Anybody hear of this - 3D printers for every FIRST team

[pfreivald]

Originally Posted by WaterClaw

I wish we could use a 3-D printer but the return isn't worth the cost when we can make it ourselves. Simply not economical. True, while you're fabricating one part you can be working on another, but in the pits that could be a draw back.

One of the things I intend to teach my students with the MakerBot we're getting through this AWESOME program (which, if people complain about just because money is finite, they need to re-evaluate their expectations of life) is the cost/benefit analysis of additive vs. traditional manufacturing. I intend to include materials costs, time, expertise needed, material optimization, and anything else I can think of in the analysis.

A good skill for students to develop in high school, methinks.