Mixing it Up!

If your club ever feels like it’s getting stale, it may be time to mix things up! Try one of the following to keep things fresh:

• Challenges: In a challenge session, you simply confront the group with a task. “Create a new utensil,” or “design a phone case!” These are ways of getting the creative juices flowing. As patrons view each other’s designs, they may draw inspiration from one another.?
• Collaborations: This type of format is one where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. You might have the class design a chess board. Each patron would work on the different parts, from the game board to the pawns, rooks and other pieces. This format works well when you have an established club whose members know each other.
• Demonstration: A demonstration is an opportunity to check out a new piece of equipment, or introduce a speaker or concept. Perhaps you have someone in the industry that is willing to talk to the group. Maybe there is an opportunity to have a new printer on loan, or a complementary piece of equipment, such as a 3D scanner! You can also introduce a new piece of design software.
• Remix: A remix session is one where you rework an existing design. Your patrons can download a model from an open source site (always check the licensing permissions) open it in TinkerCAD or other design software, then add on, combine, or otherwise rework it to create something new. They can even use each other’s files!

Wrapping Up Your Club with a 3D Print Expo

While a club can run indefinitely, your child and teen patrons will eventually age out of their clubs. For this reason, it is nice to have a culminating event, namely a 3D print expo! A 3D expo is a chance to showcase the good work your patrons have been doing during the club, particularly if the club is more oriented towards expression rather than practicality.?

As your patrons create their designs, they will accrue quite a portfolio over time! Have them each select a favorite design, one that has already been printed in miniature and perfected. This print will be rendered in a size fit for display–likely a 6-10 hour print! In addition to your display piece, you can also print their designs in the traditional sense. This means saving the image itself (in TinkerCAD, or your design/printer software) then printing it on paper and mounting it to foam board, cardboard, or another material. This will allow participants to feature multiple works, including some designs that could have proved difficult to print. You can then add each patron’s name to the exhibit by adding a label, name plate, or simply having them sign their work. A 3D expo can be scaled to taste. It can be done as an annual or semi-annual event. It can operate as a stand alone event, or exist as an exhibit within a general art show. It also acts as a great recruitment event for new members, so you can fill your ranks and plan for another year of printing!

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