Cyprus-based 3D printer manufacturer Ilios 3D got its second wind shortly after a December announcement that it would shut down, coming back with renewed determination and a new 3D printer, the Ilios Photon 2. Since then, Ilios 3D has been providing us with regular updates on the continued development of the Photon 2, and it seems as though the prospect of closing lit a new fire of creativity under the company and its founder, Demetris Ruslan Zavorotnitsienko, because along with regular testing and improvement of the Photon 2, Ilios 3D has also found a way to improve stereolithography (SLA) 3D printing itself.

This week, Ilios 3D introduced Thermal Masking technology, a new technique developed in the company’s laboratory. The technology is based on three features: a vat glass coating, a thermal print head and a controlled cooling process.

“The coating of the glass surface is done within the Ilios laboratory and is a mix of a Black Opaque heat sensitive pigment which when exposed to heat becomes transparent and a specific clear coat which protects the pigment during long print cycles and ensures the coating remains on the glass surface for long periods as well as protects it from scratches,” Zavorotnitsienko explains. “The VAT is assembled in several layers to ensure the correct light exposure, cured resin detachment and sealed environment free of leaks. Additionally the VAT accommodates the Heated Print Head which runs over the back surface of the coated glass during prints.”

Three layers coat the top and bottom of the glass. The top layer is SLA 3D printing material, beneath which is a protective, non-stick film. The bottom of the glass is coated with a thermal, heat sensitive coating that comes into direct contact with the heated print head during the 3D printing process. When the heated print head passes over, the mask becomes completely opaque, blocking all light not required for layer curing and eliminating the need for anti-aliasing measures.

“In order to apply a controlled layer of heat on the VAT surface, a heated print head is used,” Zavorotnitsienko continues. “The same heated print technology is used in devices such as Label printers and other printers with a thermal paper coating. As the thermal print heads are highly affordable and are simple in controlling, this allows the core of the Thermal Masking technology to be affordable as well and provide reliable as well as tested components to ensure a voxel dense layer is exposed each time. The resolution of the heated layer is directly determined by the resolution of the print head used since the actual coating on the VAT glass surface contains very fine particles of the opaque heat sensitive pigment and can achieve theoretical resolutions as dense as the particles themselves.”

Finally, a fan is used to provide a controlled cooling environment for the coated surface. Without controlled cooling, the masking surface dissipates too slowly, so a fan is activated to cool the surface after each layer, then deactivated. According to Ilios 3D, this can affect print speed, but only slightly and only in hot environments.

There are several advantages to Thermal Masking technology, according to Zavorotnitsienko. It’s less expensive than other forms of SLA 3D printing because the required parts are so cheap, and because only a few components are required. There’s no need for additional lenses, mirrors or optical components. Ilios 3D is introducing the technology with the new Ilios Nano 3D printer, a small, entry level 3D printer with a price tag of only €250. The Nano, says Ilios 3D, isn’t comparable to other Ilios 3D printers such as the Photon 2, which has much higher resolution, but for its cost, it’s a good starter printer.

The Ilios Nano features a build size of 60 x 80 x 120 mm, a resolution of 84 microns, and a layer thickness of 50-100 microns. You can learn more about Thermal Masking technology here.

One of the most important rules that children have drilled into their heads before museum field trips is to not touch the exhibits. But in recent years, 3D scanning and 3D printing technology has helped abolish this rule, and now all sorts of important artifacts and exhibits, from dinosaur fossils and mummies to famous paintings and sculptures, are able to be replicated and handled by researchers and students. The Classics Museum at the Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand is home to a small collection of Greek and Roman artifacts, and one of the university’s lecturers is using the technology to allow her students to interact with some of these ancient objects.

Amphora

Dr. Diana Burton, a senior lecturer with the university’s School of Art History, Classics and Religious Studies, has been working with the School of Design to take digital scans of several of the museum’s artifacts and 3D printing them, so her students can have “practical experiences” with the objects.

“In Greek art, pretty much everything is functional—they don’t really have art for art’s sake. In order for students to really get to grips with the way the use of an object has informed its design and decoration, they need to be able to use it and handle it in the ways the ancients did. 3-D printing objects is a safe way to facilitate this,” Dr. Burton explained.

