William,
In additional to these great posts here in the discussion, I have a few members who emailed me some answers for you and they are as follows:
Hi,
We have been running a highly successful program for a couple of public schools in San Jose and are into our 6th year teaching CAD and 3D printing.
I've included a couple of attachments and links if you are interested.
3D Printers: Make Whatever You Want
Dave L.
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Try this to learn about 3D printing: http://www.naturalnews.com/048779_Lulzbot_Mini_3D_printer_review_Editors_Choice_award.html
David B.
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I've seen several people online using 3D printers, but most of
them were small, and used for jewelry making. They are fascinating to watch
as they manufacture various sized clips, stones, and rings faster than humans
can put together. The jewelers just press a button, and wait awhile until the
necklace or ring, etc., comes out the other side. These machines were not
very big--about 16 inches long and 8 or 9 inches tall. They remind me of those
that make various items out of paper, which have been on the market
for 15 years, at least. In fact, I bought one for myself just for fun.
Those are mostly used for making greeting cards that open up with a paper
doll or an animal of some sort, and you can set them to make various trimmings
and designs. They can be bought at most craft stores. Of course, anything
that's solid like making small tools, or jewelry making machines, would
likely be far more expensive, and difficult to find. I would suggest
that anyone who wants to make one himself, go to a craft store, and investigate
the various paper card making machines, and possibly one that turns out
jewelry if the store carries them. At least, that would be a good
start.
Ginger B.

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