"When prospective students strolled by the chess set in the hallway during Cabrini High School’s annual Open House, most assumed it was a display set up by the Game Club. When a student in the school’s Engineering class explained that in fact the chess pieces were designed and printed by students as part of an Engineering project, the youngsters and their parents were excited and amazed.
The project, part of the CAD/CAM unit in the Engineering class, involved students first modeling each of the pieces using 3D modeling software called Sketchup. Each model was tested for its “solid” characteristics, and evaluated for it’s aesthetic appeal. At least one piece from every student was then printed using 3D Hubs. In this case, the printing was performed by DesignBox3D in Sandusky, OH.
The entire project from start to finish took less than 2 weeks, but the excitement generated by these students “creations” lives on. One exchange that stuck with me was with a student who was initially unimpressed by the Chess pieces until he learned that each piece had been 3D printed, sanded and painted." Steve Femminineo
In conversations with Steve Femminineo, teacher of the Cabrini High Engineering class, I learned that the students were not only learning the principles of design in Sketchup, but are also going to be gaining an even greater understanding of the inner workings of 3D printers. An upcoming project is going to involve the assembly of a RepRap kit and a class visit to the offices of a company that specializing in design, prototyping and 3D printing metal parts.
Many schools currently face lack of adequate funding and it is encouraging to see resourceful teachers like Steve Femminineo that still manage to impart new skill-sets to their students through the use of services provided by companies like ours and all enabled by the 3D Hubs platform. Given the rate at which companies are embracing additive manufacturing, it is critical that teachers like Steve are made aware of 3D Hubs so that they can equip their students to compete in the new “normal” work environment where design skills and an understanding of 3D printing will be critical.
What Sketchup and AutoDesk are doing with their design software (offering free access for students) combined with the 3D Hubs platform and companies like DesignBox3D, represents a winning formula to push awareness of the benefits of additive manufacturing into the mainstream.
Many thanks to Nikki Finnemore of the 3DHubs team 
Preet Jesrani,
President and Founder
DesignBox3D - The home of 3D Printers that work!
