The Rochester Hills Public Library (RHPL) has acquired a 3-D scanner for its Eureka Lab/Makerspace, which contains a variety of equipment and resources for making unique items. Patrons of RHPL can scan 3-D designs and recreate them on one of two 3-D printers available at the library. The scanner assists in getting a design’s exact measurements that are then sent to the printer.
The Rochester Hills Public Library Acquires 3-D Scanner
3-D printing is the process of creating a physical object from a digital model. It is also known as additive manufacturing because the physical model is built one layer at a time from the bottom up. Currently, the library owns a LulzBot Taz 6 printer and a LulzBot Mini printer. Both printers can print in a variety of mediums, including wood, polyester, bronze, copper, polycarbonate, nylon, and more.
Through its makerspace and other resourceful programs, the Rochester Hills Public Library is actively building a community environment that nurtures creativity while stimulating and supporting learning and innovation.
“One purpose of this technology is for patrons to fix objects or recreate objects that are broken or not produced anymore,” said Tierney Czartoski, makerspace specialist for the Rochester Hills Public Library. “There are many other ways to use this technology, such as creating models or markups of products. Additionally, this machine is particularly special because not many library makerspaces have this technology and it’s a great addition to our library’s resources.”
3-D prints typically cost $.20 per gram. Users will also incur a fee of $.50 per hour beginning at four hours.
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