Daniel Flood

3D printing is the cutting edge of micro-manufacturing. It is not going away, it is rapidly becoming more and more accessible and promises to disrupt the way we create and consume.

Over the last six months, through building a handful of printers, we’ve had firsthand experience with the possibilities presented by this technology. We’ve also come to fully appreciate the frustrations associated with the building, calibrating and ongoing maintenance processes.

Currently, building a 3D printer and getting the machine to work the way it’s meant to is, in a word, painful. The online instruction sets are incomplete, the parts are not all easy to source locally and the printer will, for no apparent reason, sometimes stop working in the middle of a print. Building an open source 3D printer from scratch is the work of a major nerd or someone with a direct line to one.

So here’s the proposition: we have the nerds (specifically, Clinton Freeman, our amazing 3D print master). We’ve handled the logistics of sourcing and importing the parts from a reputable supplier, and we’ve filled the gaps in the instructive knowledge. We’ve even ironed out (most of) the bugs that would have caused you rage and pain and tears.

We want 3D printing to be accessible to the Brisbane community and this campaign it about making that happen. Pledges to this campaign will fund a fleet of printers that will be based in Lab 4 at The Edge. These printers will be made freely available to the general public for workshops, personal projects and anything in between.

But wait, there’s more. If you pledge at the top level of our reward scale ($930) the stakes change. Instead of contributing to The Edge’s fleet of printers, you will walk away with one of your very own. Over three weekends we will dedicate our time to helping you build it and calibrate it and at the end of the process, you take it home.

The Details

Budget
To put together a 3D printer, these are the costs we are looking at:
$720 in parts (steel, motors, cables etc)
$80 for materials (plastic)
$130 in labour (printing, assembling and calibrating)

$1 - $929 rewards: Build printers for The Edge
The Edge in Brisbane, Australia, is a space for young people to experiment in the areas of arts, science, technology and enterprise, with a specific focus on the creative spaces in-between.

Every printer pledged to The Edge will be built through a socially inclusive training program. We will work with youth organisations across Queensland to build the machines with marginalised young people, giving them an invaluable introduction to the 3D printing resources at The Edge. Aside from the warm fuzzies you get for a being a part of this process, there are a range of rewards we’d love to share with you for contributing to this campaign. See the information in the right hand menu for details.

$930 reward: Build a printer for yourself
You get the printer with the knowledge that goes with it. Every ten pledges at this level, we run the workshop. If there are odd numbers for the workshop at the end of the campaign, we’ll figure something out. To participate in the workshop portion of this reward you will need to be able to attend in person at The Edge in Brisbane, Australia.

Over three weekends, you will work with The Edge’s expert facilitators, who will;
· Walk you through the basic build, wiring and programming of a modified Prusa Mendel Rep Rap printer.
· Guide you through the software tools and physical calibration of the printer,
· Show and tell you where to buy all the parts you’ll be using so you can build another or repair the one you have,
· Meet people who are also interested in open source 3D printing and,
· Have you walking away with a completely functioning 3D printer (and spool of plastic) of your very own!

About The Edge
At The Edge we aim to provide young Queenslanders with the opportunity and inspiration to explore creativity across the arts, technology, science and enterprise.

For individuals The Edge offers:
· A year-round calendar of workshops, activities, events and exhibitions
· Opportunities to develop your creative practice and projects
· Free access to a broad range of hardware and software
· Physical spaces to meet with others and work on your own projects
· Access to free wi-fi

For organisationsThe Edge offers:
- Opportunities for partnerships and collaborations around programming
- A range of venues for events and workshops
- Program models on a fee-for-service basis

The Edge is an initiative of State Library of Queensland, creatively engaging the next generation of library users and continuing State Library’s leadership in reimagining libraries for the 21^st century.

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You probably have questions that need answering and queries about how all this is going to work. Hit us up on the contact information at the bottom of the page and we’ll get back to you.