Intrducing a 3D printer to my daughter's Kindergarten class

Sat 09 May 2015 by Dr. Dirk Colbry

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We had fun showing off my 3D printer to the Kindergarten class. Although the printer is fun to watch, kids tend to get board with it in just a few minutes. I like to come up with classroom projects that let the kids use things that are printed with the …

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Electric box extender

Sat 02 May 2015 by Dr. Dirk Colbry

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I have been having trouble with my 3D printer over the last couple of months. It turns out that the fans got disconnected. Once I fixed the problem my printer is working better than ever. I was itching for something to print so I came up with this simple spacer …

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Ultimaker 2, cleaning a clogged nozzle

Sat 02 May 2015 by Dr. Dirk Colbry

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So my Ultimaker2 extruding head got clogged, really bad. Something got jammed while printing and I could not get the filament to feed. This had happened once in the past when I tried using some really cheap filament but I am not sure the real root of the problem this …

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April 1st Brownies

Fri 03 April 2015 by Dr. Dirk Colbry

An oldie but a goodie with a modern twist. This year I printed out the letter E on my 3D printer using Brown PLA plastic.

Then I put the Brown E's in a baking pan:

Cover with aluminum foil and tell the kids I made brownies for them.

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The were …

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3D Cookie Cutter app comparison

Thu 25 December 2014 by Dr. Dirk Colbry

My oldest daughter is in her second year of Brownies. My wife and I volunteered to lead a couple of their meetings with a maker theme. I thought the 3D printer is always a hit and what better project for girl scouts than cookies (yes I realize this is cliche …

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Fairy House

Fri 28 November 2014 by Dr. Dirk Colbry

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Over the summer we spent some time up at our Aunt and Uncle's cottage. Kids were picking up a lot of nature detritus to "keep" and my wife got the idea to make a Fairy House. Turned out to be a really fun project. I particularly like the paper lantern …

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Learning to use a sewing and embroidering machine

Fri 28 November 2014 by Dr. Dirk Colbry

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We are trying to turn our basement into a mini makerspace for the kids. Quite a few years ago my wife bought a fancy sewing machine that does embroidery which I thought would make a fun addition. My eldest daughter and I got playing with the machine and it is …

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Lithophanes

Fri 28 November 2014 by Dr. Dirk Colbry

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I saw my first 3D printer when I was visiting the University of Notre Dame. It was over 10 years ago, it was fairly expensive to operate and it printed in a kind of expensive wax.

Anyway, this was the first time I saw a lithophane. It was a picture …

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Snowflake Lithophane

Fri 28 November 2014 by Dr. Dirk Colbry

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There is something magical about looking at a lithophane. I like handing them to people with the light coming from the front. Most of the time they are polite and say, "that's nice." Then I have them hold the lithophane to let the light come in from the back and …

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Fish Tank Kids Coat Rack

Mon 01 September 2014 by Dr. Dirk Colbry

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This one was a lot of fun. We have a coat area down by the back door landing. I used those plastic hooks with the special double sided tape that allows you to remove the hooks without damaging the wall. Unfortunate, the kids managed to pull the hooks off taking …

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