3D Printing Lab

In 2016, The Janus School received a generous grant from the Ferree Foundation to establish a 3D printing lab that features an Ultimaker 2+, a Lulzbot Taz 5, and two Lulzbot Mini printers.

3D printing is a technology that is used not just in manufacturing, but many other fields as well, from healthcare to the food industry, to fashion and movie costumes. Our printers melt a plastic filament and extrude the melted plastic into thin layers, building up the layers to create the object.  Innovators are discovering ways of printing with other materials as well.  For example, companies are building airplane parts by printing with high quality metals that can withstand heat, while health fields are finding ways to use 3D printers to print with biomaterials.

3D printing helps build problem solving skills and can help students understand abstract concepts in concrete and tactile ways. Our Director of Academics, Director of Technology, and Educational Technology Committee work together to incorporate the new lab into our curriculum, and teachers and students are always bringing their creative ideas on how to bring 3D printing into all subject areas.

Some of the creative ways 3D printing has been used in classes include:

• A language arts class 3D printed pieces for a diorama showing the setting of a book
• A math class used slope to design and print a miniature house with ADA compliant accessibility ramps and three different sloped roofs
• Art class used the printers to design and print Greek and Middle Eastern architectural elements
• Geometry class measured, designed, and printed tangrams
• Students 3D printed toys to donate to Toys for Tots
• A senior intern at Lancaster County Parks designed and printed samples of animal footprints
• A math class designed and printed three cones with different dimensions but the same volume
• A language arts class picked a symbol to print, then wrote a paragraph on why that symbol represents the book they are reading