For the third time, the Thuringian Institute for Textile and Plastics Research Rudolstadt (TITK) and its two associated companies OMPG mbH and smartpolymer GmbH are supporting a regional institution with a Christmas donation. After the Children's Hospice of Central Germany and the Princess Anna Luisen School in Bad Blankenburg, this year the sponsoring association of Fridericianum high school in Rudolstadt now receives a donation. TITK director Benjamin Redlingshöfer presented a donation check of 2,000 euros to vice principal Kerstin Heinke, head of the senior class Torsten Zunft, student representative Nils-Ole Oswald, and Nicole Ströhlein from the sponsoring association of Fridericianum high school in Rudolstadt.
The money is used to initiate the "3D printing in the classroom" project at the high school. "Pupils at different grade levels will thus benefit from the possibilities of this innovative manufacturing process across all subjects," TITK Director Redlingshöfer says. "As a research institute with close ties to the economy, it is important to us to get young people excited about technical contexts and thus perhaps attract them to a career in science and technology here in the region."
The school management was delighted about the donation. A 3D printing studio enables a wide range of teaching experiences that are sustainable for students and could lead to a big increase in factual and methodological skills. "The project is aimed at a wide range of possible applications in many grade levels," the head of the senior class Torsten Zunft explains. For starters, 3D printing will be used specifically in art classes - for example, in the curriculum topics of architecture and design. "It could be feasible," Zunft adds, "to also use it in other subjects."Appealing fields of application could be, the production of geometric bodies in mathematics lessons or the printing of anatomical shapes in biology, for instance. The good malleability of plastic as a printing material opens up countless design possibilities.
The sponsoring association intends to purchase some initial technical equipment with the TITK Group’s donation. "The TITK will be happy to provide advice here," Director Redlingshöfer says. Additive manufacturing has already been a focus of work at the institute for five years. There is, for instance,one team conducting research specifically on increasing the mechanical strength of 3D printing materials, the three-dimensional incorporation of additional functions and the adaptation of printing processes to achieve uniform component properties. In the "3D Printing Competence Center Rudolstadt" established at TITK at the end of 2017, not only filament-based but also powder-based 3D printing processes are used.
