To schedule training or open build time, please call 308-535-8036 ext. 3320.
3D Printing
Lulzbot TAZ 6 has a dual extruder making it perfect for printing with dissolvable PVA supports. We have 2.85mm PLA in a variety of colors and 3mm PVA filament for use with this printer. The Cura Lulzbot Edition slicing software is open source and freely downloadable from https://www.lulzbot.com/cura. We are planning to experiment with slicing models in this software and printing them on the Fusion, but at this time this is untested practice and we recommend using the slicing software recommended by the manufacturer of each machine. This printer is capable of printing from a standard sized SD Card or USB connection from our workstation.
Fusion3Design F410 has a larger building surface and with a single nozzle is easier for beginners to master. We have 1.75mm PLA, PETG, and TPU filament in various colors available for use in this printer. The Simplify3D slicing software is paid commercial software and we have one (1) license for use with our existing printer. If you are interested in slicing your own models from home and bringing in the .gcode file for printing, you can purchase Simplify3D slicing software at https://www.simplify3d.com/. The F410 prints from a standard sized SD card.
ANYCUBIC Photon Mono SLA resin printer has a relatively small build volume (130mm L x 80mm W x 165mm H) but due to the nature of printing with a liquid resin, it can create very detailed models. ANYCUBIC Slicer Software is called Photon Workshop and we have found some limitations, so we have also installed PrusaSlicer to help close the gap – especially with support structures. Because several chemicals and UV light are involved in using this equipment, there are extra safety precautions that we have put in place to prevent exposure and will urge safety and caution during the training. Curing is by a specific wavelength of UV light and once fully cured, resin hard to remove. For additional information about this equipment, see: https://www.anycubic.com/products/photon-mono-resin-3d-printer. The Photon Mono prints from a USB memory stick.
Embroidery Machine
Thanks to Jason’s Creative Sewing, we have a Pfaff CreativeTM 1.5 Embroidery Machine. We provide Madeira brand embroidery thread in a rainbow of colors for your use and two hoop sizes. You bring your own fabric items and can purchase tear away, wash away, cut away, and / or topping stabilizers for your project. We have purchased the Premier+2 Ultra Embroidery system software which basically allows you to create nearly any embroidery thing. All design patterns for this machine require .vp3 format and you can bring your own designs in via USB storage.
Laser Engraver / Cutter
Our Laser Engraver / Cutter is a Full Spectrum Laser Pro-Series 24×16 (PS24). It is a 90 watt CO2 laser and we have purchased the air filtration system to limit particulates, water chiller for the CO2 tube for higher accuracy, and air compressor to keep our flames down. The laser uses proprietary software called RE3 and runs directly from the laser. You can start your design work (minus any machine specific settings) from https://re3.azurewebsites.net/designer, which is a demo site for the RE3 software. The work surface for the demo is 20 x 12, so slightly smaller than ours, and machine specific functions are not available. Beginning concepts to understand when using this equipment include differences between raster (engrave) and vector (cut) graphic types. We have a friction rotary attachment so etching or engraving on round-ish objects is attainable and when using the rotary tool, straight sides are easier for beginners. We sell 1/8″, 1/4″ and 1/2″ wood or you can bring your own. It cuts paper and fabric as well.
Vinyl Plotter
We have a Graphtec CE6000-60 vinyl plotter capable of cutting rolled or flat sheet vinyl up to 23.5 in wide and 164 ft long. We have a variety of vinyl colors on the roll available for purchase in two different adhesive strengths. Oracal 631 vinyl has an outdoor life of about 3 years and a matte finish and has a clear water soluble adhesive, we are calling this intermediate vinyl. The Oracal 651 has a gloss finish and an outdoor life span of up to 6 years; the cement adhesive can be removed with some elbow work and some heat, we are calling this permanent vinyl. We offer CorelDRAW on all Creation Station workstations for use in designing projects for several pieces of equipment and this station also has the Graphtec Cutting Master 4 software installed to control the plotter.
Heat Press
The Heat Press station has three (3) components: a UniNet iColor 550 printer, a Hotronix® Fusion IQ 16×20 inch slide drawer style clamshell heat press, a hat press, and a 6-in-1 Perfect Press Mug Press. Along with iColor’s ProRIP and SmartCUT Software, this station is capable of heat pressing full color images onto lots of different materials. Due to the specialty of the printer, we are only allowing our own media to be used in the printer which is available for purchase. However, if you have the capability to produce an iron-on transfer from elsewhere, you can use the heat press to apply it. The best images are high resolution PNG images but it will also work with JPG, BMP, GIF, and TIFF files. PNG keeps transparency though which is helpful if you don’t want a background around your image.
Button Maker
We now have two (2) sizes of buttons that can be made in the Creation Station. American Button Machines 2.25″ round buttons have either a pin back or a peel and stick magnet. We also now have equipment to make 1″ lapel or campaign size buttons with a plain back, ceramic magnet, tie tack, or versa back. The ceramic magnet can be used to create interchangeable jewelry and keychains with a magneta pendant. The versa back allows creation of keychains and zipper pulls. Add some flair to our backpack or wardrobe.
Laminator and Lamination Service
We have a Fellowes letter-size laminator available for training and open build in the Creation Station. However, due to popular demand, we now provide lamination of small items as a service from the Technology Learning Center (TLC) on the 2nd floor.
Coil Book Binder
The TruBind TB-S20 4:1 coil book binder machine will punch holes in documents and then you can manually coil bind them together. It is a cost effective way to consolidate and bind documents and other projects together. We offer coils in the following sizes (# of pages of 20lb copy paper): 6mm (30 pages), 8mm (54 pages), 10mm (75 pages), 13mm (105 pages), and 20mm (172 pages).
Carvey CNC Router
Inventables Carvey CNC Router was a received from the Nebraska Innovation Studios project at the end of that project. It is now considered a legacy project, but offers a good introduction to CNC Routing. Online modeling is performed using Easel at https://www.inventables.com/technologies/easel where you can create a free account. There you can design your own projects, learn about upgraded paid versions of Easel, and look through several projects done by other users. Our 1/2″ wood pairs well with the Carvey, but you may want to try MDF for a smoother finish.
Currently the following equipment is only available for staff programming and learning:
- Canon Rebel EOS T7 DSLR camera with both green and white chromakey screens
- Blocks Rock! and Sphero kits
- Kindle Fire and Samsung Tablets to be used with Lego Mindstorms EV3 and WeDo2.0 kits
- Lego Mindstorms EV3 (includes expansion kit) and WeDo2.0 kits