3D scanning and 3D printing the artifacts for her students is just the first step: Dr. Burton hopes to create an online 3D gallery of the objects in the museum, similar to the British Museum’s gallery, which now includes the first published 3D scan of the ancient Rosetta Stone.

[Image: Greek Reporter]

“Museums are increasingly looking at 3-D technology as a way of making their collections available,” said Dr. Burton. “We’ve scanned almost 30 pieces that we want to make available on the website—having an interactive 3-D image allows the viewer to interact and see how the whole design functions.”

First things first: Dr. Burton and her students 3D printed, and played with, an ancient Greek drinking vessel called a kylix. 3D printing this particular vessel has proven a good way to teach today’s university students about the drinking games of yesteryear, among other valuable lessons.

Dr. Burton explained, “We have a collection of ancient pottery in the Museum and one of the shapes is a shallow bowl with a stem and handles. The ancient Greeks used it in a drinking game where they held the handle and flicked the dregs of the wine at a target. So we filled them with water and had the students engage with the object in the way it was designed by the Greeks.”

Then the students got to design their own amphora (storage jars), by using a template to draw black figure illustrations by hand. Then, their drawings were digitally scanned and mapped onto an amphora design in a 3D software program.

“The students had to illustrate the amphora with an appropriate Greek myth. It needed to fit into their personal story and social content, the same way the Greeks did with their decorations,” said Dr. Burton.

Bernard Guy, a university lecturer on Industrial Design, and Zach Challies, a Master of Design Innovation graduate, were in charge of guiding the student amphora project. Challies, whose specialty is high-end, multi-property 3D printing, designed the template, digitized the designs for 3D modeling, and worked with the designs in the program to make sure they would correctly print as full-color objects.

Isaac Bennett-Smith, one of Dr. Burton’s students, said, “Coming up with a design for the amphora was great fun—it was the most fun I’ve ever had doing an assignment. I really enjoyed the hands-on aspect. I think it was a really good way to learn. It doesn’t completely replace writing but it would be a bit naïve to assume writing is the only way we can communicate ideas. It’s really good to incorporate that visual literacy into subjects like Classics.”

Five lucky students had their amphora designs 3D printed by online 3D printing service provider Shapeways. The five winning designs illustrated more modern stories than the original Greek amphorae did, like the 2009 earthquake and tsunami in Samoa, and about financial difficulties. The creative, educational project was obviously invaluable to the students, Dr. Burton, and the two project guides, and is a great example of how “students and academic researchers can work towards a 3-D printing enabled university.”

“It’s fantastic to see ancient culture and items that are thousands of years old meet the digital future. It’s not an obvious meeting, but one that resulted in a valuable experience for the School of Design and tangible learning tools for the Classics programme,” said Guy. “3-D printing allows the unexpected to become reality—it opens avenues to tell entirely new stories, make entirely new discoveries, and to truly unlock the possibilities of the digital age. We’re interested in finding other areas of the University where 3-D printing could become an effective teaching or learning tool.”

To hear some of the participating students talk about their 3D printed amphora designs, check out the video below from Victoria University of Wellington:

VIDEO

[Source:

/ Images: Phys.org unless otherwise noted]

Italy’s Roboze has recently had the great privilege of being selected by Parisian non-profit Hello Tomorrow as one of the top 500 most innovative startups in the world in their annual challenge. The Roboze One+400 3D printer was the qualifying project for the Italian company, with over 4,000 projects being chosen from overall. I wasn’t too surprised to hear the news, having just interviewed Roboze’s marketing director, Ilaria Guicciardini. As she pointed out, Roboze is made up of a group of very brave people. That’s generally what it takes to dive into a startup and begin to solve the complex technological challenges of the world. And as they say, just because you work hard doesn’t mean you will succeed. In the 3D printing realm—one that has become extremely competitive—a good product backed up by a superior (and brave indeed!) team is required.

Roboze was one of 500 promising startups recognized by a jury made up of individuals from Google X, Michelin, Airbus, L’Oréal, and Solvay, among others. The 3D printer manufacturer is known for their lineup that includes the Roboze One and the Roboze One+400. Both are fused filament fabrication (FFF) machines, with the capability to use ten different materials, including PEEK, polycarbonate, and nylon 12. The use of FFF technology as well as allowing users to print with ‘high viscosity’ materials (previously relegated to much more expensive 3D printers) has gained them attention worldwide, and obviously in this annual worldwide competition too.

