Makerspace: 3D Printing

• Open to all TCTC students, faculty, and staff.
• Please be considerate of the shared space, including but not limited to cleaning up when you're done.
• Feel free to suggest additions to the collection!  
• Drop-ins are more than welcome, but we recommend scheduling a brief appointment to best serve you.
  • Appointments are great for some of our high tech equipment:  Electronic Cutting and Drawing Machine (All Campuses), Poster Printer (Pendleton), and 3D Printers (Pendleton).   

All Campus Makerspaces have:

• An electronic cutting and drawing machine
• A buttonmaker 
• A laminator
• Various "low-tech" project supports and supplies

Flashforge Creator Pro 3D Printer (Pendleton)

Yes, we have 3D printers! Our Flashforge Creator Pro prints PLA filament and print two colors at a time! 

Learn more about how current TCTC students, faculty, and staff can use the 3D printers.

VEVOR Buttonmakers, 2 sizes

These two buttonmakers are great for making giveaways and promotional swag for your event or organization. Print out your designs, cut them out, and use our kits with everything you need to make pinback decorations for your backpack or lanyard, or wearable statements! We have two machines: the bigger one makes pins that are 75mm wide, and the smaller one makes pins that are 37mm wide.

COMING SOON
Instax X3 360 Camera

The Insta360 X3 360° Camera is capable of capturing high definition 360° and single-lens video with one portable action camera.

360° cameras are one of the easiest ways to create immersive experiences! Test out a 360° camera for your next class project.

COMING SOON
CR-Scan Ferret 

The ultra light-weight scanner is paired with the Creality Scan App (available on the Makerspace Computer). It scans 3D objects by stitching together a full set of snapshots to create a 3D model that can be converted to a 3D print file.  Use the 3D scanner to aid in the design process, reverse engineer a project, or replicate a cherished object, or create personalized medical treatment solutions. The possibilities are infinite.

Cricut Explore Air 2

A Cricut cutter cuts complex shapes and designs out of paper and vinyl. It does this mechanically and so can cut the same design over and over, and do it quickly, so you can make batches of identical, complicated cutouts in a shorter span of time, instead of having to cut a design out by hand over and over, which would be a lot slower, be more likely to results in mistakes...and hurt your hand! Cricut maintains a blog with inspiration for projects to try; our machine cuts paper and vinyl, so you can make complex paper cutout designs, customize your water bottle, make one-of-a-kind T-shirts, hats, and tote bags, print and design paper decorations and handouts...whatever you can imagine!

Padcaster Studio with iPad

The Padcaster Studio is designed for when you need a portable and rugged kit for recording and broadcasting.

Canon imagePROGRAF iPF610 Poster Printer

Print a poster or banner up to 24 inches wide for your presentation, campus event, or classroom! This full-color printer prints images and text on paper up to 59 feet long and can have your designs sent to it via the dedicated workstation in the Makerspace.

Instructions below:

Heat Press Machine 10" x 10"

The Heat Press in the Makerspace is great for creative projects and student clubs and organizations. This easy heat press machine can be used for heat transfer vinyl and sublimation projects.  Make a customizable t-shirt, tote, or design with the Cricut, Heat Press, and Heat Transfer Vinyl available for free in the Makerspace.

Xyron 2500 Heatless Laminator Press

This laminator works without heating the plastic to dangerous temperatures, and creates a film up to 25 inches wide--that's right, you can laminate the posters you make on the poster printer!

Wacom One Drawing Tablet

This device will enable you to add hand-drawn images, animations, and graphics to design software. Head over to the Makerspace Computer at Pendleton to test out this device.  

These Japanese-style abacuses can be used to learn mental math, which can improve concentration, mathematical ability, and cognitive function, and enable stunning feats of computation...ever heard of a soroban competition?

Print Area 

Single & Dual Extrusion: 8.9 inches(227mm) x 5.8 inches(148mm) x 5.9 inches(150mm)

Filament

The Makerspace provides a variety of Polylactic Acid (PLA) filaments.  PLA filament is a non-toxic, bio-based industrial thermoplastic that is 100% biodegradable. The 3D Printers can print two colors at time.  

Colors Available:

Who can use the 3D Printer? 

In the spirit of making, Tri-County Technical College students, faculty, and staff are welcome and encouraged to learn how to operate the 3D Printing equipment after a safety & training consultation.  To get started with 3D printing, schedule a consultation. 

Printing is completed on a first-come-first-served basis, however, 3D models being printed for coursework take priority over other printing projects.

Safety 

• All operators must attend a safety & training consultation prior to using the 3D printers. 
• Your safety is our priority.   Notify staff immediately with any safety questions or concerns.  
• 3D printers have motorized and heated parts. With that in mind, here are some guidelines to stay safe:
  • Do not directly touch the print bed or hot end nozzle while in use or up to 20 minutes after use.  The print bed and hot end nozzle are heated to over 400°F and can cause burns if directly touched.  
  • Do not hover over the machine while it is running to avoid direct contact with potential particle emissions.  
  • Secure long hair, clothing, or jewelry that could potentially get caught in the moving parts of the printer.
  • Mind your fingers!  When the printer is running, ensure your fingers are not near any moving parts!
  • Keep acetone, rubbing alcohol, and other chemics that may release flammable particles away from the printers while they're in use and on.   

Terms of Use & Copyright

• Current Tri-County Technical College students, staff, and faculty are encouraged to operate the 3D Printers after Consultation.
• All Tri-County Technical College Learning Commons patrons must respect the health and safety of the Tri-County Technical College community and abide by all applicable laws, College policies, and College weapons policies.
• Tri-County Technical College abides by the copyright laws of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code). These laws govern photocopying or creating other reproductions of copyrighted materials. All users of the TCTC Learning Commons 3D printers must abide by copyright laws.
• Tri-County Technical College Faculty and Staff reserve the right to deny any print request for any reason.
• 3D Print Requests for Tri-County Technical College coursework will take priority over personal printing projects.  
• 3D Prints may contain slight imperfections. Tri-County Technical College staff are not responsible for removing supports, rafts, and cleaning completed prints, but we will guide you on 

Cost

Currently, there is no cost to Tri-County Technical College students, staff, or faculty for 3D printing services in the Learning Commons.    

Quality Control

3D Printers are very accurate, however, objects with multiple pieces or moveable parts may not be fully operable. Slight imperfections may occur such as small bumps, holes, or rough edges.  Additionally, certain 3D prints will require supports and rafts.  The user can easily remove supports and rafts.  Learning Commons staff will not remove supports and/or rafts, but the Learning Commons does provide filing tools to remove supports and/or rafts.  

If a misprint occurs in the initial print, Learning Commons staff will reprint the 3D print request.  If an error occurs again, Learning Commons staff will recommend suggestions and/or edits to the print.

Contact

For questions, please contact Jaclyn O'Rorke, Creative Technologies Librarian.