Jesse Armstrong (Ngāti Hine) and his team at Vaka are helping whānau unlock the potential of 3D printing.
They’ve been working with kura across the motu, helping them make their own resources at a fraction of the price it would otherwise cost them buying at retail.
“For example, we helped a school make their own whistles,” Armstrong says.
“The cost to produce each whistle was only 8c a whistle. So we printed about 40 whistles they needed in an afternoon and saved the school $300-400.”
What it does
The 3D printer, or additive manufacturing device, works by creating physical items layer by layer based on digital designs. A 3D model is created with computer-aided designing (CAD) software and then sliced horizontally. The printer reads the slices and places material (often plastic filament or resin) on a build plate based upon the design. The material is then fused, solidified, or cured using various methods such as heat, UV light, or chemical reactions, depending on the printer’s technology.
Potential in schools
Vaka purchases 3D printers ranging in price from $2,000 up to $3,000. Vaka is a company that helps schools find funding.
Recently, they created awards for the Matahiko Awards in collaboration with rangatahi who split the profits.
“We had two rangatahi who worked on this project with us and split their profit evenly between them. Both of them had only been doing 3D printing for about two to three months.”
Armstrong believes that teaching children the importance of safety, responsibility and respect is essential when using technology.
“3D printers can also be used to make dangerous objects as well, because they can basically make anything so it’s important that for us, and teachers that we work with, to ensure that we teach our rangatahi to be smart and how to be cautious with how they use technology.”