3D printing for schools

As a first student I am very well introduced to new technology. One of my favorite pieces of technology is the 3D printer. It is so cool that you can print stuff that you literally just designed. Naturally I was happy when 3D Systems gave my first robotics team rock city robotics a 3D printer. After getting the 3D printer one of my mentors on the team played with it but could not get his designs to print on the printer. I, with great trouble, figured out why the printer was not printing. This printer is hard to set up but after this printer is set up it works without a problem and is a great learning platform for anyone who wants to go into engineering. As a FRC student I will be using the printer for prototyping parts for the robot that we build every year. In the classroom the 3D printer could be used for printing out whole designs that students make on the computer. This would be a cool and fun way to get students interested in engineering. Ms. slack, the technology teacher at my school, said, "I want one for my classroom! It would be so cool to have students design something on the computer and then get to watch it print." Having used this piece of technology I see the great benefit for our students to have use of a 3D printer.