Shapeways Offers 15% Discount for Students and Teachers
3D printing has offered incredible new opportunities for manufacturers and Shapeways customers around the globe, allowing businesses to grow substantially serving critical industries like aerospace and medicine, as well as consumer goods, fine jewelry, and infinitely more. Product design continues to be transformed by the benefits of additive manufacturing, from the ability to create rapid prototypes during research and development to making high-performance, functional products.
One of the areas benefiting most, however, is at the educational level—and on several levels. Students from elementary schools all the way to colleges and universities find their learning experiences enriched by digging deeper into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM learning), learning to apply their knowledge to real-world applications, and later potentially going on to enjoy careers that require skills related to 3D printing.
Students Represent the Future of Design and Manufacturing
Nowhere is the potential of 3D printing more apparent than in the hands of students, bringing forth the vision of the future under the guidance of teachers worldwide. No matter what the grade, STEM education in the classroom or lab is a plus for students who are able to expand their knowledge in terms of creativity, critical and conceptual thinking, and project management.
Historically, 3D printing and education have been linked, not only because some well-known 3D printer manufacturers have offered special programs and discounts for creating impressive labs, but also because students tend to be very excited about the technology—seeking it out whether at school, in the public library, or even at home. Not only that, the novelty and pure magic of 3D printing makes learning fun, and for some students may even help with learning obstacles in areas like math as well as expanding into all the other STEM disciplines, to include art.
STEM Education and 3D Printing Are Critical to Many Skill Sets
It’s no secret that manufacturers around the world continue to have too many empty seats at the table in terms of jobs requiring STEM or 3D printing-related skills, and these types of positions are expected to continue out-pacing non-STEM related careers. Without fundamental training in schools, not many seniors will be ready to take on such challenging jobs.
Some of the problem may be derived from a lack of equipment in schools—often related to the lack of knowledge in elementary and secondary schools, and colleges too, for maintaining 3D printing hardware and software. Without proper education on how to set up a school program, there may also be continued confusion over what types of materials to use and how to budget for everything required. There may also be difficulty in setting up times for classes and students to share 3D printers, or it may be too challenging to set up after-school programs.
The beauty of working with Shapeways is that teachers and students can work on 3D designs from the desktop and then send them to Shapeways for 3D printing without any of the hassle of buying equipment or dealing with maintenance and training. Students also learn valuable skills during the process of uploading 3D models to Shapeways, adhering to design and detail guidelines, and overcoming printability issues when a 3D model requires improvement.
Teachers and Students Often Learn Together
Because so much of 3D design and 3D printing is uncharted territory, many teachers are quick to admit that often they are learning right along with their students—especially in more complicated and comprehensive projects like creating prosthetics for kids in need in developing countries, or engineering robots—for contests where the competition is fierce.
These types of highly interactive learning assignments are also great for drawing in students who may be reluctant to get involved in areas like math or science. Ultimately, a wonderful sense of camaraderie often evolves as students work in teams for contests or in taking on problem-solving tasks.
3D printed models are extremely popular for numerous applications, to include:
- Scientific color models that may display proteins or medical animations, converting data from X-rays.
- Extremely detailed, photorealistic, anatomically correct medical models which are suitable not just for extremely valuable medical student training, but also in educating patients and their families.
- Architectural displays which can be so detailed and expansive that they may depict an entire city block or neighborhood, including infrastructure details.
Whether you are a student or a teacher, get a head start now on 3D printing models and highly effective visual aids for the classroom–and don’t forget to apply for your educational discount. It’s as easy as creating an account, uploading your model, and following simple instructions to get 15% off from there as long as you have an active .edu email address.
About Shapeways
Contact Shapeways now to enjoy the benefits of advanced technology and materials for 3D printing creations for the classroom with accuracy, complex detail, and no limits in terms of mass customization or single part orders. Shapeways has worked with over 1 million customers in 160 countries to make over 21 million parts! Read about case studies, find out more about Shapeways solutions, and get instant quotes here.