3DPrinterOSA makerspace open to the whole campus
The McDonough Makerspace occupies the first floor of WPI’s Innovation Studio, with the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center above it. It offers hand tools, CNC routers, laser cutters, a PCB machine, a desktop water jet and, at its heart, 27 3D printers. Anyone in the campus community who completes basic training can use them, for academic, research, personal or entrepreneurial projects.
Approximately 1,500 to 1,800 unique users visit each year. Most are mechanical and robotics engineering students, but game development, humanities, art, architectural, civil and chemical engineering, chemical physics and more take part too. WPI needed equitable access with oversight of who prints what, and it wanted the space to stay educational rather than become a print service.
One queue, trained users and a secure network
Since the makerspace opened in fall 2018, WPI has managed all of its 3D printers through the 3DPrinterOS queue, letting students queue their parts to a virtual printer. Students who complete optional in-person training can reserve printers and take full accountability for their parts, including changing materials and colors.
All printers sit on a subnet to protect internal security and IP addresses. The subnet can only be accessed from one dedicated computer logged in as the person in charge, so students cannot reach the IP addresses of computers or printers from outside the software. Eight printers are dedicated to advanced users and can be reserved up to a week in advance, which helps when a part is needed urgently.
Equitable access, and a good problem to have
WPI’s use of 3DPrinterOS provides equitable access to its printers while keeping oversight and control over the printing process, and students learn to take full accountability for the success of their parts.
Demand keeps growing. Advanced technology and prototyping specialist Mitra Anand and director of innovation studio operations Adam Sears planned a second prototyping lab in a new building across campus, adding more than 30 Prusa Mini and Prusa MK3S+ printers, panel saws, laser cutters, soldering stations and a paint booth.
