November 9, 2024
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November 9, 2024
Manufactur3D Magazine is India’s Leading and Premier Online Magazine carved out for the 3D Printing Business community in India and globe.
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PrintLab and Makers Making Change Release Free Assistive Technology 3D Printing Curriculum

Key Takeaways

[penci_blockquote style=”style-1″ align=”none” author=”Jason Yeung, Co-Founder at PrintLab”]”The Assistive Device Academy is particularly special because we are taking that extra step to encourage schools to connect with real people who have disabilities”[/penci_blockquote]

PrintLab, a UK-based 3D printing curriculum developer and global distributor, has released a free assistive technology lesson plan to support schools in solving real-world problems for a segment of society that is often overlooked. The new 3D printing curriculum has been developed in collaboration with Makers Making Change.

3D Printing Curriculum
Above: Students design the assistive devices in popular CAD softwares/Image Credit: PrintLab

The lesson plan guides students in designing and 3D printing a range of assistive devices specifically for people with disabilities.

Once developed, students are encouraged to upload their designs to the Makers Making Change project library, where people with disabilities can connect with them to build their devices and customise it, if necessary.

Above: Introductory video about the Assistive Device Academy project/Video Credit: PrintLab/Vimeo

According to a Canadian survey on Disability in 2012 carried out by Stats Canada showed that over 80% of people living with a disability use some kind of aid or assistive device on a daily basis to increase their independence. However, the cost of many assistive technologies can be prohibitively expensive and they are not customised for the needs of individual users.

3D Printing Curriculum
Above: 3D printed bag carrier/Image Credit: PrintLab

The Assistive Device Academy project provides a whole range of teaching materials to help classrooms solve these challenges using 3D technology. The 5 lesson process involves:

  • An introduction to 3D printed assistive devices through a series a case study videos
  • A skill-building session where students follow CAD tutorial videos to design a range of example devices
  • A hands-on activity where students test and analyse a range of example devices, which are created by the teacher prior to the lesson using STL files included in the lesson pack
  • A human-centred team activity where students identify a user and brainstorm the day-to-day challenges this type of person will face
  • Unique concept designs are then developed in response to the challenges and a 3D printed prototype is manufactured and tested
  • Students prepare and present their devices to the rest of the class and peer feedback is given
  • Successful models can be uploaded to the Makers Making Change platform and builds can be requested by people with disabilities. These may be manufactured by the school or local makers.

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Speaking about the project, Jason Yeung, Co-Founder at PrintLab said, “We’ve developed a range of projects in our lesson plan library that focus on assistive devices. However, The Assistive Device Academy is particularly special because we are taking that extra step to encourage schools to connect with real people who have disabilities. There’s no better way to bridge the skills gap than by asking students to solve real-world problems and we couldn’t be more excited to do this in partnership with the Makers Making Change community.”

Zee Kesler, Project Manager at Makers Making Change added, “The partnership between Makers Making Change and Print Lab means teachers can get support in learning 3D printing, so that students can use their design thinking skills to help people with disabilities in their community.”

The free assistive project is now available from the PrintLab Classroom platform.

About PrintLab: PrintLab is a developer of 3D printing curriculum and global distributor for a range of the world’s best 3D technology products. Formed in 2016 and based in the UK, our mission from the outset was to support the growth of 3D technologies in education by growing an ecosystem of products and resources, specifically for schools.

About Makers Making Change: Makers Making Change is an innovative community based initiative that connects makers to people with disabilities to create affordable open source assistive technologies. It is run by the Research and Development Group of the Neil Squire Society that uses technology, knowledge and passion to empower people with disabilities.


About Manufactur3D Magazine: Manufactur3D is an online magazine on 3D Printing. Visit our Global News page for more updates on 3D Printing Technology News. To stay up-to-date about the latest happenings in the 3D printing world, like us on Facebook or follow us on LinkedIn

Manufactur3D Team
Manufactur3D Team reports on the latest news, insights and analysis from the Indian and the Global 3D Printing Industry. They share updates from Industry leading companies to Startups and covers their latest developments.
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