For a while I had been thinking about utilizing a 3D printer in my upper division science courses. Unfortunately, I was having a hard time thinking of a way to integrate it into biology-related courses. So the last time I taught Virology I decided to work it in as a learning tool over the course of the semester. What I did was to create an end of the semester project where students had to recreate a three-dimensional model of a known virion. I felt this would be a good way for them to actually think about all the different components in a virion and their spatial relationships.
Students had to first find a virus that had a reported structure beyond a simple conceptual drawing and then to start drafting it. As I discovered early on in coming up with the assignment was that I saw the challenge was not the printing itself but in knowing and using the 3D design software. I’m at a low budget institution so I needed to find something inexpensive and/or free and relatively simple to use. I decided on TinkerCAD because it was web-based (no big IT issue to get installed or purchased), it had learning modules, and a repository of user generated 3D models for you to “tinker” with. So since I knew not all students would be on the same page in technological know-how I required them to do several of the training modules that would be just sufficient to make their own model. I personally thought the training modules were, for the most part, pretty good – there were a few issues in some of them where the instructions were a little too vague.
I gave my students a timeline to complete the training and to start working on their actual virion models. As customary with students a majority procrastinated with their designs and complained a bit that it “took them much longer than they expected to complete them” even though I advised them multiple times that this would take some time and effort to work on. That is why I gave them the whole semester to work on them.
DNA and Bacteriophage models
I had originally planned on printing all models but after doing several test prints I realized that with just one printer that would take an unusually long time. So I decided to print the best model from the class and let that student keep it.
For our printer we purchased a very affordable 3D printer that was designed for simple hobbyists and educational uses – the FlashForge Finder. I picked it based on reviews suggesting it was a good quality beginner printer with easy simple to use features. There were a few other models that were considered that looked to be just as good but it just so happens this one was picked. I have discovered that in addition to having to understand the design software is that there is a whole other world in understanding and refining the actual printing process. This part is above and beyond what I would have my students do. So a student worker and myself played around with these features and settings. Pretty much it comes down to that the actual printing process may need to be tweaked a bit to get optimally printed models.
This experience has also opened the option for us to fabricate our own biology related “tools” and models. My student worker had played around with creating a mitochondria respiration chamber for our biochemistry lab. There is potentially a lot of utility to come from a 3D printer that isn’t terribly complicated to learn or work on. It just requires a little time, patience, and some ideas.
Yuma Scientist 