We've done it! 2.5 months later than anticipated, but our 3D printing team of 16 staff members was able to get the on-demand 3D printer certification completed!
We finished reviewing the certification content at the beginning of May. I worked with our Communications and Marketing Department to put together a public page for the Library's website. That had to go through the printing team for feedback as well.
By some miracle, it all came together and we have a beautiful landing page for our Maker Tools (that can be expanded as we work on getting more equipment accessible to the public):
https://www.fvrl.org/maker-tools
In my research for this project, I found that we are one of only a few libraries offering an on-demand certification. I am excited to see how it works out and evolves to meet our branch and community needs.
I am excited to take a break from 3D printing while I work my way through the Summer STEM program. BUT, I've already sent out a survey to our printing team so that we can get a meeting on the schedule at the end of August to check in on how this process is going and how the 3D printers are working out at the branches.
I am also turning my attention to creating an introduction for the downtown branch's Cricut Explore Air 2.
Friday, May 24, 2019
Thursday, May 9, 2019
A Very Minor Disassembly on Your Tool Head
Our Library District recently purchased a Lulzbot Mini 2. I started working with it in March and just recently got it back from a branch. It seems to have survived its first adventure!
I am still learning about the Mini 2, which really needs a name, and trying to use up old filament printing some components for maker programs. I started printing some examples for an upcoming Repair Cafe at one of our branches to demonstrate something useful made with the printer. I found this watch band that I think would be awesome as I currently have a watch without a band! And, of course, why not use super glittery Proto-Pasta filament? The watch band actually printed out pretty smoothly, but the links fused together at the bottom and I snapped it apart. 😒
But! Before I could try again, the filament got jammed into the Mini 2 tool head... again! This has now happened every time I take the printer out to print something. I followed all the steps that helped me release the filament from the tool head the last few times this happened, but this time the filament just snapped off right at the idler...
I have been eyeing the screws on the side of the fan, thinking, I could take this apart. I could probably get that filament out of there and maybe put all this back together...
But the printer is new, so I sent an email to Lulzbot with a picture asking for their advice. Their reply:
I'm sorry to hear that you are experiencing this issue with your tool head. In this case, I would recommend doing a very minor disassembly on your tool head to try and get the filament out of the tool head. To do that, you can follow the steps on this link here: https://ohai.lulzbot.com/
Greenlight to tinker! Whoooo!
I found this video from IT-Works 3D extremely helpful during my adventure:
I may have watched it...a lot.
The process of getting the tool head dismantled was relatively simple. It only takes one hex key, and Lulzbot sent me a set with the printer! The trickiest part was getting all the wires disconnected. Then the thing basically exploded apart...easy...
When I got to the filament, I had a nice long strand to grip and pull...and it snapped off at the top of the hot end. FML.
So, how do I get the last little bit of filament out of the hot end...? I've used a hair dryer to heat up PLA before. What did Program Services have that I could use to heat up the filament and/or metal to get the filament soft enough to pull out? I found a metal pointy stick and got some very hot water. I slowly, meticulously, started poking at the leftover filament to get it malleable enough to grab and pull out with the pointy end. This was not going well...
Then I turned around and saw a bunch of soldering irons still sitting at my desk from Outreach in April...
The soldering iron worked great...almost too good. It sort of liquified the PLA (gotta love that burning plastic smell) and I was able to scrape it all out. Yay! Mission Accomplished!
I re-assembled the tool head, only having a minor hiccup when I couldn't figure out how to run the wires so it wouldn't get tangled in anything...and remembering to plug the heater block back in.
I was super amazed that the printer turned on when it was all re-assembled!
But then the printer started making a terrible hissing sound and filament wouldn't load! I think the hissing sound was just leftover remnants of a filament burning off, but without new filament to push out whatever was left of the old filament, I couldn't do much about it. So, I stopped working on it for the day and decided to take a fresh look at it the next day.
I was hoping when I came in the next day, I'd get things wiggled around enough to get the filament to load into the hot end, but no such luck. So, I took the tool head apart again to get the filament guide set correctly. And this is when the real nightmare began!
