The uPrint allows middle schoolers to watch their CAD drawings become 3D working models. It quickly brings designs that only existed in the students’ minds to life

Students at Southview Middle School design a solution to solve the case of the ill-fitting cup holder with the uPrint personal 3D printer.

Was your car built before the turn of the new millennium? If so, chances are you’re among millions of Americans who have share a common problem: ill-fitting cup holders.

Peter Grimm, an industrial technology teacher at Southview Middle School in Edina, MN, has challenged his eighth-grade pre-engineering students to find a solution for this messy problem — and the Dimension uPrint Personal 3D Printer is helping students find creative answers.

The uPrint has a soluble support removal system, allowing for hands-free removal of the model support material.

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Grimm first saw the educational power of 3D printing earlier in his career when he started a Minneapolis school’s partnership with Project Lead the Way (PLTW), a national program that provides curriculum and partnerships with the private sector to increase the quantity and quality of engineers and engineering technologists graduating from our educational system.

After transferring from Minneapolis to Edina schools, Grimm started the PLTW partnership at Southview and began investigating the purchase of a 3D printer to enhance the program.

Grimm has seen the level of student momentum for the PLTW curriculum take off, and he believes this excitement can be attributed in large part to the addition of the Dimension 3D Printer.

“uPrint has really helped bring kids into the engineering lab,” Grimm says. “They’re able to see their CAD drawings become three-dimensional working models. It quickly brings designs that only existed in the students’ minds to life.”

Edina School District places a high priority on “twentieth century literacy,” which Grimm explains moved the district to require all 800 seventh and eighth grade students to enroll in Gateway To Technology (GTT).

The printer has enhanced the student experience in this program Southview offers by allowing them to see their concepts come to life as physical models. Once they see their designs, they’re able to re-work them through multiple iterations. Courses are split into Design & Modeling and Automation & Robots for seventh graders, and Flight & Space and Magic of Electrons for eight graders.

This year, Grimm has challenged his seventh graders with creating solutions for the ill-fitting cup holder dilemma. His students embraced the project, competing to design one of the top models that would be printed using the 3D printer.
While Grimm hopes to purchase a second 3D printer within the year, the school currently shares its uPrint with Valley View, another Edina middle school.

“At around 120 pounds, Dimension’s uPrint is easy for a few people to lift, which allows us to transport it easily between the two middle schools,” Grimm says.

While Grimm hopes to purchase a second 3D printer within the year, the school currently shares its uPrint with Valley View, another Edina middle school.

Since introducing the uPrint to his students in last spring, Grimm has heard great feedback from parents.

“There are a number of engineers in this community. I think it’s exciting for them to see their children get their hands on this kind of technology. uPrint is something that is not only helping my  students better understand engineering,  but it has elevated the excitement level in the classroom – and it has been a great promotional tool for our program,” Grimm adds.

“We bring it to fundraisers and get lots of ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ from potential donors. It also makes the rounds at teacher conferences. Keeping enrollment strong in design and engineering courses is always a consideration,” says Grimm. “The uPrint helps a great deal in this regard and the enthusiasm it generates is priceless.”

And it just might keep the coffee mug in your ‘97 Toyota Camry safe and sound.

uPrint won Popular Mechanics’ annual “SEMA Editor’s Choice Award” last month, an honor judged by the magazine’s auto editors and given to companies introducing the most innovative new products at SEMA.