Would you
like to help build and test a high speed, large format 3D printer that
has a 1m x 1m x 1.5m build volume and earn class credit for it through
an ME 499 class?
Any member or
interested student may join this class upon instructor approval.
Students do not have to be involved at all with the club currently. We
are looking for driven self-motivated students who can be reliable
workers while also maintaining a busy academic schedule.
The
classes meeting time is yet to be determined, but it will be once a
week to give assignments to team members who will then complete tasks on
their own time with supervision from team leads.
2-5
credits can be assigned for the course and will vary according to
students personal need. The amount of time each student should be
expected to give for work will be three hours per credit per week. The
student can also take the course as a pass/fail option if approved by
department.
If
you are interested, than please check out the following attached course
description and fill out the informational survey linked bellow:
https://catalyst.uw.edu/webq/survey/lcj5/286399
ME 499 – Winter 2016 - Manufacturing, Assembling, and Testing of
Large-Format 3D Printer
Affiliate Instructor Steven
Weidner
Target Class Size: 6-12 Students
weidner@uw.edu Instructor permission required for
registration
Market Need
The
University has the need for a high speed large-format 3D printer to aid in the
designing, building, and prototyping for various students, clubs, faculty
members, classes, and research projects.
Approach to Class
This class
will be run as if the students are a manufacturing team in an industry setting
fabricating, assembling, testing, and proving the concept of a large-format 3D
printer called Big Blue, designed by members of WOOF3D (On Campus 3D Printer
Club). The successful proof of concept
of this printer could result in an ME 495 capstone class.
The student
manufacturing team will:
Be required
to take and follow various safety training courses and use the appropriate
safety equipment at all times.
Work with
members of the Big Blue design team to understand the vision, goals,
priorities, and requirements for proving the design concept of Big Blue. The team will then prove or disprove the
design concept of Big Blue through the fabrication, assembly, and testing of
Big Blue’s XY axis gantry movement, electronics, extrusion system, and Z axis
movement if time allows.
Use a
manufacturing plan created by the WOOF3D design team to build Big Blue. Project leads will follow this manufacturing
plan and will be selected based on experience and knowledge of the project.
Leadership positions on the team will be Management Lead, Fabrication Lead,
Electronics Lead, Assembly and Testing Lead, and Documentation Lead. Additional members of the team will be placed
on teams and work with and under the instruction of project leads on a specific
part of the project and will be placed with each lead based on experience,
prior knowledge and desire to work on specific parts of the project of the
project.
Document the
building, testing, and interfacing of Big Blue and any problems and changes of
design throughout the course of the class.
Work with
Solidworks models, drawings, part descriptions, manufacturer instructions,
fabrication equipment, and prior research on the implementation of electronics
and mechanical devices in a 3D printer to create Big Blue. Campus resources such as shops, maker spaces,
and the WOOF3D room will be used to help fabricate and assemble all parts of
the printer.
Be expected
to individually produce a written summary of the work and additional research
or documentation done while Big Blue is being assembled resulting in
collaborative weekly reports. A final
will be required and follow the ME 495: “Final Report Guidelines” provided in
class. The final report should be pulled
and developed from the collaborative weekly reports of the team.
Research,
document and compare the current capabilities of large-format 3D printing on
the market with the final documented specs of Big Blue’s printing
capabilities. Criteria for how well the
printer functions will be developed to meet the requirements of the Big Blue
design.
The report
will include a description of the current design of Big Blue and its printing
capabilities. A user manual will also be included in the final report, which
would allow users unfamiliar with 3D printing to use the printer. Lastly, further recommendations for future
research required to enable the large-format printer to meet its requirements
for a full-scale design and manufacturing of a final production-ready
large-format printer and that could not be met during the course of the class.
Skills
General Required
Skills (all students)
●
Work
safely at all times
Work in small teams, accept assignments, be personally
accountable to complete given assignments
●
Confidence
to challenge assumptions and think critically
● Negotiate the class grading criteria
with your instructor
Preferred Skills
Students That This Manufacturing Team Should Possess
●
Ability
to interact with previous Design team in order to define design requirements.
●
Develop
methods to fulfill project plans, scopes, deliverables, schedules, and identify
and manage risks
●
Possess
the knowledge or desire to learn all necessary fabrication techniques: laser
cutting, water jetting, milling, welding, soldering, wiring, and assembling.
●
Testing
of mechanical movement, electrical components and wiring, and speed and quality
of printing (prints structural strength, dimensional accuracy, cycle time of
prints)
● Possess a working knowledge of
Sailfish printing firmware, and Arduino Mega and Smoothieboard programming
knowledge.
● Ability to record, define, and
communicate in a technical manner on class assignments
Class Schedule
The student
manufacturing team will meet at least once a week for a period of 1 hour at a
scheduled time to discuss the planning, and project assignments. The in-class schedule is still being
finalized but most likely be Tuesday or Thursday late- afternoon. . The team will meet outside of this regularly
scheduled meeting in order to complete assigned tasks and phases of the
project. This time will be mainly considered
lab time where the team will split into smaller teams to complete their
assigned tasks for project phases. Meetings will be held in the MEB generally
or in an alternative location depending on the purpose of the meeting. The general time contribution estimated per
week per student will be 3 hours per credit.
Class Credit
ME 499 is a variable credit class. The class is designed to be 3 credits. Each student may choose between 2 to 5
credits (more credits will require a larger time commitment as noted
above). The student may also take the
class pass/fail if approved by the department.
Registration
Contact
instructor for registration information
