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University of Nevada, Reno library first in nation to offer 3D printing campuswide

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The DeLaMare Science and Engineering Library at the University of Nevada, Reno is the first academic library in the United States to make the leap to offer 3D printing and scanning as a library service to all students, enabling students in a multitude of disciplines to make plastic 3D models from a computer drawing for their research and studies.

“We’ve brought the technology out of the lab and into access for all students,” Tod Colegrove, director of the DeLaMare library, said. “It’s a first for university’s around the country where the machines are typically part of a specialized program or research lab.” .

Using specialized software, the machine can build a three-dimensional, real world plastic model from a computerized drawing of an object. It can be as simple as a box or as complex as a protein chain from a theoretical model. The model can be inspected, modifications can be made in the drawing and another prototype printed.

“3D printers are typically purchased by a faculty member with grant funds in support of a particular research project, and installed in isolated departmental locations,” Colegrove said. “Printers remain largely inaccessible to students and faculty outside of a select few. We’ve changed that.”

“In the arts, sciences and engineering, breakthroughs in learning or research often require going beyond pencil and paper,” he said. “With technology and a supportive environment, it becomes possible to breathe life into ideas – in the library. We have a waiting list for projects, which can take anywhere from 40 minutes to 40 hours, depending on the complexity.

“Our first job – a rotor for an impeller pump being prototyped by a team of senior engineering students – came in literally as we were pulling the printer out of the box. The machines haven’t stopped running since.”

University students are using the 3D printing service to “print” custom parts for student-designed robots and hovercraft, fine art sculpture, chemical models, lattice structures, a moving parts engine block and more. The potential for prototyping models and experimental apparatus in support of ongoing research has become a reality for many students who lacked access or the funds to send the project out to a commercial 3D print company.

“This service leverages library access with an incredible new opportunity for student engagement,” Colegrove said. “It takes the library’s support of the learning and research missions of the University to a new level – beyond simple information exchange and consumption into knowledge-driven creation.”

Editors note: The media is invited to view the 3D printers in action from 10 a.m. to noon on Thursday, July 19, in the DeLa Mare library, downstairs in the Mackay Mines building at the north end of the Quad.

Nevada’s land-grant university founded in 1874, the University of Nevada, Reno has an enrollment of 18,000 students and is ranked in the top tier of the nation’s best universities. Part of the Nevada System of Higher Education, the University has the system’s largest research program and is home to the state’s medical school. With outreach and education programs in all Nevada counties and with one of the nation’s largest study-abroad consortiums, the University extends across the state and around the world. For more information, visit www.unr.edu.

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