by Brian Sabath ‘17
With every passing year, Saint Ignatius offers its students some of the newest technology to work with, so it was just a matter of time until the school acquired that most sci-fi of modern educational devices: a 3D printer. This year, students in Mr. Jarc’s junior and senior 3D Studio Art class have an excellent opportunity to work with this newsworthy technology that is shaping the field of 3D art.
The MakerBot Port Replicator 5th generation, one of the leading 3D printers in the growing industry,waspurchasedoverthesummer.The juniors and seniors were treated to a pleasant surprise when they found out their class would be using the new technology, which cost only about $3,000, despite its novelty.
The Fine Arts Department aren’t the only ones making good use of the 3D printer: In the science department, Mr. Emancipator is using the machine to combine science and the arts, while Mr. Ward is developing a way to use the technology as means of benefiting the robotics team.
Depending on the complexity of the task, the MakerBot can take anywhere from half an hour to five hours to complete a project, all of which time the mesmerizing toing and froing of the printer’s stylus can captivate an audience. It is therefore fitting that the printer will eventually move to the library. Students can watch the printer in action, to see what imaginative thing an Ignatius student designed.
Our very own 3D printer, the MakerBot, will be of great use throughout the school. Already in use by the Fine Arts Department, and expected to get even more use out of the Science Department. The MakerBot is just another way Ignatius is preparing students for their further studies, and using state-of-the-art technology right in the classroom.
