By Kristine Kern
Staff Writer
The Adrian High School Industrial Arts Computer Aided Drafting class (CAD) is the first class to enjoy a new 3D printer donated by Kim Grussing and family in memory of her late husband Richard Grussing. A 3D printer “prints” an object by laying down layers of material to create a three dimensional object.
Industrial arts instructor Neal Mulder is working with the CAD class in making three and two dimensional engineering drawings/blueprints. With a 3D printer the students can now print their design and hold and see the final, physical product and better understand the science, math and what they need to change in their design. Neal Mulder comments “This printer is extremely beneficial to the school, because we are now able to print out visual aids that can be used in classrooms. It creates an opportunity for more hands-on experience. It is especially beneficial the Industrial Arts program. The students are currently designing and building night stands. They began by designing the nightstands on paper. Later on, they created a 3D model on a computer using CAD (Computer Aided Design). Using the model that was created on CAD, they are now able print a scaled down version of each part. Similar to a puzzle, they are able to piece the parts together to create a nightstand. It is amazing to see the impact of the 3D printer in my classroom already.”This is just one more way that Adrian Public Schools is “upping their game” in educational opportunities. The students are getting a look at modern production techniques through the 3D printer and gaining valuable experience and growing their marketable skills they will use after they graduating from Adrian High School.
Thanks to the Grussing family Adrian High School just took their students one more step into the future.
