Category: News & Events (Page 10 of 13)

One thing that we like to continually stress down at the Media Center is that while professors may assign those podcast projects that make you feel like your head will explode, we’re more than just a place for work. One of the areas Todd Bryant has helped us tread forward in is gaming. Todd thought that one way students interested in learning another language could immerse themselves in an enjoyable way would be to play story heavy games where the dialogue would be rich enough to enhance a speaker’s vocabulary, reading, and comprehension of a language while they kicked back and enjoyed their time. To make this idea become a reality, the Media Center got some of the latest and most critically reviewed titles ranging from Skyrim, Bioshock, Dishonored, Uncharted (1-3) and more. We have a PS3, a Wii, and an Xbox, so if you’re interested in doing some aerobics, we do have WiiSports, WiiFit, and Xbox Kinect Adventures to get the blood pumping. Of course most titles also come equipped with English settings if the dialogue stumps you or you just want to kick back for a little and enjoy life without being reminded of your dreaded 8:30 A.M. Spanish class. Either way, we have the games for you; come by the Equipment Room and ask the student worker to get you set up with whatever it is you’d like to play!

Special thanks to Dickinson student Sam Kelly for the letting us use one of his techno pieces in this video (The 2nd song).

The Media Center’s newest member, The MakerBot Replicator, is finally available!  After several weeks of troubleshooting and trials, it is now fine tuned and ready to print your designs!  Here is a look at the phases of the tuning process, through the creation of a unique Media Center keychain designed in Google Sketchup 8.

The MakerBot uses an Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastic, which is fed through the top of the extruder.  The extruder is heated to ~220C or ~430F, which turns the ABS plastic into a viscous liquid.  The extruder then positions itself just above the warm print surface and begins the expel the plastic in the formation designated by the 3D file.  Each print begins with a “raft,” which is nothing more than a thick grid of ABS plastic, that allows for the MakerBot to ensure that the rest of the object is built upon a stable foundation.  Below is a snapshot of the raft creation process.

Out of the box, the MakerBot and I were simply not on the same page.  This is my personal favorite of its early errant creations.  We are still unsure as to what caused the many problems with this print, but, by some luck, the mistakes were not repeated.

The staff and I had found that calibrating the system was critical for precise prints, and that the motor mounts needed to be tightened before each print.  As we grew more familiar with the hardware and software, our results began to improve.

Once we had perfected the printing of our adorable alien, we then moved to printing the “Media Center” label onto the bottom of our keychain.  This proved to be quite challenging, as the small letters were a bit too intricate for our settings.  

Finally, we were able to tweak the MakerBot to build as we requested.  By enlarging and elongating the lettering, the label became readable.  Here are a few final copies of our (exclusive) Media Center keychain!

If you or your department would have an interest in utilizing the MakerBot’s 3D printing capabilities, it is available in the Media Center located in the Bosler basement.  Please contact Brenda Landis or Andy Petrus to schedule a meeting with the MakerBot Replicator!