Roboze explained in their recent press release that PEEK and PEI are super polymers. In relation to 3D printing, they could be thought of as more similar to light metals than plastics—and could actually be used in place of metal for making end-use parts. The company recently showed us some of their high-strength parts 3D printed in plastics and plated in metal for additional properties.

Roboze Founder and CEO Alessio Lorusso (R) with Gil Lavi, VP Global Sales & Business Development, at RAPID + TCT 2017 [Photo: Sarah Goehrke]

Roboze has now installed the Roboze One + 400 3D printer on four continents. This has been made possible with their network of partners around the world, creating a “distributive channel made of skills and expertise in the fields of manufacturing, CAD/CAM systems, and 3D printing.” Roboze growth is up 400 percent since the Roboze One + 400 3D printer launch. They have been appreciated by industry leaders to include:

“The business spirit fuels every aspect of our daily routine joined to a constant effort for innovation,” says Alessio Lorusso, Roboze CEO and Founder. “This effort helped our growing, focusing on our mission: to develop accessible solutions in order to speed up the digitization of production processes.”

3D printing with PEEK at formnext 2016 [Photo: Sarah Goehrke]

It makes sense that research and development is a key focus at Roboze.

“Roboze entered in very important networks from SAP research programs of distributed manufacturing applications to the partnership with Inovsys Sas, aiming to develop and empower additive manufacturing solutions in the medical and aerospace field,” states the company.

Hello Tomorrow was founded in 2011 by Xavier Duportet and Arnaud de la Tour. Since then their team has grown exponentially, and they also have a group of ‘ambassadors’ who are talented in a variety of different areas. They work to assist ‘deep tech’ startups as they begin creating and working within local ecosystems and a global network.

3D bioprinting is, needless to say, great cause for excitement. Usually, most people’s minds go immediately to one idea: the idea that in the future, we may be able to 3D print working human organs that can actually be transplanted into patients, saving their lives without requiring a donated organ from another person. It’s understandable that people are excited about that prospect; 3D bioprinted organs potentially carry tremendous advantages. People could receive lifesaving organ transplants right away, without having to wait for a donor match, eliminating the years-long wait lists as well as the guilt that comes from benefiting from the death of another person. In addition, the idea is that 3D printed organs are formed from the patient’s own stem cells, eliminating the risk of rejection and the need for immunosuppressive drugs.

In reality, we probably won’t see 3D printed, transplantable human organs for several years yet. 3D printing an organ is more than just 3D printing layers of cells into the shape of a kidney or liver; those organs must be able to carry out all of the distinct functions of their natural counterparts, and they have to be capable of integrating with the body’s existing systems, which involves the development of nerves and blood vessels. Progress is being made in the development of 3D printed blood vessel networks, and the advancement that scientists have made over the last couple of years towards 3D printed organs really is remarkable, with working thyroid glands and ovaries being transplanted into mice, for example.

It’s easy to see progress like that and think, “Wow, we could be transplanting 3D printed organs into people by next year!” Again, it’s not that simple, but the fact that scientists have been able to 3D print live tissue at all is incredible, and the technology is already saving lives in the form of cardiac patches, for example. But lives are also being saved through a bioprinting application that gets less sensational attention. 3D printed tissue is proving to be an effective means of testing new pharmaceuticals, meaning that drugs can be thoroughly assessed and brought to market more quickly, all without harming animal test subjects.

A group of researchers from Queensland University of Technology (QUT) recently published a paper discussing the development of a new type of bioink that enables the 3D printing of cells and other biological materials as part of a single production process. You can access the paper, entitled “Mechanically Tunable Bioink for 3D Printing of Human Cells,” here. In the opinion of these researchers, the possibilities bioprinting offers for drug development may be the most important use of the technology.

“Using current methods, bringing a new drug to market has been estimated to cost US$2.5 billion, and can take more than ten years from start to finish,” the researchers state. “Even if you manage to identify a new candidate drug, the likelihood of regulatory approval is low: in 2016, less than 10% were approved.”

The reason behind the failure of so many drugs is that even when a new drug works well on animals, its effects don’t necessarily translate to humans. Human physiology is very different from that of test subjects such as mice, so what works for a mouse doesn’t always work for a person. With 3D bioprinted tissue, however, scientists can actually create the kind of complex human tissue found in organs such as the heart, liver, kidneys, etc. and see right away the effects that a particular drug will have on those tissues inside the human body.

