PrintLab Certification Course
Learn everything you need to know about 3D printing in the classroom and become a PrintLab Certified Educator—included in all PrintLab Classroom license options.
An Introduction to 3D Printing
The course begins with an in-depth introduction to 10 essential principles of 3D printing, emphasising its technologies, opportunities, and limitations. It features interactive digital exploration of 3D models, enhancing comprehension of the printing process and industry.
Benefits of 3D Printing in Education
This course section delves into the significance and advantages of 3D printing in education, using visual infographics to present survey results from educators and experts. Participants also share their insights and perspectives on the top benefits.
Introduction to Tinkercad Software
The 3D printing journey starts with creating a model using free tools like Tinkercad. This course section teaches how to use Tinkercad in diverse classrooms and set up a teacher account to manage students.
3D Modelling Basics
After setting up your Tinkercad teacher account, you’ll dive into 3D modeling basics. The section offers tutorials and challenges on tools like navigating the workspace, placing objects, and advanced techniques like mirroring and combining shapes.
Designing for 3D Printing
Through a series of videos illustrating good and bad practices, you’ll learn essential design tips for 3D printing. These insights will enable you to guide students and identify ‘unprintable’ models they submit.
Slicing for 3D Printing
In this section, discover 10 crucial slicer settings to optimize your 3D printer’s performance. Dive into topics from print speed to outer layer thickness for higher quality prints.
The PrintLab Curriculum Framework
3D printing offers diverse integration opportunities in classroom settings. This section presents a popular framework from PrintLab Classroom to structure such lessons.
Classroom Management
When teaching 3D printing, challenges like limited time, printers, and budgeting for materials may arise. This course section offers tips to make the process more efficient and manageable.
Frequently asked questions
How long does the course take?
The online course is completely self-paced so you can fit it around your own routine. Although highly dependent on your skill level amongst other things, we estimate that the course will take between 4-6 hours to complete. Additionally, the requirement to become a PrintLab Certified Educator is to pass the 3 assessments at the end of the course. If you feel comfortable taking these without completing all sections, that’s totally fine!
What software will I require in order to participate in the course?
A key focus of this course is 3D modelling, which we believe is one of the most important aspects of the 3D printing process. Our recommended software when getting started with 3D printing is Tinkercad, which is browser-based and completely free! Several sections of the course will require you to create and use a Tinkercad account, but don’t worry if you haven’t got an account yet as there is a section that goes through this process.
What if I fail an assessment?
Once the exam is complete and the 3D model and lesson structure are submitted, please allow 7 days for a PrintLab representative to assess your work and issue your digital graduation certificate. If assessments are failed, a PrintLab representative will be in touch to advise what needs to be improved to gain the certificate of completion.
Do I need a specific 3D printer to participate in the course?
Absolutely not. All the material on PrintLab Classroom is suitable for use with any FFF/FDM 3D printer. In fact, you can even complete this course without a 3D printer.