By Joel Neuschwander

For one morning, Hershey High School students got a glimpse of the future.

On April 29th, 2016, several HHS students attended the 3D Printing and Prototyping session of Community Day. Engineering and Design teacher Jim Seip led the group.

The day started off with the students answering several questions about 3D Printing, including “Where did you discover 3D Printing?” Seip shared his personal story, in which he got interested in after reading an article on MSN.

Then, Seip played a video clip from PBS detailing the process of how many designers go about creating their projects. In the video, the group learned that almost anything, including artificial limbs, can be created from a 3D printer.

“I have seen the process of 3D printing being implemented into many area of our lives, medical field, food industry, and many other design areas,” Seip said.

Included in Seip’s explanation was the fact that Hershey Park is now using 3D printing to make chocolate. The company can make a variety of shapes and sizes.

After the video, the crowd gained information about how some organizations are using 3D printing to make life easier for many. Shapeways, a New York-based company, is one of the world’s first 3D printing marketplaces. Users can design and upload files, and Shapeways prints the objects for them or others.

At the end of the session, Seip invited students to take a look at how a 3D printer works. He demonstrated the use of the printer while creating a nut and bolt.

HHS sophomores Cole Luttrell and Michael Abruzzo attended the session, and both were amazed at what they saw. They enjoyed the fact that all creations are self-made.

As evidenced throughout the session, 3D printing is fastly becoming a useful tool around the world. Seip’s goal is to “Provide students with some working first hand knowledge of the impact 3D printing is having on our everyday lives.”