Review: ‘I Can’t 3D Print’ turns into ‘Wow, I Can’ at the high-tech workshop

Tulsans were placed into the heartbeat of the new, exciting technology of 3D printing at the Tulsa Community College (TCC) Center for Creativity on Feb. 24. 

The demonstration of 3D printing was organized by “Engage Learning,” a new partner of the Center for Creativity, according to Annina Collier, dean of the TCC Center for Creativity. “Engage Learning” was started in Norman, Okla., and it is the organization’s first year in Tulsa. It propagates everything related to STEM.

The” I Can’t 3D Print” participants design personalized keychains using Tinkercard.com. (Photo by Tatyana Nyborg.)

Stephanie Kern, learning experience coordinator of “Engage Learning,” explained that a blueprint design must be created first to make something with a 3D printer. So, at the workshop, dozens of curious participants, kids and adults, were given iPads and laptops to draft designs of individualized three-dimensional keychains on Tinkercard.com, a user-friendly software. The Tinkercard program consists of a work plane where a user can drag different shapes, such as stars, cones, signs, etc., to build 3D objects.

The “Engage Learning” team brought three 3D printers to display them at the TCC’s workshop. One of them was printing a small-scale guitar, adding plastic layer by layer during the event. The public was encouraged to come closer and stare at the miracle of technical progress.

The “Engage Learning” team brought three 3D printers to display them at the TCC’s workshop. (Photo by Tatyana Nyborg.)

The 3D printing technology is so unique and fast developing that it allows the building of large objects, including houses. Kern informed me that there are villages of 3D printed homes in the U. S. and China. One of them is in Austin, Texas.

The popular TV program “60 Minutes” dedicated an extended episode to the 3D printing industry in the United States. Starting with compact houses for the homeless, it grew into a $57 million lunar project for NASA. Details of the project could be found at 3D printing homes on Earth, someday the moon | 60 Minutes (youtube.com).

The” I Can’t 3D Print” participants will be able to receive their personalized keychains by mail after the completion of the workshop. To continue making items on 3D printers, someone may contact Fab Lab Tulsa, which offers paid printing services.

To hear more about “Engage Learning”, go to www.engagelearning.com, Facebook: engagelearningok, or Instagram: engage.learning.