Kickstart: 3D printing at school

The Society of Plastics Engineers Foundation says it has topped the halfway point in its quest to raise enough funds to provide 12 schools with 3D printers and a PlastiVan visit.

The organization already has awarded 21 3D printers to schools in 2024. That's three times more than the group had available in 2023. The remaining 3D Printer Grants are aimed at serving students in middle schools and high schools.

"Demand is outpacing our ability to supply," SPE Foundation notes on its donation page. "More schools than ever are requesting 3D printers for their programs and, with your support, we can empower even more students with real-world manufacturing skills."

As of Dec. 4, the group had raised more than $18,000, about 61 percent of its goal.

I'm not one of those people who calls a car a piece of art. (Masterful design and engineering, sure, but art?) This, however, would seem to be an exception.

Carmaker Lexus has unveiled "Liminal Cycles," a 3D printed "multisensory and responsive installation" created by the group Crafting Plastics, now on display at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Miami.

"Liminal Cycles" uses the Lexus LF-ZC concept electric car as "inspiration," but it is focused on the potential for technology to assist in more flexible manufacturing, or what it calls "software-designed vehicles," or SDV. The art has been installed at the ICA Miami sculpture garden.

Crafting Plastics, based in Bratislava, Slovakia, was founded by Vlasta Kubušová and Miroslav Král. It used 3D printed bioplastic, Nuatan. A UV-responsive coating reacts to environmental stimuli, allowing "Liminal Cycles" to change color and expand and contract.

The college football bowl season has wrapped up for 2024. Not the athletic competitions on the field, obviously, but a competition to create a greener game.

The University of Michigan says its Recycle Bowl event set a record for the most recycling collected at a college football game during its Nov. 2 game against the Oregon Ducks in Ann Arbor, Mich.: 22 tons of recyclable materials collected from pre- and post-game tailgating parties along with materials collected at the stadium. That number topped a previous Recycle Bowl record of 20 tons of materials in 2023.

And, just like any big event, UM says the win required a lot of teamwork. And that included plastics companies.

Amcor Rigid Packaging, with headquarters within a few miles of the university, provided assistance along with Plastipak, machinery maker and mold builder Husky, the National Association for PET Container Resources, Clean Tech, Penn Color and bottled water company Absopure.

PET collected at the football game will be used to create new water bottles for Absopure. Those bottles will be distributed at Michigan's Feb. 21 basketball game against Michigan State University.