The filament guide is a loose piece of a plastic tube that sits just below where the hob gear and idler meet. It guides the filament so it runs right into the hot end. Cool, cool cool. The 1.75 tool head apparently has a nice rigid guide that you can put in the hot end, the filament guide, and up through the idler so everything stays aligned when you reassemble it. Not so for the 3mm tool head on the Lulzbot Mini. 😠It is an intricate dance of keeping the filament guide in place while keeping the hob gear and idler aligned and shoving the heat block in place.
Ultimately, I got everything lined up with filament fed into all the pieces, used the screws to keep everything in place while I removed the filament, then plopped on the heat block and screwed it all back together. This really doesn't do justice to the 3 hours I fiddled to get everything lined up at the same time. 😂
I found this really cool document of the complete build of an E3 Titan Aero tool head. Apparently, building one from scratch only takes ~1 hour. Troubleshooting one took me ~8 hours. But I'm getting faster! If we have issues with the Version1, I feel very confident in tearing it apart!
Right now I'm printing an EEZYbotARM as a demo for our summer reading program (we'll be making robotic arms from cardboard based on this model) and some SMARS robots as a future Arduino program.
Also, we named the Mini2: 2Legit2Print
I am still learning about the Mini 2, which really needs a name, and trying to use up old filament printing some components for maker programs. I started printing some examples for an upcoming Repair Cafe at one of our branches to demonstrate something useful made with the printer. I found this watch band that I think would be awesome as I currently have a watch without a band! And, of course, why not use super glittery Proto-Pasta filament? The watch band actually printed out pretty smoothly, but the links fused together at the bottom and I snapped it apart. 😒
But! Before I could try again, the filament got jammed into the Mini 2 tool head... again! This has now happened every time I take the printer out to print something. I followed all the steps that helped me release the filament from the tool head the last few times this happened, but this time the filament just snapped off right at the idler...
I have been eyeing the screws on the side of the fan, thinking, I could take this apart. I could probably get that filament out of there and maybe put all this back together...
But the printer is new, so I sent an email to Lulzbot with a picture asking for their advice. Their reply:
I'm sorry to hear that you are experiencing this issue with your tool head. In this case, I would recommend doing a very minor disassembly on your tool head to try and get the filament out of the tool head. To do that, you can follow the steps on this link here: https://ohai.lulzbot.com/
Greenlight to tinker! Whoooo!
I found this video from IT-Works 3D extremely helpful during my adventure:
I may have watched it...a lot.
The process of getting the tool head dismantled was relatively simple. It only takes one hex key, and Lulzbot sent me a set with the printer! The trickiest part was getting all the wires disconnected. Then the thing basically exploded apart...easy...
When I got to the filament, I had a nice long strand to grip and pull...and it snapped off at the top of the hot end. FML.
So, how do I get the last little bit of filament out of the hot end...? I've used a hair dryer to heat up PLA before. What did Program Services have that I could use to heat up the filament and/or metal to get the filament soft enough to pull out? I found a metal pointy stick and got some very hot water. I slowly, meticulously, started poking at the leftover filament to get it malleable enough to grab and pull out with the pointy end. This was not going well...
Then I turned around and saw a bunch of soldering irons still sitting at my desk from Outreach in April...
The soldering iron worked great...almost too good. It sort of liquified the PLA (gotta love that burning plastic smell) and I was able to scrape it all out. Yay! Mission Accomplished!
I re-assembled the tool head, only having a minor hiccup when I couldn't figure out how to run the wires so it wouldn't get tangled in anything...and remembering to plug the heater block back in.
I was super amazed that the printer turned on when it was all re-assembled!
But then the printer started making a terrible hissing sound and filament wouldn't load! I think the hissing sound was just leftover remnants of a filament burning off, but without new filament to push out whatever was left of the old filament, I couldn't do much about it. So, I stopped working on it for the day and decided to take a fresh look at it the next day.
I was hoping when I came in the next day, I'd get things wiggled around enough to get the filament to load into the hot end, but no such luck. So, I took the tool head apart again to get the filament guide set correctly. And this is when the real nightmare began!
The filament guide is a loose piece of a plastic tube that sits just below where the hob gear and idler meet. It guides the filament so it runs right into the hot end. Cool, cool cool. The 1.75 tool head apparently has a nice rigid guide that you can put in the hot end, the filament guide, and up through the idler so everything stays aligned when you reassemble it. Not so for the 3mm tool head on the Lulzbot Mini. 😠It is an intricate dance of keeping the filament guide in place while keeping the hob gear and idler aligned and shoving the heat block in place.
