The creative possibilities with 3D printing are revolutionizing everything from industry to medicine, and Hardy Telecommunications wants that next world-changing invention to come from a local entrepreneur at Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College.
To aid that process, Hardy recently donated a new FlashForge Creator 3D printer to the college. Eastern President Charles Terrell said the college plans to utilize the printer not only for its own students and entrepreneurs, but also for demonstrations at area middle and high schools.
“It’s going to be ideal to take to middle schools and high schools,” he said. “When they see something like this, I have no doubt they’re going to be fascinated.” Eastern serves a six-county region including Hardy, Grant, Hampshire, Mineral, Pendleton, and Tucker counties.
A 3D printer allows a person or business to create new items or replicas of existing items using a digital file with exact specifications. While the word “printer” makes most people think of ink on paper, a 3D printer can use different source materials to manufacture items, like plastic or metal. Eastern’s new FlashForge printer uses thermoplastics as its source material. Thermoplastics become soft and moldable when heated but return to a solid form after cooling.
Joseph Kapp, Eastern adjunct faculty and entrepreneurship consultant, said 3D printers, using cellular technology as source material, might one day be able to create organs specifically designed for individual patients.
“So they would take your cells, stem cells, and create an organ. Let’s say, for example, you need a lung transplant. Rather than going out and finding somebody out in the world who has a similar blood type and size and all that, wouldn’t it be great if you had the ability to go ahead and create your own organ from your own body parts, which would reduce or eliminate the chance of rejection,” he said.
Hardy Telecommunications General Manager Scott Sherman said 3D printing might be the key to success for a small business or inventor just starting out.
“Clearly this starts to revolutionize the way things are done,” he said. “The potential is really what the mind can conceive.”
Whereas in the past, an inventor might never have succeeded due to the difficulty and cost of producing a prototype of a new device, a 3D printer lets that person create a working prototype in his or her own home for a much lower cost. Dr. Terrell said the college can hold workshops for entrepreneurs and allow them to create their own inventions, and middle and high school students can watch their ideas brought to life. An everyday user could recreate a vintage automobile part from a digital file.
Scott said Hardy Telecommunications wanted to donate the printer to the college to advance that upcoming group of inventors and small businesspeople. Because Hardy is building a fiber-to-the-home network throughout Hardy County, residents will have the Internet speeds capable of transporting large digital data files necessary for 3D printing.
“It fosters learning when you have this capability,” he said.
Mr. Kapp agreed.
“We can go ahead and print something that the students can really appreciate. There’s no doubt when they’re able to see it, it really helps spur that creativity,” he said.