Yes, That Is a Jerky Maker in Our 3D Printing Lab

And, no, we’re not using it to turn our Thanksgiving leftovers into turkey jerky. The food dehyrdrator is part of our low-tech solution to a common 3D printing problem – brittle filament.

If you’ve been working with FDM (fused deposition modeling) printers, you’ve probably discovered to your dismay that filament absorbs moisture from the air. If you leave it exposed for too long, the plastic breaks easily – leading to print failures, rough surfaces and even clogged print heads. 

It seems counterintuitive that water can make a material less flexible; especially plastic, which we think of as being moisture-resistant. But most 3D printing filaments are made with some type of polymer. Water molecules break polymer chains, weakening the material’s structure. MatterHackers.com has a good explanation of the science behind this process, called hydrolysis. 

The type of filament we use most at our 3D ThinkLink class sites and in our lab is PLA (Polylactic Acid) a biodegradable polymer made from plants such as corn. It’s safer than another commonly used type of filament, ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene), because it doesn’t emit potentially dangerous fumes when it melts in the 3D printer’s hot end. PLA absorbs water faster than ABS. Moisture is an even bigger problem with two other kinds of filament we sometimes use – nylon and 3D Systems’ Infinity water-soluble support material.

Tiny pockets of water will turn to steam when the filament is extruded through the printer’s hot end, leaving pits in what should be smooth surfaces of printed objects. Moisture can also make filament swell up, causing a clog that could ruin your machine’s print head. 

We’ve learned through trial and error that it’s not enough to store filament in an airtight container, although that’s also part of the solution. When you encounter a moisture-related problem, you have to actively dry the filament. That’s where our jerky maker comes in.

3D printing enthusiasts have devised all sorts of methods for drying filament. We’ve found that using a home food dehydrator is a safe, simple, affordable way to make troublesome filament usable again.

We use a Nesco FD-61, which is widely available for well under $100 online and at most big-box stores, but any similar machine will do. Make sure it’s large enough to accommodate the filament spools you use. 

Screen removed from tray to make spacer

We had to cut away the screen portion of a few trays to create spaces between levels deep enough for large spools like this one.

Filament spool ready for drying

Dry the filament at a temperature of 140 degrees Fahrenheit for 4 to 6 hours, then run a test print to make sure you’re satisfied with the quality. 

You can do the same thing if you have a convection oven, which constantly circulates hot air just like the dehydrator. But you have to keep a close watch on the temperature to make sure you don’t melt the plastic. 

Cube 2 filament cartridge opened

If you use filament cartridges such as the ones for the Cube 2 printer, it's best to remove the spool for drying to avoid possible heat damage to the plastic case. Carefully press each tab around the edge of the cartridge and pull apart the two halves of the shell, then take out the cardboard spool and put it in the dehydrator. After drying, reassemble the cartridge, making sure the tiny verification chip in the base of the case remains in place and the filament is threaded correctly through the guides behind the exit hole so that it moves freely. 

Once you’ve removed all that annoying moisture, make sure your filament stays dry by storing it in an airtight container with a desiccant pack. Again, you’ll find many creative filament storage inventions online. We have dozens of cartridges and spools in the 3D ThinkLink Creativity Lab, so we like to use five-gallon plastic buckets with 12-inch screw-top lids. You can find them in the paint section of any major home improvement supply store. They stack easily and have plenty of room for filament cartridges and desiccant.

Storage bucket with screw-top lid and rechargeable desiccant block

Now that our filament is dry and safe in the sealed buckets, maybe we will use the dehydrator to make some jerky after all. Anyone have a good recipe?

3D ThinkLink Helps At-Risk Youth Redefine Failure

Failure is not final. We never fail to emphasize that message in our 3D ThinkLink classes. 

A favorite motivational poster in our 3D ThinkLink Creativity Lab features a picture of Yoda with this quote: “You want to know the difference between a master and a beginner? The master has failed more times than the beginner has ever tried.”

In fact, that’s not a line from a Star Wars movie, even though it sure sounds like something Yoda might say. 

But what about “Failure is not an option”? Apollo 13 Flight Director Gene Kranz never said that, either. A screenwriter for the Ron Howard movie came up with the line, but Kranz thought it captured the spirit of NASA’s Mission Control Center so well that he used it as the title of his autobiography. 

What Kranz did tell his team as they scrambled to save the astronauts aboard the crippled spacecraft was: “This crew is coming home … And we must make it happen.” And they did – but not without overcoming plenty of obstacles along the way. They didn’t let failures keep them from ultimately achieving success. 

Fast-forward to the era of private spaceflight. SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who recently watched one of his Falcon 9 rockets explode on the launch pad, has declared: "Failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough."

In fact, 15Five CEO David Hassell contends that for today’s entrepreneurs, failure is not an option – it’s required. 

These varied views of failure can be difficult to reconcile for the young people we serve. Most of them have experienced a great deal of failure in school and at home. It’s no wonder that they’ve learned to fear failure and to give up when they make mistakes. 

Our 3D ThinkLink Initiative is designed to help at-risk kids redefine failure. We’ve seen how learning 3D design and printing gives them the opportunity to work through problems by trial and error without worrying about flunking a test or being punished. Nobody’s 3D project turn out right the first time. But the inevitable mistakes are always instructive, and sometimes even beautiful. 