Ultimately, I got everything lined up with filament fed into all the pieces, used the screws to keep everything in place while I removed the filament, then plopped on the heat block and screwed it all back together. This really doesn't do justice to the 3 hours I fiddled to get everything lined up at the same time. 😂
I found this really cool document of the complete build of an E3 Titan Aero tool head. Apparently, building one from scratch only takes ~1 hour. Troubleshooting one took me ~8 hours. But I'm getting faster! If we have issues with the Version1, I feel very confident in tearing it apart!
Right now I'm printing an EEZYbotARM as a demo for our summer reading program (we'll be making robotic arms from cardboard based on this model) and some SMARS robots as a future Arduino program.
Also, we named the Mini2: 2Legit2Print
Thursday, May 2, 2019
April 2019 Experiential Learning Round-Up!
Teen Tech VR wrapped up. We completed our Game Design for Virtual Reality program for teens at all the branches. BG opted out due to refresh. VA (6), TC (4). Our total attendance for the 11 branch programs= 80 teens.
I presented in 3 sessions at OLA-WLA Annual Conference
I also attended the State Library’s Leap Into Science training. We cannot train other staff members but can enlist staff help to run these workshops. FVRL took 2 program kits and have agreed to lead 6 Leap Into Science: Wind activities in the next year. I anticipate offering this workshop at the Gorge branches as they do not have any trained staff in this curriculum.
We tried out our new Create-a-Chain-Reaction kit, a Program Services STEM kit aimed at kids ages 3-6, at VA’s Explore program. Our SLA facilitated open-ended activity. Parents and their children, ages 3-6, were able to create several unique structures and demonstrated several skills in the design process. The group was engaged for the full program time and Our SLA was impressed with the quick mastery and continued the challenge of the kit materials. Several branches reserved the Create-a-Chain-Rection kit after I sent an email to branch librarians and YS staff announcing the new kit and providing a video on how the kit works.
I found out our Spheros needed a firmware update. I also took the time to create a video after I figured out everything that was wrong with them/what I was doing wrong while trying to use them 😌
We also got a few extra Code-a-Pillar heads to bulk out our kit, so I put together a video for them as well. Probably my favorite coding toy <3
I will continue to create videos to post to the Source page for the Program Services STEM kits that give staff a preview of what they are reserving and/or basic troubleshooting tips. I will also try to send out quarterly emails to staff about the STEM kits to continue driving interest and feedback on needed kits.
District Partnerships
Communications and Marketing created a draft of the public-facing 3D Printing page for the library website. We are calling this page “Maker Tools” to also include information on VA’s sewing machine.
I have finished the 3D printer certification training, incorporating all the feedback received from 3D Printing staff. The training is organized in Niche Academy, but the videos are linked through Youtube to utilize the CC functionality in Youtube (per patron’s request). The certification is ready to go live to the public as soon as staff are finished reviewing the 3D Printing page. Per staff request, I updated the 3D printing page on the Source with information on the contacts for each 3D printing branch as well as certification documentation and FAQ. I sent information directly to the 3D printing branches on the upcoming certification. I also identified Tele-Info and LibAnswers librarians as a group who will likely field a lot of questions, so I sent information to them as well. I will send an email to all staff when the 3D printing page is live on the website.
I led another 3D Printer staff training for BG staff during their closure. We trained 10 more staff members, including a few more from VA to create their own 3D models, use Thingiverse to learn more about printing with support and platform adhesion, and basic 3D printer troubleshooting.
The All Staff Day committee continues to plan for the September training. We have secured our keynote speaker and will soon have food and sessions locked down. Our plan is to not meet as a committee in June/July as committee members have a lot of commitments for Summer Reading.
Community Partnerships/Outreach
We participated in York Elementary’s first STEM Night (60 attendees). Participants K-5th grade and their caregivers chose 2 sessions to attend. The Library’s session offered circuit blocks and Edison robots. The Edison robots were acting up, so I spend April testing and troubleshooting. I found a firmware update for them and they seem to be working again.
