Are you interested in learning how to 3D print sustainable materials made from waste?
This short course combines material development with additive manufacturing processes to introduce participants to the basics of 3D printing with biomaterials.
You will:
- Develop and test biomaterial recipes for printing
- Gain knowledge and understanding of 3D printing workflow
- Learn about additive manufacturing and circular-economy material methodologies
- Identify and experiment with your own waste streams, develop material samples at home, and test using manual extrusion tools
- Have an opportunity to use a 3D printer in the workshop to print our own material tests
- Work alongside a group of likeminded peers
By the end of the course you will:
- Understand how to incorporate computer-aided design into your biomaterials practice
- Understand the fundamental workflow for 3D printing and have used a 3D printer
- Understand key criteria for biomaterial printability
- Be able to identify waste streams and develop recipes for printing
- Have developed a material library of samples
THIS COURSE IS DESIGNED FOR PEOPLE WHO ALREADY HAVE SOME EXPERIENCE OF BIOMATERIAL DEVELOPMENT. If you are unsure if this is you, feel free to get in touch with us on steamhouse@bcu.ac.uk to talk things through.
The course consists of two live online workshops, self-paced learning, and an in-person full-day workshop at STEAMhouse.
Participants will receive:
- A 3D Printing BioBox, filled with materials and tools to support your learning
- Downloadable resources and worksheets
- Support from a specialist technician
You must be available to attend all three sessions. To take part you will need:
- Access to Zoom
- A space to develop biomaterial samples
- To be able to attend the in-person workshop in Birmingham
- A porcelain pestle and mortar
- A source of used coffee grounds
Our Course Leaders
Kaitlin Ferguson
Kaitlin Ferguson is an interdisciplinary artist, whose practice involves process-led investigations into the changing state of the planet. Through research-based lines of enquiry, she seeks out ways to explore planetary shaping processes and the wider effects of climate change. Through exploration across a wide range of materials, alongside participatory projects with communities, she reveals new readings of the environment that seek to deconstruct and heal the deeply embedded divides between nature and culture which surround us.
Sarah King
Sarah King is an interdisciplinary design researcher and Materials Science Technician at STEAMhouse. Her primary role is to support members across the various routes in areas including materials development, surface design, print, and product prototyping. She also co-runs the Materials Club and supports specific members in research projects related to new materials development.
Sarah is particularly interested in the use of design as a tool to embed sustainability and equality within societies and cultures. In her own practice, she focuses on the use of natural systems and abundant materials, utilising their unique properties to develop products that can actively aid health and wellbeing, with a view to replenishing local ecosystems at their end of life, striving to co-create a closed-loop system with nature.
HOW TO APPLY
Application Deadline: Sunday 22 May 2022
Places are very limited and we expect the course to be oversubscribed. Therefore we are looking for participants who have a clear sense of how they might apply the knowledge they will gain.
Eligibility
This course is free as it is fully funded as part of the STEAMhouse Create Programme.
To be eligible to take part you must be registered as self-employed or have your own business, and be based in England. To be accepted onto the course you will have to provide a UTR number (if you are self-employed) or a Company Registration number.
To apply email the following to steamhouse@bcu.ac.uk Please use ‘Biomaterials Printing Course’ as your email subject.
- If you are not already a STEAMhouse member, please introduce yourself and let us know what you do, where you are based, and whether you are self-employed or have a company. Please also include your UTR number or company number.
- A short expression of interest (250 words max) explaining why you want to take part in the short course, what experience you have with biomaterials to date, and how you hope the course will benefit your creative practice and/or business development.
We will be in touch with all applicants after 22 May.
What is the STEAMhouse Create programme?
The STEAMhouse Create Programme is a free ERDF-funded programme, developed by Eastside Projects and Birmingham City University, that supports resource-poor businesses to build digital skills and make their new product, project, or service ideas a reality. We support a range of creative businesses, including self-employed, sole-trading artists, to test new ideas, prototype and make new products and services (which if you are an artist may be artworks).
STEAMhouse, and the Create programme, is now based in a new, purpose-built building on the Belmont Works site.
Find out more HERE
