Classroom innovation through 3D printing

Three-dimensional (3D) printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is a growing field for many professionals, including those in education. The purpose of this paper is to briefly review various ways in which 3D printing is being used to enhance classroom learning in the K-12 environment and to highlight how one academic library is supporting that endeavor.

According to “3D Printing Market in Education”, which reports on the anticipated development of 3D printing in the educational market for 2015-2019, 3D printing is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 45 per cent (Business Wire).

In 2012, an article in The Economist declared 3D printing “the third industrial revolution”. The following year, President Obama, in his State of the Union address lauded 3D printing saying, “A once shuttered warehouse is now a state-of-the-art lab where new workers are mastering the 3D printing that has the potential to revolutionize the way we make almost everything” (Gross, 2013).

In China, 3D printer manufacturer Tiertime estimates that “90 per cent of its domestic market share comes from school laboratories, which need desktop 3D printers so students can learn, experience and design” (China taps 3D printing consumer market, 2015).