World’s First Fully Automated 3D Printer for Schools

3D Printing & Imaging
World’s First Fully Automated 3D Printer for Schools
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At the Nashville Mini Maker Faire last weekend, I had the pleasure to speak with the makers at the New Valence Robotics booth.  They were showing their 3D printer which they claim is the world’s first fully automated 3D printer designed for schools.  I had an opportunity to see the printer in action and it definitely has some unique features.

I spoke with Mateo Pena Doll, a mechanical engineer who works on the project.  He says they have talked to many schools that have 3D printers and the problem they hear over and over is that teachers very often need to print many copies of the same part. With most traditional 3D printers this means loading up a part in the software, starting the print, coming back in a few hours to remove the part, then starting the next print. Rinse and repeat for 30 students…

New Valence’s printer solves this problem by adding specialized software and hardware to the printer. The printer can hold a queue of print jobs and then automatically remove parts after they have been printed. It then begins the next print job without any human interaction required.

They’ve also developed web-based management software that makes it possible to completely monitor and control the printer remotely via the web. This could be very useful for schools that may have many teachers sharing a single printer that stays at a remote location.

The team traveled to Nashville, Tenn. from Boston, Mass. where they are all MIT students graduating this year. I expect that we’ll hear a lot more about these makers post-graduation. They hope to start a beta program in Q1 of 2014 at select schools – possibly including some in Nashville.

The printer that New Valence brought to the fair was an earlier prototype. After the Fair they sent me a copy of their current version which, unfortunately, wasn’t available to make the trip. It definitely has evolved and looks much more polished than the one at the fair. I’m eager to see the final version.

Note: The printers shown in these photos are of a modified Solidoodle printer which New Valence Robotic is using for early prototyping of their part removal system and software.  The product that they will eventually market will be a 100 percent New Valence design.

NVBots.com 3D Printer

7 thoughts on “World’s First Fully Automated 3D Printer for Schools

  1. logan says:

    A great idea to solve a nagging problem… Even for me at home. It looks like they took a Solidoodle and added their scraping mechanisms on, which I note is just for prototype process. Even the photo of the polished unit looks like a Solidoodle with some paper and phatic surrounding it. Is still a great idea!

    1. World’s First Fully Automated 3D Printer for Schools Ian Lee says:

      Logan, I have confirmed with New Valence that the printer in these pictures is indeed a modified Solidoodle. See the note added to the bottom of the article.

  2. http://www.spacecenter.ch/swisscube/gallery/displayimage.php?album=7&pos=3 says:

    But it looks like there might be some relief
    in the forecast. I think he’s probably the best thing you’ve done fishing rod decals all day.
    There are frogs, worms, and minnows for instance on with many more.
    My mum taught me to persevere and to fishing rod decals have faith?
    Another great lure requiring a little more finesse is the plastic worm.
    It would be very easy to cast, and has good profile.

  3. Mojo says:

    May i know this 3d printer price?

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I'm a software engineer by day and maker by night. Most of my making revolves around woodworking, electronics, and the combination of the two. I'm also the founder & president of NashMicro - the Nashville Microcontrollers users' group and the father of three future makers. Follow me on Twitter as @ianlee74 or for the most recent news on everything Gadgeteer, follow @gadgeteerin.

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