We participated in Frontier Middle School’s STEM Night (500 attendees). Participants 6th-8th grade and their caregivers were able to interact with each station. The school requested we provide a soldering station. The school provided motors and LEDs and we taught participants how to solder the LED to the motor, then use the motor to generate energy to light up the LED.
I participated as a subject expert on the interview panel for Hillsboro Public Library’s first Collaboratory Coordinator. Hillsboro created this coordinator position to oversee the expansion of their makerspace (sewing, vinyl cutting, 3D printing, miscellaneous maker activities) at the Brookwood branch and the creation of their digital lab (green screen, podcasting, digital art) at the Shute Park branch.
I presented in 3 sessions at OLA-WLA Annual Conference
I also attended the State Library’s Leap Into Science training. We cannot train other staff members but can enlist staff help to run these workshops. FVRL took 2 program kits and have agreed to lead 6 Leap Into Science: Wind activities in the next year. I anticipate offering this workshop at the Gorge branches as they do not have any trained staff in this curriculum.
We tried out our new Create-a-Chain-Reaction kit, a Program Services STEM kit aimed at kids ages 3-6, at VA’s Explore program. Our SLA facilitated open-ended activity. Parents and their children, ages 3-6, were able to create several unique structures and demonstrated several skills in the design process. The group was engaged for the full program time and Our SLA was impressed with the quick mastery and continued the challenge of the kit materials. Several branches reserved the Create-a-Chain-Rection kit after I sent an email to branch librarians and YS staff announcing the new kit and providing a video on how the kit works.
I found out our Spheros needed a firmware update. I also took the time to create a video after I figured out everything that was wrong with them/what I was doing wrong while trying to use them 😌
We also got a few extra Code-a-Pillar heads to bulk out our kit, so I put together a video for them as well. Probably my favorite coding toy <3
I will continue to create videos to post to the Source page for the Program Services STEM kits that give staff a preview of what they are reserving and/or basic troubleshooting tips. I will also try to send out quarterly emails to staff about the STEM kits to continue driving interest and feedback on needed kits.
District Partnerships
Communications and Marketing created a draft of the public-facing 3D Printing page for the library website. We are calling this page “Maker Tools” to also include information on VA’s sewing machine.
I have finished the 3D printer certification training, incorporating all the feedback received from 3D Printing staff. The training is organized in Niche Academy, but the videos are linked through Youtube to utilize the CC functionality in Youtube (per patron’s request). The certification is ready to go live to the public as soon as staff are finished reviewing the 3D Printing page. Per staff request, I updated the 3D printing page on the Source with information on the contacts for each 3D printing branch as well as certification documentation and FAQ. I sent information directly to the 3D printing branches on the upcoming certification. I also identified Tele-Info and LibAnswers librarians as a group who will likely field a lot of questions, so I sent information to them as well. I will send an email to all staff when the 3D printing page is live on the website.
I led another 3D Printer staff training for BG staff during their closure. We trained 10 more staff members, including a few more from VA to create their own 3D models, use Thingiverse to learn more about printing with support and platform adhesion, and basic 3D printer troubleshooting.
The All Staff Day committee continues to plan for the September training. We have secured our keynote speaker and will soon have food and sessions locked down. Our plan is to not meet as a committee in June/July as committee members have a lot of commitments for Summer Reading.
Community Partnerships/Outreach
We participated in York Elementary’s first STEM Night (60 attendees). Participants K-5th grade and their caregivers chose 2 sessions to attend. The Library’s session offered circuit blocks and Edison robots. The Edison robots were acting up, so I spend April testing and troubleshooting. I found a firmware update for them and they seem to be working again.
We participated in Frontier Middle School’s STEM Night (500 attendees). Participants 6th-8th grade and their caregivers were able to interact with each station. The school requested we provide a soldering station. The school provided motors and LEDs and we taught participants how to solder the LED to the motor, then use the motor to generate energy to light up the LED.
I participated as a subject expert on the interview panel for Hillsboro Public Library’s first Collaboratory Coordinator. Hillsboro created this coordinator position to oversee the expansion of their makerspace (sewing, vinyl cutting, 3D printing, miscellaneous maker activities) at the Brookwood branch and the creation of their digital lab (green screen, podcasting, digital art) at the Shute Park branch.
