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Dimension Inspires Bright Minds
Bright Minds Program Prompts Dimension to Bring 3D Printing Capability to Illinois High School Students
MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 14, 2006--The Dimension 3D Printing Group, a business unit of Stratasys, Inc. (Nasdaq:SSYS), announced today that its gift of a Dimension BST 768 to St. Charles North High School in St. Charles, Ill. this past August has been a big success, sparking interest in design among students and parents alike.
Dimension donated the printer as part of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers' (SME) Bright Minds program.
"In the past, the only way to create design models was to go to the woodshop or use clay," said St. Charles North High's engineering drafting instructor Ron Brown. "These methods were slow, cumbersome and simply not an option for certain types of designs. With the Dimension 3D printer, the students' concepts come to life before their eyes in a fraction of the time it takes to fashion a wood or clay model."
Currently, about 60 students at St. Charles North High are using the Dimension 3D printer and Brown reports that the learning curve with the solution has been relatively sharp. "In approximately one class period the students can learn how to save and transfer files. The ease of use is only part of the upside; what's really encouraging is seeing how the system has sparked students' interest in design."
Robbie Miller, a senior at St. Charles North High, is one student that who taken full advantage of the Dimension system. Miller took part in the SME's Bright Minds program offered at the 2006 Rapid Prototyping and Manufacturing Conference and Exposition last May in St. Charles, Ill. At the conference, Miller and 47 other Illinois students participating in the program were matched with industry expert mentors with experience in design areas matching the students' interests. "The expo opened my eyes to all the possibilities available in the field of design," Miller said. "I really enjoyed it and would recommend this program to other students interested in design."
This past August, Dimension provided the 3D printing system, support and materials to St. Charles North High, in conjunction with the Bright Minds program, so that the students could have the same 3D modeling capabilities they witnessed at the exposition. "I've really enjoyed using the Dimension 3D system since it arrived," said Miller. "I've used it to create a number of different three-dimensional shapes and a model of my family's house. I also plan to use the system to design an entry for the upcoming Dimension Extreme Redesign Challenge 2006, as well as model car for the Chrysler Dream Vehicle contest."
"The more high school students we can expose to design, the brighter the future looks for the state of the industry," said Jon Cobb, vice president and general manager of 3D printing for Stratasys. "We're very excited with the results of the Bright Minds program and the addition of the Dimension 3D printer at St. Charles North High."
About Bright Minds
The Bright Minds program was initiated in 2004 and is designed to create interest, excitement and an appreciation for product development methods, technologies and applications among high school students. The program strives to meet the following objectives:
– Introduce students to the rapid prototyping, tooling, manufacturing and related industries in hopes of potentially sparking interest to influence the student's career pursuit.
– Provide a basic overview of advanced design and manufacturing technologies, materials, processes, applications and key industry terminology.
– Allow students to learn about how and why the technology is used and show them examples of interesting applications.
– Give students the opportunity to interact with, and ask questions of, industry mentors while they attend the RAPID conference and exposition activities.
– Encourage and inspire students to share what they have learned with fellow classmates and teachers after returning from the event.
About The Dimension 3D Printing Group
The Dimension 3D Printing Group is a business unit of Stratasys, Inc., based in Minneapolis, Minn. Dimension 3D printers – which include the Dimension 1200 and Dimension 768 Series – are networked, desktop modeling systems that provide CAD (Computer-Aided-Design) users a fast, office-friendly, low-cost alternative for building functional 3D prints.Dimension 3D printers build accurate models layer by layer using durable ABS plastic, allowing users to not only evaluate design concepts, but test 3D prints for functionality, form and fit. As the first large format desktop 3D printer that sells for less than $30,000, Dimension incorporates many key features found in modeling systems that cost tens of thousands of dollars more. For more information on Dimension 3D printers, visit www.dimensionprinting.com.
