Proposal Form for FY12 Student Tech Fee Competitive Process (Oxford)

Transcription

1 Proposal Form for FY12 Student Tech Fee Competitive Process (Oxford) Project lead s name: Murali Paranandi paranam@muohio.edu Telephone: Affiliation: SFA Faculty + Student Other project team members: Jay Elliott, Lecturer, Architecture and Interior Design Brice Hamill, Graduate Student/Instructor for Graphic Media, Architecture and Interior Design Ted Wong, Shop Manager, Architecture and Interior Design John Humphries, Assistant Professor, Architecture and Interior Design Project title (5 to 8 words): 3D printing for Rapid Prototyping 1. Brief description of project: This project seeks funds to purchase a 3D printer for rapidly printing physical models from 3D computer graphic models of student designs. Adding this equipment significantly expands our students ability to rapidly fabricate and test computer generated complex forms. This will augment our departmental shop by offering state of the art visualization to our students. Currently, the digital fabrication equipment we have allows for a subtractive process (start with a chunk of material and cut away the unnecessary portion). Adding a 3D printer will expand this to include an additive process (adding material layer by layer from the bottom up to create the desired form). These models can then be sanded, drilled, attached to other pieces to study and simulate physical properties such as in understanding forces of wind in a wind tunnel etc. Also, this will allow for fabricating full color models, which will add value to the design investigation. We have tremendous need, available space, a student sign- out system, and staffing in place to make this project successful. 2. Impact on students served and/or evidence of student need - include the number or percentage of students or courses served: This project impacts 100% of students in the Department of Architecture and Interior Design on a daily basis, and has a potential to fundamentally change the studio- based learning culture. All second year undergraduate students, and first year non- traditional graduate students will be given project assignments to use this equipment in required courses (ARC 214 Graphic Media, ARC 202 Design Studio, ARC 614 Graphic Media). Need: 3D computer graphic modeling is a standard practice in design visualization in the architecture and interior design world including our department at Miami University. Designers need to build physical models in the design process to better understand aspects of design that are difficult to study with computer models alone. Building 3D physical models takes significant planning, preparation, work, and craft on the part of students whether they use traditional analog tools in the shop, or digital

2 tools such as laser cutters and CNC routers. Contemporary 3D modeling software allows student designers to conceive organic and fluid models. Presently there is no way for our students to be able to translate these into the physical realm from the computer screens. 3D printing provides the fastest and most effective way to transform a 3D computer graphic model into a tangible physical artifact in full colors. Recent developments in 3D printing processes have made it more accessible to the masses than ever before. 3D printers are becoming as common as 2D plotters in many design firms and schools. All of our peer institutions in Ohio (Bowling Green, Cincinnati, Kent State, Ohio State) have at least one 3D printer available to students within their school/department of Architecture. Some schools have multiple 3D printers. This is one area where Miami University is clearly lagging behind in terms of facilities for architecture students. Poster from a 2009 conference and exhibition, organized by American Institute of Architects in New York, on the emerging role of 3D printing on contemporary architecture practice The fabrication lab located in Manufacturing Engineering has a 3D printer. One major disadvantage of this machine for architectural applications is that this particular 3D printer prints using starch material, which even after the some post processing is too fragile to handle. Still, some of our students have used it since it has been available. However, limited access has been a major deterrent in including it as part of our curriculum and instruction. It is difficult for us to plan projects that require using these technologies, when we cannot have unrestricted and predictable access for all our students. This was also the case with other fabrication equipment (CNC and laser cutter) hosted in the Engineering building. When the Student Technology fee provided funds for acquiring additional equipment, student use of our CNC router (funded in 2007 and located in Alumni Hall), and laser cutter (funded in 2009 in partnership with Metals and located in Hiestand) has skyrocketed. Currently, our second year curriculum is revised to include the use of the CNC router and laser cutter by ALL students in design studios and graphic media courses.

3 3. Justification for funding this project: Briefly describe additional funds available for this project, if any: We will charge our students a usage fee based on the volume of the materials they consume. This will pay for the cost of materials. Currently, Ted Wong, manager of our shop facilities, has a student sign- out, and staff support system in place. Ted supervises a graduate teaching assistant, and several undergraduate student assistants who are trained to be proficient in use of these machines. These student assistants will be responsible for trouble shooting, and printing student models, as well as routine maintenance of the 3D printer. Zaha Hadid Architects, Burnham Pavilion in Millennium Park 2009, provides an example of complex curvilinear geometries with the use of contemporary digital technologies. 3D printing is integral to the design process. We are requesting a total of 120 Rhino 5.0 float licenses (60 for mac, and 60 for windows) to cover the labs and all the students in the required graphics media, sophomore studio, and other elective seminars. Some of these licenses will be installed on the departmental computers for student access (12 in the lab, 2 in class rooms in room 200, 201, and 2 in the shop). The rest will be distributed to students to be installed on their laptops, but controlled by using Rhino Zoo to be used within the department network.

4 4. What happens to the project in year 2 and beyond? Will there be any ongoing costs such as software or hardware maintenance, supplies, staffing, etc? How will these be funded? The project should be self- sustaining because students pay for printing supplies. We should be able to take care of occasional maintenance, and upkeep through our departmental technology fee. If we determine that the software distribution model via float licensing is working well for the students, we will continue to renew it through departmental student technology fee within the department, or write another grant. 5. How will you assess the project? Examples: Identify one or more expected project outcomes that indicate project progress and completion. How will you assess the value to students? Measures of enhanced student learning or usage are highly desired. These items should be chosen to facilitate independent evaluation of project completion and value to students. 1. We will incorporate the use of this project into existing studio and graphic media courses in the second year, to ensure all upper level students in the department are familiar with using the 3D printer. 2. We will track the number of students using this printer. 3. Increased student work incorporating the 3D printer in all upper level and graduate studios will be a good indicator of the success of this equipment. Contemporary 3D printers are compact, do not emit any toxins, and do not have any facilities requirements. They can be connected to a PC like a regular inkjet printer.

5 6. Attach any other supporting information regarding this request. There are no special facility requirements to install modern 3D printers. For example, Dimension 3D Printers are designed for use in the office. The systems operate quietly and there are no noxious fumes or toxic materials that require venting and/or special handling. ( printers/3d- printing- faq.aspx) Equipping Students with Design Engineering Tools to be Competitive ( Detailed Budget Include all items requested for this project: Item Category Item Requested Number Requested Unit Cost Total Cost Software Include Product Name & Vendor Rhino Lab Pack: 30 floating academic licenses na- edu.htm Include Product Name & Vendor Hardware Contractual Services/Installation Shipping / Maintenance Student Wages Graduate Assistant Salary &Tuition Other (Explain) Dimension uprint 3d printer series or the ZCorp 3d printers Window PC server Requires justification per guidelines Requires justification per guidelines 1 35,000 35, TOTAL $40,900.