As an experimental service to the St. John community, we are launching a 3D Printer Problem Bank. We are looking for 3D printer projects that can make someone’s life better while giving students the opportunity to apply 3D modeling skills to truly useful projects. All adults in the St. John community are invited to submit problems for consideration.
This is not a new idea. It is inspired by the Problem Bank at the Brookwood School.
What types of problems are suitable?
A typical project might be a small plastic replacement part for something you rely upon but has had an important piece go missing or fail. Replacement parts may be cost prohibitive or simply not available for any price.
Another type of project might be to build a small container, clip, hanger, clamp, or device holder, customized to the dimensions and capabilities you need.
There is an excellent list of criteria for a “good problem” for the Problem Bank here. Please review it. They also have some examples of problems and their solutions.
As everything on the 3D printer is printed to suit your custom requirements, if there is space in the design it can also be customized with text and decorations. This could be items such as labels and other helpful design elements, or it could just be decorative.
To summarize: small plastic widgets which are highly tailored to your needs, and not readily available otherwise.
How does it work?
Submit your requests using the form at the bottom of this page to get started. Projects should not be urgent as it will take time for students to learn the skills just to get started with this.
Mr. James administers the Problem Bank and will coordinate communications, follow-up questions, and matching problems with students. Students who want to volunteer to be problem solvers should have their parents email Mr. James at pjames@st-johnschool.org.