MakerSpaces and 3D Printing in Libraries

A presentation for the

Technical Services Interest Group

Annual Business Meeting

AzLA/MPLA Annual Conference

November 13th, 2014

Fountain Hills, AZ

Pinal County Library District

Maker Movement

•DIY

•Creation – with Collaboration

•Creators vs. Consumers

Origins:

Hackerspaces

Make Magazine

Machinery

Metal working/woodworking/etc

I.e. sanders, saws, welding equipment

Electronics

Arduino boards, Raspberry Pi’s, soldering iron, etc

Robotics

Textiles

Fabric, thread, sewing machines, etc

Arts & Crafts

Quilting, knitting, jewelry, models, hobbies, etc.

Computer equipment/

Media Labs

Video editing software, Green screens, converting

media equipment, etc

Digital fabrication

3D Printing/3D scanners/Laser cutters

Image credit: Florida Bureau of Library Development

Image credit: NBC News

White House

Maker Faire

•Libraries have always been providers

of free access and space

•Great opportunity to reignite interest

in libraries

•Library emphasis on S.T.E.M.

Image credit: Acomb Library

• “In 2008, 4 percent of U.S. bachelor’s degrees were

awarded in engineering, compared with 31 percent in

China.”(Science and Engineering Indicators 2012 – National Science Foundation)

• “19.5 percent of AP test takers in the class of 2012

earned a qualifying score on an AP exam.” (10th Annual AP Report to the Nation)

• “29 nations: The number of industrialized nations

whose high school students performed better than

U.S. students in math in 2012.” (National Center for Education Statistics)

• “STEM jobs will grow twice as fast as other fields.” (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

•Additive Manufacturing

•Invented in 1984 by Chuck

Hull of 3D Systems

•Stereolithography

•STL file format –

A type of CAD file

•Available for commercial

use in the 2010s.

•Build or download a 3D model

•Convert file to STL and open in

MakerWare.

•MakerWare “slices” file into thin,

horizontal layers, preparing it for

printing.

•The file is sent to the machine – via

USB or SD card – similar to how a

design plan is sent to a computerized

embroidery machine.

•Plastic is loaded and dispensed on

spools, and navigated through a guide

tube – similar to a sewing machine.

•Printer moves its extruder mechanism

across the build plate, pushing out

molten plastic – like a hot glue gun.

Industry

Hobbies & Art

Museums & Academia

Medicine

Skin – PrintAlive Bioprinter – Winner of the James Dyson Award

Materialise – 3D Prints from 2D X-Rays

Entrepreneurship