Afinia 3D Printer

3D Printer for Home, Education and Rapid Prototyping

Nepal Robotics Project Aims to Locate Disaster Victims

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Mike Kronmiller is the creator and owner of Nepal Robotics Project. The international collaborative robotics project aims to develop drones that are capable of locating disaster victims, supporting disaster avoidance, and inspecting vulnerable bridges and aerial lines and cables in Nepal, and worldwide. In 2015 and 2016, his drones were tested at Mount Everest, flying from 1,000 feet above Base Camp to over 19.000 feet above sea level. In 2017, he will test the new system, there, with plans to exceed 23.000 feet in sustained, autonomous flight, carrying an array of sensors.

Solving Problems with Technology

The Nepal Robotics Project stemmed from seemingly simple beginnings. “I started the organization about three years ago. Originally, it was for my high school senior year STEM course,” explains Kronmiller. “We were instructed to solve a problem in the world using technology. I wanted to solve search and recovery issues in avalanche environments with robots.”

As Kronmiller’s project grows, he’s narrowed “robots” down specifically to drones, and has surpassed the level of involvement that many would expect for a senior project assignment. [Read more…]

Inspiring Creativity and Promoting Understanding at FPS

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Doug Doescher is the 8th grade Industrial Technology teacher at Fremont Public Schools in Nebraska. He encourages students to use technology to find everyday things needing improvement, and to engineer a solution.

3D Printing is a Hit at Fremont Public Schools

In December 2016, Fremont Public Schools purchased six Afinia 3D printers for their school, using funds from a local grant. It didn’t take long before students took notice of the printers’ capabilities, and their popularity spiked. “We constantly have kids coming to our free class periods wanting to design one of their ideas,” says Doescher. [Read more…]

Integrating 3D Printing in the Imaginarium

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Chris Schiemann, Library Media Specialist at Patrick Marsh Middle School, assists teachers with integrating technology into the classroom and running the school’s makerspace, the “Imaginarium.”

Selecting Technology for the Imaginarium

As part of his role at Patrick Marsh Middle School, Schiemann helps select the equipment that students access in the classroom and in the school’s makerspace, the “Imaginarium.” Through research, conferences, and experience, he and another tech-savvy teacher have been adding more technology for students to use. [Read more…]

Turbo Boof Gets Turbo Boost with 3D Printing

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Eric Flynn is the president of Turbo Boof, a company he started as a creative outlet for the graduate work he was doing in engineering school, and the coursework he was teaching in college.

Creativity and Car Parts

Flynn started Turbo Boof seven years ago. The company is comprised of a team of young engineers that focus their creative energy on designing high-end aftermarket car parts. “I’ve always been fascinated with advanced manufacturing and cars,” says Flynn, “and the ability to apply design, engineering, and manufacturing into an automotive application quickly became my passion.” [Read more…]

Printing with Ninjatek Cheetah Flexible Filament

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Sometimes, your 3D printing project requires more flexibility than you get when using ABS and PLA filaments. For those projects, we suggest using Ninjatek Cheetah Flexible Filament. It’s available in several colors and works great with the Afinia H-Series 3D printers.

Here is an example of an R/C car tire, printed in the color “water.” The tire was printed in shell mode on the Afinia H480, and is soft and flexible in order to handle the bumps it encounters during off-road R/C action! [Read more…]

Putting an Artistic Finish on 3D Prints

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Courtney Link (Instagram: @clanks) works in Production & Finishing at Objex Unlimited, where she puts the final touches on client projects.

Link’s Introduction to 3D Printing

Courtney Link was introduced to 3D printing just one year ago, but thanks to a background in art and great mentorship, her prints could fool you into thinking she’s been 3D printing for decades. [Read more…]

Students Use 3D Printer to Help Local Farmer

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Vic Worthington is the Tech Lab Instructor at Rochelle Middle School in Rochelle, Illinois. Several of his students are currently designing a prosthesis for a local farmer who lost his arm.

Printing the 3D prosthesisThe experience that students receive in the classroom affects them deeply: it helps them determine their interests and strengths, provides them with invaluable knowledge across many subjects, and molds their future. By introducing 3D printing into the curricula, teachers are able to offer a more varied and unique classroom experience.

One such unique experience is currently unfolding in Vic Worthington’s classroom at Rochelle Middle School. Worthington introduced the Afinia H800 into his classroom about a year ago. “Everyone is excited about it,” he says. [Read more…]

Introducing New Graphene Enhanced PLA Filament

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knurled bolt printed with graphene enhanced PLA filamentWe are excited to announce the new addition of graphene enhanced PLA filament to the collection of filament options on our store site.

The new filament comes in graphite gray and features enhanced thermal stability, print quality, and first layer and Z-axis adhesion. With these features, the graphene enhanced filament is great for use in industrial applications, bringing increased strength to industrial 3D-printed parts. Users will also benefit from reduced shrinkage and warpage for increased part accuracy. [Read more…]

Integrating 3D Printing into K-8th Grade at CHUSD

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Lisa Cacciatore is the technology integration specialist at Castleton-Hubbardton Union School District. She collaborates with faculty and staff from K-8th grade to brainstorm how to integrate technology into their curriculum, while bringing creativity and enthusiasm to every facet of the job.

The Entry to 3D Printing

“Our district has had the Afinia 3D printer for about 2 years. It’s been our tried-and-true 3D printer,” explains Cacciatore. One of the many reasons she praises the Afinia 3D printer is “it always stays calibrated, even though it travels from school to school!” [Read more…]

Portland Community College MakerLab Holds H800 in High Esteem

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Ethan Ouimet is the MakerLab Coordinator at Portland Community College MakerLab. He lives half time in Portland and half time in Eugene, where he also works at the University of Oregon MakerSpace and is finishing his degree in product design.

Entry into 3D Printing

Ouimet started 3D printing while pursuing a degree in product design at the University of Oregon. “Product design is akin to industrial design, but more focused on user experience and how humans interact with products. It requires a fair amount of prototyping, and we often turn to 3D printing to prototype our CAD models,” says Ouimet.

“Thanks to my major, I also have a love of shop environments, which I’m currently lucky enough to work in,” Ouimet explains. “I run two makerspaces: one at the University of Oregon and the other at Portland Community College, which is a beautiful shop with a ton of resources.” [Read more…]