The Basics of 3D Printing
Ask students: How does the 3D printer use a computer design to create a physical object? What are the steps to making a 3D-printed design?
Doug Scott teaches engineering and robotics at Hopkinton High School in Hopkinton, Mass. In an interview this week at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) National Teachers Summer Institute (NSTI), Scott explains the basics of how a 3D printer works, what it can make — and how students can create their own designs.
When he is not in the classroom or in his basement 3D printing, Scott mentors teachers from all over the country on how they can help their students become inventors, including at NSTI and PBS NewsHour Classroom's Invention Education program.
Scott is clear about one thing: Anyone can be an inventor.
In fact, on Dec. 6, 2016, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued Scott alongside 23 of his students Patent 9,511,833 B2 for inventing a robot for underwater search and rescue operations, and particularly suited for searches under ice.
Directions: Watch the video and then answer the questions below.
News alternative: Check out recent segments from the NewsHour, and choose the story you’re most interested in watching. You can make a Google doc copy of discussion questions that work for any of the stories here.
Warm-Up Questions:
- Who is Doug Scott?
- What example does he show of a finished 3D-printed object?
- How does the 3D printer use a computer design to create a physical object?
- How many light bulb variations were printed before the final product?
- What are the steps to making a 3D-printed design?
Focus Questions
How do you think that 3D printing and invention could be connected? How can a 3D printer be used to create prototypes or final products of a new invention?
Media literacy: What are some objects you'd like to 3D print? What are some other ways that 3D printing could be used?
Alternative: See, Think, Wonder: What did you notice? What did the story make you think? What would you want to learn more about?
For More
What students can do:
WATCH this video to see how 3D printing could be used in the future for bigger projects such as building houses.
Interested in learning more about the USPTO's National Teachers Summer Institute? Check out this video:
PBS NewsHour Classroom works with the USPTO on explaining the importance of intellectual property (IP) and why ideas need to be protected.
See Classroom's free invention ed lesson collection here.
This post was written by Raegan Lusk, a senior at the University of Southern California, and an intern with PBS NewsHour Classroom, and edited by NewsHour's Vic Pasquantonio.
Republished with permission from PBS NewsHour Classroom.
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