Making Things Class Refines Designs
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During last week's Making Things class, our teams worked on refining their product designs. This designing process is very iterative in nature, in which most teams go back and forth between creating a computer design of their product, printing it out, and then refining the design some more. We are getting closer to a final design but not quite there yet!
In addition to refining our designs, our class also interacted with two guest speakers, Ron Watkins and Philip Fairweather. Ron and Phil are members of a University of Illinois Extension outreach project that is developing Maker Literacy to economically disadvantaged populations in Illinois, ranging from the west side of Chicago (Phil) to the southern end of our state (Ron). This project is being supported by the Illinois MakerLab, which has equipped both sites with five MakerBot Replicator 3D Printers. Both Ron and Phil talked about their outreach efforts and how 3D Printing is being used to enhance the lives of the populations they serve. The stories they told were eye-opening and inspiring. We are currently working on a developing ways to connect with these outreach efforts and use the skills and knowledge that we are gaining in the Making Things class to help enrich this outreach project.
By Team Handmad3