Researchers at the University of Michigan technology discussed the importance of digital manufacturing in the world today, and introduced 3D printing open source technology into stem education.

Steam education represents science, technology, engineering, art, mathematics. The steam education curriculum plan aims to enable students to participate in activities, projects and problem-solving based learning. It provides a hands-on classroom experience. Students create, design, construct, discover, cooperate and solve problems when they apply the mathematical and scientific knowledge they have learned to meet the major challenges of the world.

Due to the ease of use of 3D printing technology and the accessibility of standard materials such as PLA, researchers feel that the open-source 3D printing technology is very suitable for stem education. Although the introduction of 3D printer into education is very good, there are some difficulties for many educational institutions. As the administrative cost of the school continues to rise, the funds are limited, and many teachers do not master 3D printing technology and need to be retrained, so it may not be sufficient in the budget.

In order to carry out this study, 22 middle school and middle school teachers were recruited from the combination of subjects related to steam. During the workshop, they participated in the construction of 3D printers, using 3D printing technology and even troubleshooting them.

The teacher told the students about the principle of 3D printing technology, and inspired the students to use their imagination to assemble a bunch of parts into an operable 3D printer, and then the students would abstract design and program the actual object. In this process, it can not only stimulate students' imagination, but also improve students' practical ability and make them regard themselves as active creators.

Researchers believe that 3D printing technology is still operable in education. It can not only teach 3D printing technology, but also make reform and upgrading for education. Open source 3D printing technology saves a lot of economic costs for the research of open source 3D printing technology through simple and advanced scientific equipment. In addition, in the seminar of imparting new knowledge, teachers can learn more about 3D printing technology, and then impart it to students.

Sources from: https://creality3dpro.store/blogs/news