“The world around us has advanced so much
that science fiction is no more a fiction.” – S. Banerjee
that science fiction is no more a fiction.” – S. Banerjee
In
1986, Charles Hull patented the stereolithography apparatus (SLA) machine which
earned him the title father of the 3D
printer. Now, almost 30 years later,
he is the co-founder, Executive Vice President, and Chief Technology Officer of
3D Systems and has a net worth of more than $20 million (History of 3D). For those who are not familiar with the
product, 3D printing, otherwise known as additive manufacturing (AM), is the
process of printing a three-dimensional object from a digital computer file. Most 3D printers operate by printing one
layer of material, usually a type of plastic, on top of the other until the
virtual object is a physical object. A
digital model can be created using design software programs, scanned using a 3D
printer, or downloaded from online repositories like Tinkercad or Thingiverse (Introduction,
2014).
The
concept of 3D printing has been making its way into household conversations for
several decades now. It has even been
referred to as the innovation that will change nearly everything from
entrepreneurship to manufacturing. In
recent years, low-cost 3D printers have become commercially available to
everyone from small business owners to the average Joe. A small 3D printer can be purchased from
vendors like Amazon and Home Depot for less than $1000 dollars. The movement toward affordable commercial
availability has opened up many opportunities for expanding research and
education in libraries around the world.
As
for the future, 3D printing does not appear to be slowing down in popularity
any time soon. According to the Wohlers
Report 2014, the 3D printing industry is expected to grow from $3.07 billion in
revenue in 2013 to more than $21 billion by 2020. Similarly, Siemens predicts that in the next
five years 3D printing technology will become 50% cheaper and 400% faster (Columbus,2015). At the Rapid Prototyping Lab at
Ball State University, Jim Flowers and Kyle Samuels are instructing a course
called Inquiries into 3D Prototyping in order to test the boundaries of 3D
printing (Absolutely Fab-ulous, 2015).
Literature Review
Makerspaces, also known as hackerspaces or
fablabs, are community environments where people can gather to create, invent, and
share ideas with one another. They
generally contain open source software such as 3D printers, as well as tools
and supplies for users to develop their ideas.
Many public libraries and a few academic libraries have added
makerspaces to their offerings in order to encourage patrons to view the
library in a new light. The space
creates an atmosphere of creativity, learning, and new opportunities
(Moorefield-Lang, 2015).
The University of Nevada, Reno is the first
academic library in the United States to offer 3D printing and scanning
services to students and community members.
While 3D printing is not a new concept on college campuses, they are
generally reserved for departmental use.
Lisa Kurt, Engineering and Emerging Technologies Librarian at the
DeLaMare Library comments that offering 3D printing capabilities to students
could “totally change their academic career” as well as bring together campus
departments. She explains that the
library has always been supportive of books, writing, and critical thinking; of
course, part of critical thinking includes using your imagination and making
things (Chin, 2012).
Dalhousie University Libraries in Halifax,
Canada began offering 3D printing and scanning services as part of a pilot
program in January 2012. The main goal
of the project was bring the knowledge-sharing, innovation-driven ideals of hackerspaces
into the academic library. The Killiam
Library is the largest and most centrally located library on campus, so
naturally this is where they decided to house their hackerspace. The library purchased a NextEngine 3D Scanner
and a MakerBot Replicator to be kept at the help desk on the main floor of the
library. This location was chosen
because of the availability of knowledgeable staff to maintain and monitor the
service as well as the high frequency of student body traffic. A booking system was also added to the
Killiam Library website so that students could reserve the use of the 3D
scanner similar to the way they reserve study rooms; however, due to the
varying print times, only staff members are allowed to book the 3D printer (Groenendyk
& Gallant, 2013).
3D Printing in the Library
Once a library has obtained a 3D printer, by
grant or by purchase, the printing possibilities are restricted only by the
imagination of the user and the limitations of the device. The University of Nevada Library has an
interesting perspective on 3D printers. They asked the question, “can you
afford [to] pay $1,000 dollars for a printer if you have to buy a position to
support it? Or, would you rather buy a $20,000 printer that doesn’t require the
care?” (Chin, 2012). With the
availability of online repositories for storing and downloading designs,
students can print models without needing the design skills that previously
acted as a gatekeeper.
Additionally, the purchase of a 3D scanner
will only increase the number of printing services available. The Dalhousie University Libraries took this
into consideration with their hackerspace.
