Recipe for a Great Holiday Season!

Posted on by Mark

Many of us will be gathering together this holiday season while visiting friends and family. Some people have a tradition of getting and giving gifts as well. Together these activities sound like a recipe for a great time, in fact there are many recipes to follow.

I like to combine learning and teaching and found an opportunity in additive manufacturing, often called 3D printing. The CT Hackerspace has an abundance of plastic filament, collected over more than a decade, and this filament often ages poorly as it absorbs moisture however there are online tutorials with ‘recipes’ explaining how to recover original physical properties. There are also many kids at the CT Hackerspace who have seen the small collection of 3D Printers but have not necessarily explored their many features. So we wanted to combine learning and teaching while making a difference for others this holiday season, but to who and how?

An online ad gave a flash of inspiration! Rather than buy a toy for a person in need, we can make many toys for people in need using a small collection of 3D printers (equipped with useful direct drive heads), recovered filament (that has plenty of strength for a toy), and a group of willing individuals to play around with an interesting piece of kit. We found several models specifically designed as Toys for Tots and set to work. Here is a picture showing how well the first few prints turned out; all vehicles are articulating one piece prints! In a few days all our efforts will be trucked to a nearby donation location where we hope they will light-up someone’s spirit this holiday season.

Toys for tots!

So regardless of what ingredients you have available this season: whether sugar, spice and everything nice or filament and a printer to keep you warm this winter, here’s to hoping you have a great time learning or teaching while gathering with friends or family.