While the use of animals for research isn’t likely to be eliminated entirely, the researchers continue, 3D bioprinted skin tissue can eliminate one use of animals in the laboratory. The testing of cosmetics on animals has always been more controversial than testing for medical purposes, and now that we have the ability to 3D print human skin, there’s really no need to test cosmetics on animals at all anymore. In 2013, the European Union passed a law against testing cosmetics on animals, and we can hope that the newer and better alternative of 3D printed skin will be reason enough for similar laws to be passed on a worldwide level.

The more distinct types of tissue that scientists are able to 3D print, the better the possibilities become for more effective pharmaceutical testing – and potentially transplantable organs in the future. Bioprinting isn’t a one size fits all solution; different types of cells require very different types of environments in order to function properly. In the recently published QUT paper, the researchers discuss how their new bioink, extracted from marine algae, can be used to 3D print human stem cells in different, distinct environments, without harm coming to the cells.

“This work paves the way toward the printing of complex tissue-like structures composed of a range of mechanically discrete microdomains that could potentially reproduce natural mechanical aspects of functional tissues,” the researchers explain.

Authors of the paper include Aurelien Forget, Andreas Blaeser, Florian Miessmer, Marius Köpf, Daniela F. Duarte Campos, Nicolas H. Voelcker, Anton Blencowe, Horst Fischer and V. Prasad Shastri.

[Source:

/ Images: Steffen Harr]

3D printing is making its way into educational curricula around the world. As more students gain access to technological training early in their educations, the younger generations will be more prepared for the higher-tech future ahead of them. A well-educated workforce, after all, is the best way to overcome a lingering skills gap as technologies including additive manufacturing continue to develop quickly. The educators at the forefront of these efforts are paving the way for a spreading focus in the STEAM curriculum, which highlights science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics at a variety of levels, from grade school through higher education. Examining their work to bring 3D printing into classrooms allows a glimpse at what may be possible at any age level, and hopefully serves as inspiration for educators seeking to integrate technology into their own teaching toolboxes.

Phil Hall teaches Product Design at The Windsor Boys’ School, a UK-based school for boys that has roots drawing back to 1908 (and a sister school, The Windsor Girls’ School, for female students), educating students aged about 13 to 19 years old. We’ve followed several of Hall’s efforts in 3D printing previously, as he has worked with his students over the years to create unique projects using technology as a tool to understand the dynamics of product design. Hall is an award-winning teacher whose efforts are increasingly being recognized across the UK and internationally as he continues to champion the use of 3D printing in education. Key to his classroom philosophy is teaching his students not just how to hit print on a plug-and-play desktop 3D printer, but how to fully design their own products from scratch and learn the entire process of putting a functional project together.

As he readies for another busy school year, Hall has graciously taken some time in his summer to share his thoughts with us as we continue to put the spotlight on educators working with 3D printing.

Please tell us about your background and how you came to teach at The Windsor Boys’ School.

“I have been teaching at The Windsor Boys’ School for the past seventeen years (although it doesn’t feel like it!) and it is the only school that I have worked in on a permanent basis. Prior to this, I completed my PGCE (Post Graduate Certificate of Education) in Design & Technology at Loughborough University where I spent short amounts of time training in two Secondary schools which were local to the University. This was an amazing and eye-opening experience but I did question whether teaching was the right profession for me. One school was brilliant and pretty straight forward to teach in whereas the other was very challenging; two completely different experiences which taught me a lot about the profession. My degree is a BSc in Industrial Design but this was done in a time long before any mainstream 3D printing was available!

I only applied to work at The Windsor Boys’ School out of curiosity really. I never expected to be offered a job at what was/is such an outstanding school. The school is a comprehensive school but has tried hard to retain its traditional Grammar school background/ethos.”

What drew your academic interest to product design? How are your classes structured, and for what age groups?

“I’ve always loved Product/Industrial design for its creative and yet academic nature. It’s all well and good sketching and modelling pretty things for design sake but there must be an understanding of the product and its requirements-it must have a purpose and functionality and meet the user needs. Young designers also need to consider the moral, social and environmental impact that their products will have.