It was part of their original plan to allow the various museums,
archives, and the art gallery on campus to have access to the 3D scanner in
order to digitalize various physical items from their collections (Groenendyk
& Gallant, 2013). They essentially
hedged their bet that the materials would be used for one purpose or
another. It is usage ideas such as this
that help bring together campus departments and form positive lasting relationships.
In order to get
a better idea of what objects are being printed by academic library users,
library research guides were consulted.
Kent State University Libraries offer 3D printing to their students and
most of their printed files are from MakerBot or Thingiverse. Some of their printed samples include a coral
bracelet, a human hand, a squirrel, and a custom designed model of the
university library (3D Printing at the SMS).
Rutgers University Libraries installed the Fordham FabLab on the ground
floor of the Douglass Library. The lab
offers use of two MakerBot Replicator 2 printers as well as a MakerBot
Digitalizer 3D scanner. The work samples
they provide include chain links, a bunny rabbit, a transparent giraffe, a
building, and airplane models (FabLab/Makerspace).
3D Printer Challenges
There are always a few challenges that occur
with any new project. The Dalhousie
University Libraries ran into problems such as determining device settings, staff
training and user inexperience. The
challenge of determining device settings differs with each device and can be
eliminated by purchasing a higher-end model.
In order to handle staff training, the library held a one hour
demonstration session assisted by the college information technology
department. After this session
librarians realized that the printing process is not difficult to learn, and
anyone with a little computer experience will not have any problems learning
the ropes. As for the user inexperience
issue, the library is offering classes and instruction sessions to teach tips
and tricks (Groenendyk & Gallant, 2013).
Other
challenges to overcome include funding and device upkeep. While the price of printers has deceased in
the last few years, an effective printer still cost over $1,000 dollars. After the initial investment, users still
have to purchase filament. It is for
this reason that continuous funding needs to be considered during the initial
purchase decision. External revenue and
grants are excellent alternative funding options to be explored. As for device maintenance, most training
occurs from a trial and error effort.
There is also an online community with forums that can be consulted as
well as MakerBot support. Another
popular helpful destination is YouTube which provides videos about procedural
questions dealing with changing filaments or cleaning the extruders
(Moorefield-Lang, 2015).
Conclusion
Even
though 3D printers have become common place in public libraries and are now
making their way into academia, there are still several critics of the new
technology. Joseph Sanchez, Library
Director at Red Rocks Community College, is one of them. He is concerned that affordable 3D printers
are not capable of rendering objects that are large enough to fit the needs of
his community. He currently views 3D
printing as an “expensive distraction” for general libraries and believes they
are better suited for specialized medical or engineering libraries (Chin, 2012). There is also the issue of when laws
will catch up with the copyright legality of 3D printing. It is concerns like these that instill a
cautious mindset about the inclusion of 3D printing into any academic
library. If the forecasts are correct, the
use and popularity of 3D printers will increase drastically in the next several
years; however, at some point the novelty will wear off. When that happens, the question is will
libraries have convinced their users that these machines are a valuable
investment?
References
3D printing at the SMS
(Kent State LibGuide): http://libguides.library.kent.edu/content.php?pid=489897&sid=4095847
Absolutely Fab-ulous.
(2012). Library Technology Reports,
48(3), 21-24.
Banerjee, S. (2015).
3D Printing: Are you ready for the new decentralized industrial
revolution?. Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2015/02/3d-printing-decentralized-industrial-revolution/
Chin, Y. M. (2012).
U. Nevada Library offers 3D printing across the board. Library
Journal. Retrieved from http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2012/08/academic-libraries/u-nevada-library-offers-3d-printing-across-the-board/#_
Columbus, L.
(2015). 2015 Roundup of 3D printing
marked forecasts and estimates. Forbes.com.
Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/louiscolumbus/2015 /03/31/2015-roundup-of-3d-printing-market-forecasts-and-estimates/
FabLab/Makerspace
(Rutgers University Libraries LibGuide): http://libguides.rutgers.edu/FabLab
Groenendyk, M., &
Gallant, R. (2013). 3D printing and scanning at the Dalhousie University
Libraries: a pilot project. Library Hi
Tech, 31(1), 34-41
History of 3D
Printing. (2014). 3D Printing Industry. Retrieved from http://3dprintingindustry.com/3d-printing-basics-free-beginners-guide/history/
Introduction. (2014). Library Technology Reports, 50(5), 5-7.
Moorefield-Lang, H.
(2015). Change in the making: Makerspaces and the ever-changing landscape of libraries.
Techtrends: Linking Research &
Practice To Improve Learning, 59(3), 107-112.
