PrintLab Classroom (3D Printing Projects & Training)

Accelerating the growth of 3d printing in education is at the heart of what printlab does, which is why they have a range of features designed specifically for educators. Pick and choose from their growing library of 3d printing resources to spark curiosity, develop in-demand technical skills and foster 21st century skills such as empathy, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity.

Their mission is to provide educators with all the resources they need to guide students in using this transformative technology to make assistive technology, homeware, architectural models, sculptures and much more.

• Mini Courses - Mini courses are based on informative video content or step-by-step tutorials. They help students to build foundational knowledge in 3D printing and technical skills in 3D design software using Tinkercad or Fusion 360 software (both free for Education).
• Projects - Projects guide students through each stage of the design process to make specific types of products in the fields of assistive technology, customised product design and STEM. They include a brief, background information, 3D design tutorials, portfolio templates and instructions on implementing various design methods such as user interviews, brainstorms, idea sketches, product evaluations and more.
• Challenges - Challenges are live briefs where students have the opportunity to design creative solutions for real organisations and people. They are broad and open-ended, giving students complete freedom in both the product created and the design process undertaken. Our first 2 challenges are based on assistive devices and homeware, with many more to be launched in due course.

Simply select a resource, generate a share link and send it to your students to give them one-click access to the learning platform. 

No logins required! Additional features that save teachers time and stress include:

• Standards-aligned lesson plans and teacher instructions with each resource
• Portfolio templates that students can fill in to document their design process
• Assessment rubrics to grade portfolios
• New resources each month. 

What Students will Learn with PrintLab Classroom
PrintLab offers great variety between the 45+ available projects and are designed to educate, inspire and give a great learning experience.

• Learn to design and create 3D objects in TinkerCad.
• Learn to take 3D models, put them through slicing software and send it to the printer to create the final product.
• Learn about making assistive every day tools.
• Stay safe with some pandemic products.
• Learn to reuse plastic waste and upcycle it in to something new.
• Redesign disposable plastic products and print something that can keep being used.
• Learn about 3D scanning and how it works.
• Learn about architecture.