Keith R. Stevenson/ Pocono Record
East Stroudsburg University
Evelyn Barone demonstrates how a solid piece of plywood can be bent after laser cutting
A public university in Pennsylvania is offering a new certificate programme to its Art and Design students which focuses on 3D printing and product design.
The introduction of 3D printing comes as East Stroudsburg University (ESU) expands its Art and Design syllabus with four new certifications. Other new programmes enhance knowledge and skills in the areas of geographic and information systems (GIS), business writing and crisis intervention.
ESU’s 3D printing and product design certificate will show students how to use the latest 3D equipment in graphic and object design. The Art and Design faculty developed the programme to take advantage of its G3 Design Lab and its contemporary machinery. ESU students have access to highly advanced, industry-standard equipment, including design software, 3D printers and scanners, a vacuum press and computer-guided laser cutting and etching machinery. And with the edition of a Stratasys J750 3D printer, the facility achieved ‘superlab’ status earlier in the year.
“The J750 3D printer has provided a huge opportunity for our students,” said Art and Design Professor Darlene Farris LaBar. “It’s put us huge steps ahead of schools in Pennsylvania and certainly across the United States.”
At the time of installation, ESU were one of just three locations in the world to have the J750 3D printer. The machine has the highest print resolution currently available and is among the fastest in the world.
“A print like this could take twice as long on another printer,” added Farris LaBar. “It can print on a microscopic scale. The J750 has (also) been a bridge for our students to work in full colour. In the past, we didn’t have enough print heads to utilise a large colour range.”
Keith R. Stevenson/ Pocono Records
East Stroudsburg University offers 3D printing certificate to Art and Design students
Jessica Ritter, a senior studying art and design created these wine glasses holders using laser cutting at the East Stroudsburg University 3D Design Lab
In addition to bringing full colour capabilities, the J750 can also print preassembled moving parts. The user is also able to assign materials with soft, hard or flexible properties for different parts. Its versatility with different materials has made it even more purposeful for manufacturing. A single machine can perform tasks that previously required more expensive technologies.
“It’s all about the rise of mass customisation,” said Evelyn Barone, a junior studying biology and fine arts. “You can get something that’s completely yours – but at a wholesale price.”
The J750, along with the rest of the equipment in the G3 Design Lab, is accessible to students to utilise for their coursework assignments. Barone capitalised on the equipment to revive a local artefact as part of an assignment.
“In the train tower at Dansbury Depot, they still have the original levers that used to switch the tracks,” she said. “Several of the number plates have either broken off the levers or gone missing over the years. We used the 3D scanner to map the original. Then I reverse-engineered the design to make the missing ones, which we printed. They’ve all been reattached, and the tower has a full set now.”
As well as allowing students to complete coursework, ESU also expect the G3 Design Lab and accompanying 3D printing certificate programme to lead to work placements and internships for their students.
“We have world-class equipment and skilled students and faculty,” Michael Gildea, director of ESU’s Business Accelerator and Entrepreneurship programme. “Having access to this centre is a tremendous selling point to start-up companies.”
