INNOVATION May-June 2012

Beyond the Classroom Team projects enrich students’ learning experience Engineering student project teams provide students an opportunity to enrich their learning experience beyond the classroom. Involvement with these team projects allow students to directly apply the science concepts taught in their courses, as well as develop crucial project management, leadership and teamwork skills. Projects are as varied as students’ interests, from submersibles and solar powered cars to robotics and aircraft. This feature highlights the engaging activities of four different and dynamic student project teams at BC post-secondary institutions. f ea t u r e s

Rapid Progress for Unique Student Team at UBC UBC Rapid is unlike most other university teams. Rather than a vehicle- oriented competition or robotics challenge, the team is involved in the development of open-source rapid prototyping technology. It is part of the RepRap project, an international collaboration to develop desktop printers capable of printing 3D plastic parts—replicating rapid prototypers. In fact, the machines are capable of self-replicating as they are themselves designed to be assembled from 3D printed parts. The UBC Rapid Team came about in 2009 from a course project to create a print head that would embed metal wires in printed parts. That same year, a prize competition was announced for RepRap developers—the Kartik M Gada Humanitarian Innovation Prize in Personal Manufacturing—with targets for cost and functionality, and the team was launched. Currently the team is focused on growing the RepRap project as well as making 3D printing more accessible for many of the groups on campus, including the other student teams. In fact, the team may be credited for advancing the popularity of 3D printing at UBC. The University’s Physics Department consulted the team on recommendations for purchasing a 3D printer, and as the demand for use increased greatly within the year, they ended up

UBC Rapid is a unique student team involved in the development of open-source rapid prototyping technology.

buying a second one, with the Mechanical Engineering Department purchasing four. Use of the printers will be included in some project coursework. UBC Rapid is working to boost the speed and precision of the 3D printers, while reducing printing costs. The open- source nature of the project is one of the things that makes it unlike other enterprises, says Team Captain Jacob Bayless. “We get to peer into the internals of a machine put together by people from many different backgrounds working together, which is a great learning experience and creates a lot of cross-pollination of ideas. And instead of working in secret, we can document and share our designs and test results online, so that other groups can always pick up our work and carry it forward.” At the moment, the team has just finished upgrading its old 3D printer, and will be looking to measure the maximum print speed and resolution they can achieve with this model. In the longer term, the

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