Mimaki USA (Suwanee, GA) placed a Mimaki 3DUJ-553, a full-color commercial 3D printer, at Clemson University’s Sonoco Institute for students to learn about the 3D printing workflow and create detailed product and package samples.
The printer is for educational and research initiatives, and resides in the Sonoco Institute’s Packaging Supply Chain Computer Lab, which houses package design and prepress software. The printer will be used in two courses at the institute: 3D Printing Workflow (GC 4900) taught by Shu Chang, and Product/Package Design and Prototyping (PKSC 2200) taught by Haley Appleby.
“My goal is to teach students the uniqueness of 3D printing,” Chang said. “I want to show that it is beneficial for reducing the number of individual parts in a product and its assembly process, and can be used to create unique forms, fits and functions.”
Students in Appleby’s design and prototyping class will face off against each other to see their original designs printed in 3D at the end of the course, with the top five projects from each semester adorning the halls of the institute.
For more information, visit mimakiusa.com.