It’s called 3-D printing. The technology allows for the creation of all sorts of items, in the military and food and medical industries, to name a few. Now, engineering students at HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College are using the 3-D printers as part of their lesson plans. TE Connectivity Foundation gave the school a $27,000 gift which paid for various kinds of 3-D printers. Instructors say the machines allow students to bring their ideas from the computer into the real world. Before, students would spend an entire semester on one project. 3-D printers allow them to create an object in several hours.
Assistant Professor, Forrest Lysinger says, “Put things together and see mistakes where as if you’re developing something in prototype environment and you have a mistake and it takes you 3 months to figure it out, as opposed to 8 hours, that a major benefit.”
Lysinger says 3-D printing will increase the number of opportunities for students to work with their own designs and build physical models.
Student, Aaron Frownfelter says the printers are beneficial and tangible. “Gives you a hands on feel for it, you can see how flimsy it can be, how much it bends or how brittle is can be.”