At The Windsor Boys’ School we try to make the pupils understand that the subject is not all about creating pretty forms for themselves-these are not vanity projects. Designing for a third party-a client-really helps the pupils see things differently. From the age of 15, pupils undertake projects which are entirely focussed on design for others-either individuals or communities.”

When did you first become interested in 3D printing?

“Interest in 3D printing was ignited when we were successful in a bid to ‘win’ a printer for the Department. In 2012 to 2013 the Department for Education looked to explore new and innovative ways of teaching science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and design subjects that realised the full potential of 3D printers in the classroom. We were fortunate enough to be one of 21 schools chosen for this pilot scheme.

The printer we were ‘given’ was a MakerBot Replicator — the laser cut plywood one — and also one session of CAD training using Autodesk Inventor.

From the training, it was easy for me to see the potential that this technology had in education. Everything that I have learnt since this initial training has been self-taught and has involved a lot of trial and error but it has been worth it.

In the past 5 years I estimate that I have racked up 1000’s of CAD and printing hours. It’s all about seeing the benefit for the pupils, not the personal ‘cost’ to me.

After the 1 year pilot scheme ended, we managed to hold on to the printer and invest in more machines for the Department.”

How and when did you decide to include 3D printing in your classroom?

“It was decided very soon after receiving our first printer, that the pupils needed to use this technology. They were going to be a part of the learning curve that I was on. As soon as pupils saw the machine in the classroom there was an instant interest-a buzz-and the question ‘when do we get to use it, sir?’ was heard a lot.

It was initially quite scary as pupils’ expectations were far greater than my ability and the limitations of the machine at this time. There was quite a lot of failure and compromise in what we did. The beauty of 3D printing (mixed with enthusiasm) is that progress is made quite quickly and you can swiftly improve what you are doing. Soon, small but well made parts were being churned out. The growth from this point becomes exponential. Pupils begin to buy in to the process and push the boundaries. They challenge you and your understanding of what can be achieved.

We spent a lot of time in the early years producing final presentation models for the pupils’ projects. These were fantastic and they served a purpose but would take hours and hours to print but, importantly, there was very little learning to be gained from them.

More recently, we have found what I believe is the real use for 3D printing in education; prototyping. An important part in the design process is in the development stage where products need to be refined through several iterations. This is where 3D printing comes into its own. Our pupils now use printing as a learning tool rather than a model making one. Having the ability to CAD model and print a design for a component part in the space of a lesson is now something that our pupils take almost for granted. The learning outcomes that come from having a detailed, accurate and sometimes complex part to interact with, analyse and evaluate are unbelievable.

In my opinion this is where 3D printers have found their niche in education.”

What types of reactions did your students / the administration have when you first introduced 3D printing to your syllabus?

“In the early stages when there was a lot of failure and we were printing random geometric shapes, I don’t think that other teachers or senior leaders could see or understand what I was so enthusiastic about. They didn’t see it as a ‘game changer’; more a novelty or new toy which had a lot of limitations.

I don’t think that printing Yoda heads, downloaded from Thingiverse, helped either as this had no educational value at all (one of my pet hates is teachers who promote downloading models rather than teaching their pupils the skills to be creators).

As the pupils became more confident with the CAD software and started to print off parts which were directly linked to their projects (and the link between printing and learning was made) staff and leaders started to take note.

We soon reached a point where the learning value for pupils, by having printers, was so strongly visible that the PTA (Parent Teacher Association) invested in more printers for us in order to meet the demand for prints being made by the pupils.

We have now reached a stage where printing amazing parts and models has almost become second nature or common-place.

It is only when visitors from other schools or companies come to have a look at what we are doing that we are reminded that we are ‘up there’ as far as using 3D printing in schools in the UK goes.

Being awarded the 3D Printing Industry Award for outstanding teaching, earlier this year, was confirmation that we are doing a great job here at The Windsor Boys’ School with regards to embedding 3D printing in the curriculum.”

How do new and returning students react now, a few years later?

“Students have returned during their university courses to use our facilities, which is a great compliment for us. They are really grateful to us for giving them a head start on their peers. Many of the students on their courses haven’t used CAD let alone printed anything which is something I find quite shocking. They also comment that, although they were using this technology in the early days, they wished they were starting again because of what we now know we can achieve with 3D printing.

They are fully aware that we gave them a great start and the skill-set to go forward and be successful in further education.

