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

[Kevin Ray]

On the smooth side of the build plate is a sheet of Kapton which helps the filament adhere to the plate (at least is on the Replicator 2X). There are some other tricks for removing a build from the deck. Try holding a can of compressed air upside down and letting the cold air "shrink" the build momentarily. It usually pops right off. Also, you may not have to do a lot of rafting (building a stable adhering surface on the build plate) for the Replicator 2X that you might have to do for other printers because of the heated build plate.
Many downloads from Thingiverse (warehouse of 3D models) are made on other brands of printers and you may have to make adjustments to the printer settings prior to hitting "print".

Finally, I can't wait until there is a plethora of FIRST-specific models out there on CD's white pages or Thingiverse for teams to share. There are literally hundreds of parts that can go on a bot that can be printed and I think this year will bear that out. I just hope the Makerbot will accept the carbon fiber Pla from the Proto Plant Inc. guys. That could open a lot of doors.

[MysterE]

So -

Imagine my surprise when I got back on our Donor's Choose site to find that our project had been fully funded.

Yay!

Now to wait for it to ship.

[dodar]

Would teams still get one even if they just bought one?

[Koko Ed]

We already have a 3D printer in our shop.
No one knows how to use it so it just sits over by the programmers.

[Qbot2640]

Originally Posted by Koko Ed

We already have a 3D printer in our shop.
No one knows how to use it so it just sits over by the programmers.

I think your programmers need more working space...I'll be happy to send you a postage-paid box with my address on it!

[akoscielski3]

I'm wondering if Canadian High School's will be able to take advantage of this to. Sounds like it will greatly benefit FIRST in the USA either way.

Great job to the teams who were able to make this a reality

[Gregor]

Originally Posted by akoscielski3

I'm wondering if Canadian High School's will be able to take advantage of this to. Sounds like it will greatly benefit FIRST in the USA either way.

Great job to the teams who were able to make this a reality

It appears to be a US initiative to promote American education. DonorsChoose.org is only open to U.S. high school teachers.

Nonetheless it's great news for our friends to the south

[Koko Ed]

Originally Posted by Qbot2640

I think your programmers need more working space...I'll be happy to send you a postage-paid box with my address on it!

It doesn't belong to us. It belongs to team 73.

[mklinker]

I am pleased to report that Tribe Tech 4485 has also received an early Christmas present.

This was very quick and painless. In less than 48 hours the Donors Choose project was written, approved, and fully funded.

[blackwood]

Team 2359 is also expecting a Christmas present. I filled out the information Thursday about 1:00am as I was in the process of writing a grant that included purchasing a 3D printer, and I ran across the MakerBot opportunity. I don't know if I will get the grant, and now it really doesn't matter because as of about 6:00pm here on Friday thanks to MakerBot, DonorChoice and 1 anonymous donor the MakerBot is now officially 100% funded. Woohoo.

[avanboekel]

We work in a warehouse off school grounds that is owned by the school. So, technically a school building, but were not actually a classroom. We applied last night. I'll let everyone know the results as soon as I know if we got it or not...

[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.

[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.

[rcoren22]

I have signed up through Donors.org for a Replicator.
I understand that Makerbot may not be funding any more teams, however did you have to do anything additional to be funded, or did they simply find your project?

[pfreivald]

Originally Posted by rcoren22

I have signed up through Donors.org for a Replicator.
I understand that Makerbot may not be funding any more teams, however did you have to do anything additional to be funded, or did they simply find your project?

I didn't have to do anything but sign up, and they took care of the rest. I was informed today that the equipment is purchased and should be in our hands within the next three weeks.

While we're on the topic of 3D printers, does anyone know if MakerBot 1.75mm PLA critical, or can you buy 1.75mm PLA from other sources/companies that work as well/better? This is our first go-round with additive manufacturing, so I'm sure there's a lot of little details we'll have to learn.