3D Systems Introduces MAKE.DIGITAL: Digital Literacy Powered by 3D Printing for K-12 Education

ROCK HILL, South Carolina – May 1, 2014 – 3D Systems  (NYSE:DDD) announced today that it is making 3D printing fast, easy and impactful for K-12 educators through a series of 3D digital literacy initiatives. These include a new education webpage on 3DS’ Cubify.com, with special discounted bundles for schools and education programs, tested curriculum and training resources for a range of STEAM subjects and age groups, and partnerships with nationally recognized programs and scholarships. Aptly named MAKE.DIGITAL, this long-term initiative will provide students with 21st century tools and 3D technology to hone innovation and creativity skills, learn real-world problem solving through project-based learning, and ultimately compete in the global economy.

MAKE.DIGITAL, 3DS’ online education hub, offers discounts up to 15% on the company’s popular classroom technologies including its Cube^® series of desktop 3D printers, cartridges and easy-to-learn Cubify^® design software suite. All technology is available in bundles or single purchases. The entry-level Cube 3D printer is certified kid-safe and ideal for students as young as eight years old. The comprehensive education ecosystem also offers customization apps, video tutorials and how to’s, in addition to a wide range of curriculum resources.

Curricula Resources:

Einstein Fellows - 3DS is working with Einstein Fellows on a series of offerings including national education hacks providing training on 3DS’ technology and co-developed curriculum modules for use in the K-12 classroom. The curricula developed will be the first ever classroom-ready DIGITAL ENGINEERING lesson-plans, in line with U.S. Next Generation Science Standards. Accompanying the curricula will be online and in-person trainings and tutorials for 3DS’ Cubify design software suite and related Sense™ 3D scanner tools.

The first full day education hack took place on April 21^st at the National Science Foundation in Arlington, VA, where 20 teachers were trained on 3D printing, software and scanning and co-developed 4 comprehensive modules based on the Next Generation Science Standards. Additional events and trainings will be announced later this spring.

Eight year old students watch their prototypes print on 3D Systems Cube 3D printer. Photo courtesy of IDEA Co.

City X Project – Through a partnership with IDEA Co, the City X Project is a free downloadable curriculum and toolkit that was internationally tested from Alaska and California to Lebanon, Singapore and Hungary, and Common-Core guided in a yearlong pilot program. Released in April 2014, the curriculum teaches design thinking and prototyping to students eight to twelve years old in a City X scenario in which each student is given a global challenge, such as a transportation or healthcare situation, and must design and make a solution. The curriculum uses clay molding, Cubify software for digital design and the Cube 3D printer for the finished prototypes.

Programs & Scholarships:

FIRST Robotics – 3DS partnered with FIRST Robotics for the 2014 competition season and provided over 400 3D printers to teams across America.

Scholastic Art & Writing Awards – Partnered since 2012 with the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, 3DS’ sponsors the ‘Future New’ award for the long running Awards scholarship. Students in grade seven through twelve are tasked with using emerging technologies like 3D printing to express bold, innovative ideas. In addition to the overall competition awards, 3DS awards Cube 3D printers to three exceptional students who used 3D design and printing in their submissions. This year’s winners included transformative wearables, product design using sound waves and digital-to-physical fictional storytelling.

3DS invites teachers, educators, non-profits and organizations passionate about youth education to join the MAKE.DIGITAL initiative and provide students with tomorrow’s skills today. Education inquiries can be made directly to [email protected].

Learn more about 3DS’ MAKE.DIGITAL initiative to catalyze innovation and technology learning here.

About 3D Systems Corporation

3D Systems is a leading provider of 3D printing centric design-to-manufacturing solutions including 3D printers, print materials and cloud sourced on-demand custom parts for professionals and consumers alike in materials including plastics, metals, ceramics and edibles. The company also provides integrated 3D scan-based design, freeform modeling and inspection tools and an integrated 3D planning and printing digital thread for personalized surgery and patient specific medical devices. Its products and services replace and complement traditional methods and reduce the time and cost of designing new products by printing real parts directly from digital input. These solutions are used to rapidly design, create, communicate, prototype or produce functional parts and assemblies, empowering customers to manufacture the future.

Leadership Through Innovation and Technology

• 3DS invented 3D printing with its Stereolithography (SLA) printer and was the first to commercialize it in 1989.
• 3DS invented Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) printing and was the first to commercialize it in 1992.
• 3DS invented the Color-Jet-Printing (CJP) class of 3D printers and was the first to commercialize 3D powder-based systems in 1994.
• 3DS invented Multi-Jet-Printing (MJP) printers and was the first to commercialize it in 1996.

Today its comprehensive range of 3D printers is the industry’s benchmark for production-grade manufacturing in aerospace, automotive, personalized surgery, medical devices and a variety of consumer, electronic and fashion accessories.

More information on the company is available at www.3DSystems.com.