We still get the ‘wow’ factor with new students. They can’t wait to have one of their designs printed in plastic. They bring the excitement to something that I see as normal now which is brilliant, otherwise complacency can creep in.”

What are your hopes for the growth of 3D printing in STEAM curricula in the UK / around the world?

“I can really only speak from the perspective of what is happening in the UK education system. My own hopes seem to be at odds with what is actually happening (or not). The dream is to have at least one printer in each school being used across curriculum areas to enhance the learning of pupils in all manner of subjects, from Geography to Music. The reality here in the UK is far from this. I recently contacted D&T departments across the UK asking for feedback about how they utilise 3D printing in their departments. The responses shocked me. Some schools are doing great things- pupils are being up-skilled in CAD and are using their printers effectively. Others, however, through no fault of the teacher, simply have not bought into 3D printing. Lots of schools don’t have access to a printer (budget constraints don’t allow for expenditure on such items) or if they do own one, are simply using it to print from sites such as Thingiverse because training in CAD has not been made available to the teacher. The problem exists because there is nothing which says that schools must deliver 3D printing in the curriculum, not even in D&T. Until this changes, schools can choose not to opt in and senior leaders not to invest.

We are living in a world where 3D printing exists in industry. Our pupils will be entering this world and need to have these skills if they are to be competitive. I believe that the current government is failing today’s pupils by not providing access to and training for, this technology.”

How does exposure to CAD design / 3D printing / advanced technologies in school benefit students looking to ahead their future educational and career pursuits?

“Exposure to these technologies gives an advantage to those pupils skilled in utilising them. As previously mentioned, the working landscape is changing rapidly. 3D printing is bringing about another industrial revolution. Multi-national companies such as GE, Boeing, Nike, Ford, Hasbro, Mercedes Benz (the list goes on!) are already using 3D printing extensively and this will continue to grow. Apart from these global employers increasing their use of 3D printing, the 3D printing market itself is projected to boom (currently worth nearly $5 billion it is expected to grow to over $20 billion by 2020) proving that this technology is here to stay. How, as schools and educators, can we afford to ignore this? I read only yesterday a quote which, as D&T is under threat of being wiped from the UK curriculum, I found quite profound:

 ‘All we know about the new economic world tells us that nations which train engineers will prevail over those which train lawyers. No nation has ever sued its way to greatness.’ – Richard Lamm.”

Can you think of any particularly meaningful or poignant projects / moments you’ve experienced since you brought this technology to The Windsor Boys’ School?

“Any print that we do which has enabled a pupil to make a positive learning outcome is a good and worth-while print. The first truly successful print was a special one. I still have it and intend to take it with me wherever I end up. It was physical milestone and the beginning of my, and indirectly hundreds of pupils’ journeys, into 3D printing.”

Do you have any advice for educators looking to incorporate 3D printers in their classrooms?

“There are lots of things which I wish someone had told me 5 years ago and would have saved me a lot of time and frustration. The most important thing I would say to other teachers would be to take up the opportunity (if you are offered it) to get a 3D printer, OR don’t stop pestering the important people in the school until they get you one.

• When you have your printer, don’t be precious about it; use it all the time. Have it on display-generate an interest around the school in it.
• Encourage teachers from other departments to get involved-it will enhance their subject as well as D&T.
• Don’t be put off by failed prints — it happens. Learn why it happened so that you can put it right.
• Start a 3D printing club.
• Get to know your machine — be able to take it apart because at some point you are going to have to!
• Start producing parts for pupils’ projects and show them off-prove to the senior staff that 3D printing is not a gimmick and does really help enhance pupils’ learning. Get your students to enthuse about it-they are your greatest asset.
• Contact local schools — let them use your printer. This will hopefully encourage/enable them to invest in their own.
• Build relationships with local businesses or 3D print companies/suppliers. The companies I have dealt with have been truly amazing, helpful, knowledgeable and generous.
• Skill yourself up in CAD-this is so important if you are to empower your students with the ability to be creators rather than ‘downloaders’. Only when pupils can create their own designs will you truly see the benefits of 3D printing in education.”

