That’s how the cooperation between the two realities was born and how the colored meccano- printer has attracted children who have learnt to assemble and use it very shortly.
The 3D printer can become a toy and an effective educational tool: an idea and some little adjustments have been enough to transform the printer from a professional instrument into a giant meccano perfectly working. Everything bore from a meeting: some years ago the Cresco Lab team arrived in Massa Lombarda to buy some 3D WASP Printers. WASP has grasped the potential of CrescoLab’s idea and a mutual and interesting cooperation has started.
From Tuscany to Romagna
“We arrived in Massa Lombarda as simple buyers, we had to realize prototypes for our jumbo meccano Cresco – the Cresco Lab leader Cristiano Cavani explains-. The result has been very satisfactory. We showed it to Massimo Moretti and he was enthusiastic, that’s why we agreed to meet at Maker Faire and our cooperation started”. Cresco winks to the Meccano and to the Lego bricks: just one brick is useless, but each single brick has its own role in the whole, and every time something new must be invented. That’s the kit aim. “At that point – Cavani continues – we decided to build a 3D printer using our pieces; we have realized the model on Open Delta after a “reverse engineering” action, disassembling and replacing all mechanical elements, only the heart and the electronic part have remained with the WASP extruder”.
A play to sharpen users’wit
Just from a first sight, the cheerful aspect of this product Delta CW 18 24 in Kit, has soon emerged, together with the need to take action with it. “Massimo, in front of the resulting object, has enlightened and has suggested its most suitable function. Practically, we have moved the idea of the 3D printer as being no longer a professional instrument, but on the contrary something which emphatically attracts because it looks like a toy ”.
There are several possibilities to use it , from the domestic purpose: in a child’s or boy’s bedroom, to any level school: it may be easily adjusted according to the different levels and ages. It can be daily used as a creative or educational toy, but also as an instrument which helps to learn and study. And, what about its assembly? “It might happen that, once you have the whole kit in your hands, you find difficult to assemble the printer and you may lose your heart. To show everybody that this is something possible, we had it assembled by children from 9 to 10 years old. The instructions guide is full of images and very accurate: after one day training , all of them have easily mounted it and enjoying. I bet a grown-person has no courage to say he can’t do it!”.
Projects in progress
Technically, a part its cheerful look in multicolored wood, this WASP 3D printer, is different from the other Wasp printers because it has no screw: each part connects to the others through magnetic joints.
“We have balanced everything, now we are working to update the printer so that it can become a scanner too”. The project is still growing and self-supporting : “Each new printer, during the test phase, produces new pieces for its “daughter-machine”. All the pieces produced for the next machine are free license and can be down-loaded from the web site. We marry WASP philosophy, we believe in the know-how-spreading ”. Once again a project born from cooperation.
A very important value for WASP who every day chooses to work together with companies, makers, FabLab in order to achieve big shared results.