What's different and new here (printing assemblies, complex geometry, color printing)
Different types of machines
Different types of materials and the tradeoffs
The internet community and 3d printing -- Thingiverse, Shapeways, i.materialize, Autodesk 123D Make, etc.
The 3D printing workflow (scanning, CAD, slicing, plating, visualizing, etc.)
Introduction to the G-Code language
Terminology: what are infills, rafts, supports, bridges and plates?
Challenges with 3D Printing
3D printing times
Parts that will not adhere to the machine’s print surface
Parts that will not fit together
Parts that fail
Where's the UL approval? Is it really 400 degrees?
A million things can go wrong
Is this a consumer device or a hacker’s endeavor?
Printing small parts
Bricking your printer!
Commanding your printer to destroy itself
Calibration, calibration, calibration
Space for machine(s) and setup
Tools
Processing environments: Sailfin, Reprap, etc.
Slicing software: Slic3r, Skeinforge
Modeling: Blender, Autodesk Inventor, Google SketchUp, TinkerCAD, Autodesk’s 123d Catch, 123d Creature,123d Make
Open source tools: Octoprint, Printrun/Pronterface, Repetier
Raspberry Pi as a 3D print server
3D Printing in IT Education
Students really love this topic!
Things that can be prepared ahead of time
Application in IT Survey Course
Discuss 3D printed guns
Discuss crowdsourcing
Incorporating the Raspberry Pi as a 3D print server
Pass around fabricated parts
Application in Programming Courses
Writing code that writes code
Short-circuiting the traditional workflow with purpose-built software – A student project interfacing directly from Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) to 3D printer [4]
Programming the straight skeleton algorithms
Infill generation algorithms
In Digital Media Courses
Create video documentaries of 3D printing projects
Build and use a DIY scanner
Create models with photogrammetric processing
Create time lapse videos of 3D build
Discuss 3D printed guns
Discuss crowdsourcing
Pass around fabricated parts
Time lapse video of a build sequence
How to get started with a modest system
Suggestions for initial projects and demonstrations
In the Workshop
Pass around interesting 3D printed parts
Build simple CAD models
Download models from online services
Download and run open source slicer and visualizer onto your own laptop