Hall’s advice underscores much of what we often hear as the call for education with 3D printing becomes ever-louder. Failure is not only a part of the process of iterative creation, but an important one that teaches valuable lessons in the design process; it is only through failure that many lessons will take root. Furthermore, the creation of a community around 3D printers will help to solidify in-house support for projects, technical issues, and more, and will help to spread the word beyond the classroom.

By teaching students to fully design their own creations and be responsible for the full process surrounding product design, Hall offers his students a thorough understanding of technology as it can be put to use in his subject area — as well as a tool they are, demonstrably, using in their futures beyond secondary ed classrooms.

[All photos provided courtesy Phil Hall]

If you are interested in sharing your story, or know an educator we should get in touch with, please reach out any time. Send us an email or connect on Twitter. We’re looking forward to sharing your stories. Find all the features in this series here.

Whether you dabble in 3D printed electronics or are passionate about numerous, intricate projects, you are likely familiar with Arduino. Begun as a project in 2003 for Italian students, the open-source electronics platform now gives DIY inventors everywhere the access and affordability required to incorporate microprocessors and controllers into their work.

Most makers around the globe are less concerned with the corporate world and more so with creating clever and mindblowing devices that often look as if they could be used for special effects in movies—from 3D printed working droids to robotic parrots; however, Arduino is actually a company on its own, not just an exercise in open-sourcing generosity. And there has been trouble brewing for the company again since the spring as (now former) CEO Federico Musto was forced to admit that no, he does not possess a PhD from MIT, or even an MBA from New York University.

In a spring interview, Musto commented on the debacle, regarding his credentials listed on LinkedIn.

“This is wrong,” he said of the information on his profile.

Overall, yes. Padding your résumé with hefty degrees from MIT and NYU is some risky business, and Musto—receiving 50 percent ownership in Arduino last October—is now paying the piper in being ousted, replaced by the original founders and a new CEO, Dr. Fabio Violante. This is yet just another power play for the Italian company though.

Previously, Arduino has been no stranger to infighting among the founders. This led to a split, more legal battles, and the resulting Arduino AG, with Arduino LLC as its subsidiary. Now, as founders Massimo Banzi, David Cuartielles, David Mellis and Tom Igoe made up and created another new company, BCMI, they have basically wrested Arduino back from the sketchy Musto. Obviously, they are keeping the lawyers busy, as well as raising questions about the future direction of Arduino and its open-source platform.

The Arduino Mega

BCMI announced they now own 100 percent of Arduino AG, and consequently all of the Arduino trademarks. Banzi will serve as Chairman and CTO, while Violante takes over the CEO position. Musto, meanwhile, will ‘pursue other opportunities.’

“This is the beginning of a new era for Arduino in which we will strengthen and renew our commitment to open source hardware and software, while in parallel setting the company on a sound financial course of sustainable growth. Our vision remains to continue to enable anybody to innovate with electronics for a long time to come,” said Banzi.

“I’m really excited and honored to join Massimo, the co-founders and the amazing Arduino team as CEO. In the past two years we have worked very hard to get to this point. We envision a future in which Arduino will apply its winning recipe to democratize the Internet of Things for individuals, educators, professionals and businesses,” said Dr. Violante.

Musto, from LinkedIn

Suspicion arose over Musto’s PhD when he met Limor Fried, the founder of Adafruit. Unfortunately for Musto and the academic sham he was peddling, Fried is also a graduate of MIT. Musto’s vague answers about his time at MIT raised a red flag with Fried, and it did not take much digging to discover that MIT (as well as NYU) had no record of his attending (see images below).

“It’s true, it’s my fault, sometimes I try to squeeze and say, yes I got the MBA,” he told Wired. “Only thing I can prove is I went to kindergarten.”

Fried, as ‘a woman in tech,’ went on to explain why her intuition was probably so keen regarding Musto:

“When you go to MIT, there is always this murmur that they had to lower the standards for you,” she said. “And after you graduate, you get asked all the time if you were actually smart enough to have earned your credentials. It’s a little bit insane that this guy has gotten this far without ever being questioned.”

Musto was also under fire for allegedly taking a range of licenses and code from the company’s lineup, as well as failing to create a promised foundation for Arduino. As an end-note to his debacle, the only education he now lists on LinkedIn is his Montessori kindergarten year in Italy.

[Sources:

;

;

]

[Image credit: Wired]

Letters from MIT and NYU registrars regarding Federico Musto’s academic history. [Image credit: WIRED]