Wednesday, May 1, 2019
3D Printing Certification
One of my new duties as Experiential Learning Librarian in Program Services is to oversee the 3D printing programs at the branches. We currently have 6 Lulzbot Mini version 1 available for public use at several branches. In December 2018, I held a staff training for the branches receiving 3D printers.
So, how do we make our 3D printers available for the public? There are a few levels of programming we provide. Our 3D printing programming grew naturally from public need:
Public Demos
Passive programming
The printer is out in public areas, actively printing.
A staff member may or may not be around to answer questions about the printer, but it definitely gets the patron's attention.
Leads to great conversations about what community members are interested in (both 3D printing and other random interests)
Printing Open Lab
Planned program
A staff member provides information about the 3D printing process.
Patrons may be able to select their own items to print (not really recommended...sets up the expectation that patron will be able to leave with an object)
Pre-print a bunch of simple objects (headphone holders are useful...until Bluetooth headphones make corded headphones obsolete...)
Patrons watch the printer work and get to take home a pre-printed object
More great conversations happening. You start to see patrons connecting to one another based on their interests.
Certification Staff-led workshop on safety, basic troubleshooting, and library policy around 3D printing.
Patron attends this one-hour workshop after completing Intro to Design and Open Lab (this requirement is waived if the patron has previous 3D printing experience from other sources).
After the workshop, all patrons sign the Certification Guidelines saying that they understood all the information provided in the workshop.
The patrons are added to the Certified Users list and can drop-in to use the printer on a first-come-first-serve basis.
Our road to certification:
Patrons who decide 3D printing is for them always want to print more things. Unfortunately, our library district isn't equipped to print on demand for all patron requests. I also wasn't a fan of the disconnect that happened in the learning process for the patron. They would request a print and a staff member would have to do all the troubleshooting to get it to print. The patron picks up their printed object without really getting a better understanding of the technology. I looked at what it really took to run an average print and came to the conclusion that the basic knowledge is easy to transfer to new users. There is a huge 3D printing community online and patrons, given the right direction and some guidelines, are able to take control of their own learning and mastery of the subject.
All of these steps are easy to accomplish at our biggest branch. We have over a dozen staff members knowledgeable about the 3D printer leading and assisting with programming. This was not true at our smaller branches. We tried to think of how to increase our certification offerings, but the feedback we have been receiving (and true of all programming) is that the timing was never convenient for one reason or another.
I thought some more on how to make the certification training more accessible and floated the idea by the branches of providing an on-demand certification training that patrons access through our website. The patron watches the certification video, which still covers everything in the certification guidelines, then makes an appointment at the branch of their choosing where a designated staff member reviews the information and signs off that the patron has the skills necessary to run the printer safely. After they're signed off, the printer can drop into any of the branches with 3D printers to use the printer on a first-come-first-serve basis.
Originally, I was just going to do a screen capture of my Google Slides Certification presentation and provide the voiceover. This set-up didn't quite provide enough information as the in-person training. In person, I actively have the printer running while I'm talking and refer to things it does while we work through the information. It's difficult to translate that experience to video. I also realized that if I attempted to do a one-and-done video, I would have to re-record everything if one piece of information changed.
I ran into a few bumps trying to round up the appropriate equipment to create the content. Our Library district has several new iPads with the limited version of iMovie, but no access to a Mac to access full editing. I couldn't find a free video editor for Windows that would open movies shot on the iPad. I couldn't find a free video converter to translate videos from the iPad into a usable format on Windows. I had to go to a branch to record footage of the printer printing and had to use my laptop to screen capture in Cura while I was printing. Figuring out how to make this all work was the worst kind of puzzle. In the end, I used an iPad, iPhone, and MacBook Pro to create the video, edit the footage and post to Youtube.
Draft one was only supposed to take a week or so. It realistically took about a month with the technical issues and re-editing the information from an in-person presentation to a recorded presentation. I sent out my draft to our 3D printing branches to get their feedback. I received a lot of great info from the group and did a pretty big overhaul of the outline, the information covered, and how the information was covered. My biggest rewrite involved a lot more information on Cura, the slicing software.
Our Library district also recently added Niche Academy to our arsenal. I originally tried to upload my videos directly to Niche Academy, but there were a lot of auto-play issues and our patrons requested closed captioning. I decided to stay with YouTube and link the videos into Niche Academy to take advantage of YouTube's Smart CC tool. It wasn't perfect, but I figured out how to download the auto-generated transcript (with timing) and make the few corrections needed.
