Providing physical models for a variety of applications quickly and inexpensively, rapid prototyping has become a go-to solution for a wide range of industries.
Last summer, Wentworth students from the Industrial Design and Mechanical Engineering and Technology departments worked together to sharpen their skills in this emerging field.
Professors Simon Williamson (Industrial Design) and Peter Rourke (Mechanical Engineering and Technology) partnered to co-teach a collaborative rapid prototyping course for the first time.
For their final project, students were challenged to design and build a visually unique mechanical creature using CAD (computer-aided design) software and 3D printers in the Manufacturing Center. Both 3D prototypes and 2D renderings of the creatures were displayed in the library as part of a public exhibit in August.
“This class proved valuable because it was representative of the relationship we will have with engineers as we enter the work force,” said Ben Hines, BIND ’14. “There was also value in facing the reality of how our designs will be produced. Working alongside engineers, we were able to problem-solve and optimize each manufacturing process for our final product.”
–Caleb Cochran
