Design and assessment of an AM vending machine for student use

Nicholas Alexander Meisel, Christopher B. Williams

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaperpeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Due to prohibitive costs, access to Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies at academic institutions tends to be limited to upper-level courses that feature significant project-based coursework, such as capstone design. However, with the decreasing cost of desktop-scale AM technology, there is potential to improve student access to such technologies throughout a student's undergraduate career, and thus provide more opportunities for AM education. In this poster, the authors present the design and implementation of an AM "vending machine" that is powered by desktop-scale extrusion-based AM systems. The resulting machine allows for unrestricted student use of AM equipment, and thus provides ample opportunity for informal learning regarding AM. The results of a formal assessment of student use of the machine are presented.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages1034-1047
Number of pages14
StatePublished - Jan 1 2013
Event24th International Solid Freeform Fabrication Symposium - An Additive Manufacturing Conference, SFF 2013 - Austin, TX, United States
Duration: Aug 12 2013Aug 14 2013

Other

Other24th International Solid Freeform Fabrication Symposium - An Additive Manufacturing Conference, SFF 2013
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityAustin, TX
Period8/12/138/14/13

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Surfaces, Coatings and Films
  • Surfaces and Interfaces

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