Dayton Engineer

Senior mechanical engineering students Jacob Shupe, Ian Smith, Colin McAndrew and Lucas Elmore were tasked with creating a vertical 3D printer for their senior design project.

Their sponsor, Heart of Unlimited Boundaries (HUB), presented the project idea to the Innovation Center to become a senior design project. Rocky Grimes, CEO of HUB, was looking for a vertical 3D printer but it did not exist on the market. 

“Rather than having a horizontal bed, there’s a vertical one and you print on that vertical surface outward, rather than upward.” Shupe said, “The goal was to make something as large as possible and it ended up being ¾ of a meter by just under ¾ of a meter.”

The team worked together to research and brainstorm materials needed for the printer, including custom axes and a bed material that was sticky enough to hold filament. 

Although they finished the semester with a complete, working machine, they had their fair share of challenges.

“We did a design with parts Rocky gave us during the first semester, and ended up scrapping everything and redid it all this semester for a product we like better,” Shupe said.

“Everyone was on board with our decision,” Elmore said. “They, of course, wanted to make sure we were doing our due diligence and making sure we knew our design was going to be better before we started anew.”

The most rewarding part of putting in extra work? Seeing the first vertical print.

“We printed the Heart of Unlimited Boundaries logo and presented it to Rocky during our final presentation,” McAndrew said, “Seeing his face light up as he saw the huge print of his logo was very rewarding.”

HUB develops devices and strategies to empower individuals with disabilities. With a focus on individuals with more severe cases, they provide therapeutic, recreational, career planning, and employment training services.

Grimes was excited to present his challenge to UD engineering students, as it was something he had wanted to create for a while.

“If it’s already been done, I have no interest in doing it,” Grimes said.

The student team exceeded expectations, with the culture and competency of UD students being a key factor to that success.

The printer is now fully functional and ready to get to work.

“We wanted to use a vertical 3D printer for a few ways,” Grimes said. “One, as a teaching tool. Part of what we do is teach individuals with disabilities how to 3D print to help them develop the skill but also hopefully they can generate revenue from what they create.

“Secondly, we’re hoping to use the printer to create items to sell for fundraising.”

As they graduate and move onto their careers, the student team is eager to use their new skills and experience to differentiate themselves in the workplace.

“Going through the design prototyping and final product stages was super helpful,” McAndrew said. “I don’t think that’s something you get to do very early on in your career.”