The training is now posted through Niche Academy and also available as a playlist on Youtube. I plan to follow up with the 3D printing branches after summer reading to gauge how things are going and see what changes we need to make to our process.
Intro to 3D Design
Planned program
A staff member leads patrons through a basic 3D design project on Tinkercad. Keychains have been a successful project for us. It meets that dual goal of showing patrons how to make something practical with a 3D printer and simple enough to teach a lof the necessary design skills but still getting a printable object.
We often end up using our Printing Open Lab program to print the objects designed in Intro to Design.
Certification Staff-led workshop on safety, basic troubleshooting, and library policy around 3D printing.
Patron attends this one-hour workshop after completing Intro to Design and Open Lab (this requirement is waived if the patron has previous 3D printing experience from other sources).
After the workshop, all patrons sign the Certification Guidelines saying that they understood all the information provided in the workshop.
The patrons are added to the Certified Users list and can drop-in to use the printer on a first-come-first-serve basis.
Our road to certification:
Patrons who decide 3D printing is for them always want to print more things. Unfortunately, our library district isn't equipped to print on demand for all patron requests. I also wasn't a fan of the disconnect that happened in the learning process for the patron. They would request a print and a staff member would have to do all the troubleshooting to get it to print. The patron picks up their printed object without really getting a better understanding of the technology. I looked at what it really took to run an average print and came to the conclusion that the basic knowledge is easy to transfer to new users. There is a huge 3D printing community online and patrons, given the right direction and some guidelines, are able to take control of their own learning and mastery of the subject.
All of these steps are easy to accomplish at our biggest branch. We have over a dozen staff members knowledgeable about the 3D printer leading and assisting with programming. This was not true at our smaller branches. We tried to think of how to increase our certification offerings, but the feedback we have been receiving (and true of all programming) is that the timing was never convenient for one reason or another.
I thought some more on how to make the certification training more accessible and floated the idea by the branches of providing an on-demand certification training that patrons access through our website. The patron watches the certification video, which still covers everything in the certification guidelines, then makes an appointment at the branch of their choosing where a designated staff member reviews the information and signs off that the patron has the skills necessary to run the printer safely. After they're signed off, the printer can drop into any of the branches with 3D printers to use the printer on a first-come-first-serve basis.
Originally, I was just going to do a screen capture of my Google Slides Certification presentation and provide the voiceover. This set-up didn't quite provide enough information as the in-person training. In person, I actively have the printer running while I'm talking and refer to things it does while we work through the information. It's difficult to translate that experience to video. I also realized that if I attempted to do a one-and-done video, I would have to re-record everything if one piece of information changed.
I ran into a few bumps trying to round up the appropriate equipment to create the content. Our Library district has several new iPads with the limited version of iMovie, but no access to a Mac to access full editing. I couldn't find a free video editor for Windows that would open movies shot on the iPad. I couldn't find a free video converter to translate videos from the iPad into a usable format on Windows. I had to go to a branch to record footage of the printer printing and had to use my laptop to screen capture in Cura while I was printing. Figuring out how to make this all work was the worst kind of puzzle. In the end, I used an iPad, iPhone, and MacBook Pro to create the video, edit the footage and post to Youtube.
Draft one was only supposed to take a week or so. It realistically took about a month with the technical issues and re-editing the information from an in-person presentation to a recorded presentation. I sent out my draft to our 3D printing branches to get their feedback. I received a lot of great info from the group and did a pretty big overhaul of the outline, the information covered, and how the information was covered. My biggest rewrite involved a lot more information on Cura, the slicing software.
Our Library district also recently added Niche Academy to our arsenal. I originally tried to upload my videos directly to Niche Academy, but there were a lot of auto-play issues and our patrons requested closed captioning. I decided to stay with YouTube and link the videos into Niche Academy to take advantage of YouTube's Smart CC tool. It wasn't perfect, but I figured out how to download the auto-generated transcript (with timing) and make the few corrections needed.
The training is now posted through Niche Academy and also available as a playlist on Youtube. I plan to follow up with the 3D printing branches after summer reading to gauge how things are going and see what changes we need to make to our process.
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