When engineering students start college, the high cost of proprietary
tools can be a barrier to making their dreams become a reality. Recent
advances in free and open source 3D printing have lowered rapid
prototyping costs, making it accessible to everyone. The software
industry already knows the force of open source, so now it's time to
start teaching free and open source hardware to all engineers.
Last fall, Michigan Tech offered a new course: Open Source 3D
Printing. Students pay an additional $500 course fee for the components
and tools necessary to build their own
MOST Delta RepRap 3D printer,
which they then use for the course. At the end of the semester, each
student keeps the printer they built and modified. The 50 seats for the
class filled immediately.
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