Students in 3D ThinkLink Creativity Lab

With the CAD software and user-friendly printers we provide for 3D ThinkLink classes along with hands-on help from highly engaged teachers in the classrooms, our students can easily evaluate failures, improve their designs and print again until they’re satisfied with the results. 

The key is for students to develop the confidence to keep trying in the face of failures, knowing that each mistake can lead to improvement. That’s a profoundly different way of thinking for most at-risk youth.  
   
Bob Lenz, Executive Director of the Buck Institute for Education, explained on the Edutopia blog what he means when he says failure is essential to learning.

I'm not talking about dead-end failure, the kind that results in loss of opportunity, regression, or stagnation. Instead, we see failure as an opportunity for students to receive feedback on their strengths as well as their areas of improvement -- all for the purpose of getting better. When reframed as a good, constructive, and essential part of learning, failure is a master teacher.

How do you make failure students' friend? Set a high standard and don't be afraid to tell students that they haven't met it. But in the next breath, give detailed suggestions on what they can do to improve. And, most important -- though so often given short shrift -- allow students the time, space, and support to make the revisions. In such a culture, failure does not mean, "You lose." It means, "You can do better. We believe in you. Here is some feedback: revise, and try again."

That’s why our 3D ThinkLink curriculum includes lots of design lab sessions. Students need time to go through the process of incremental improvement so they can internalize the larger lesson about failure.

3DThinkLink class at the PHILLIPS School

We know it works because of the results we’ve seen. For instance, here’s what a student from our first class for teens with autism at the PHILLIPS School in Annandale, Virginia, told us: 
  
“What I liked about the 3D program was that it taught me that I could innovate. It’s teaching me ‘don’t give up on your design.’ … Like when you lose your data, you can always get it back – just keep going. I am using this now, every day. It is OK to lose data because you can always do it again. It helped me tolerate the loss – to start again, to start over.”

We hear the same thing from other organizations that offer 3D printing programs for at-risk youth. The McCarthy-Dressman Foundation and ChickTech recently provided workshops in app development and 3D printing at Helensview Alternative High School in Portland, Oregon, to help students gain confidence and learn from failures. Surveys done before and after the classes showed a 22 percent increase in students reporting “I can work through problems.”

The PHILLIPS School’s evaluation report included this teacher’s account of the change he saw one student undergo during our pilot project. 

“During the 3rd session, the student suddenly ran back into the classroom, buried his head on the desk and shut down. He would not talk to me. He has a habit of never revealing or identifying the problem. I talked to the 3D Design Teacher who said the student got frustrated trying to create something. Then, during one of the final 3D classes, I was observing the class and this student had stopped working on the project and was doing other things on the computer. When the 3D Design Teacher went to him, the student showed him the project, identified the problem and together they problem solved. The student was able to finish and print his design – this is a major change. I have seen it in other areas as well. The student does not shut down as often.”

The final quotation on this subject comes from a time long before Elon Musk, Gene Kranz and Yoda. “My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure,” said Abraham Lincoln. 

It is life-changing when students learn how to use their failures to pave the way to success.

Understanding Additive Manufacturing Is a Plus for 3D ThinkLink Students

YouthQuest’s 3D ThinkLink training gives at-risk teens an advantage in the tech-driven job market where demand for 3D design and printing skills is growing fast.

Our students from Maryland’s Freestate, DC’s Capital Guardian and South Carolina Youth ChalleNGe Academies learned about the additive manufacturing techniques, such as 3D printing, and traditional subtractive manufacturing during last month’s Vocational Orientation field trips. 

In this video, Bill Nye the Science Guy explains why additive manufacturing is the way of the future.




3D Systems Director of Corporate Communications Tim Miller told the students who toured the company’s headquarters in Rock Hill, South Carolina, that demand for workers who understand 3D printing is skyrocketing. Job listings for positions requiring 3D printing skills jumped more than 1,800 percent from 2010 to 2014, according to Wanted Analytics. 

Tim Miller leads a Vocational Orientation
tour of 3D Systems

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers also reported:
… knowing how to use a 3D printer has become an in-demand job skill. A recent report from data company Wanted Analytics found that in one month 35 percent of engineering job listings from a variety of fields, including biomedical, software, and transportation industries, required applicants familiar with 3D printing and its additive manufacturing processes. The same report found that companies are having a difficult time finding candidates with the right skills.

Fortunately for our students, many of these jobs do not require a 4-year college degree, as noted in the Potomac Laser blog:
Interestingly, the new tools being implemented are often automated and the workers who run them do not need advanced degrees. These operators who have an underlying STEM-based skillset can enter the workforce with a high school diploma or associate’s degree at a pay scale averaging 61 percent higher than workers in non-STEM jobs with similar education. 

Students explore additive and subtractive
manufacturing at The Foundery in Baltimore

As our students discovered during their Vocational Orientation visits to businesses and universities, additive and subtractive manufacturing methods are often used in combination. For instance, 3D printing may be used in developing prototypes of a finished product that will be mass-produced through traditional manufacturing techniques. 

CAD (Computer Aided Design) software is used in both types of manufacturing. Our students learn Moment of Inspiration, a professional-level CAD program, so they understand the concept of giving computer-controlled manufacturing devices the instructions to create objects, whether they’re 3D printers or subtractive CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machines. 

In addition to technical skills, the 3D ThinkLink Initiative gives students an advantage by emphasizing the development of critical thinking and problem solving skills. Research by PayScale ranked those at the top of the list of skills hiring managers say are lacking in recent graduates.