Eighth-graders tackle cup holder challenge with 3D printer

Was your car built before the turn of the new millennium? If so, chances are you’re among millions of drivers who have a common problem: ill-fitting cup holders. Peter Grimm, an industrial technology teacher at Southview Middle School in Edina, MN, has challenged his eighth-grade pre-engineering students to find a solution for this messy problem, and the Dimension uPrint Personal 3D Printer from Stratasys Inc. (Eden Prairie, MN) is helping students find creative answers.

Grimm first saw the educational power of 3D printing earlier in his career when he started a Minneapolis school’s partnership with Project Lead the Way (PLTW), a national program that provides curriculum and partnerships with the private sector to increase the quantity and quality of engineers and engineering technologists graduating from the U.S. educational system. Once transferred to Southview, Grimm decided to invest in a Dimension 3D Printer on account of the “cost, ease of use, and durability of the printed models produced.”

Grimm has seen the level of student momentum for the PLTW curriculum take off, and he believes this excitement can be attributed in large part to the addition of the Dimension 3D Printer. “UPrint has really helped bring kids into the engineering lab,” Grimm says. “They’re able to see their CAD drawings become three-dimensional working models. It quickly brings designs that only existed in the students’ minds to life.” —[email protected]