Explore the Emerging Technology Devices at The DME Lab
Ryerson University and their staff plays a big role in providing students with educational resources. They offer resources to help students with their challenges in course work and to enhance their skills and abilities. Most students are the most familiar with resources at the Ryerson Library. The library offers many resources that includes online databases, journals, books and in-person workshops to improve student’s writing and research skills. However, not many people are aware of the Digital Media Experience (DME) Lab but it’s not to late to know about them now. The DME Lab is accessible on the third floor of the Student Learning Center at Ryerson and it is only one floor below the Ryerson Library. The DME is spacious lab and a digital media production facility. The lab provides emerging technology devices and digital media workshops hosted by the faculty. The lab has many technology devices such as VR, 3D printers, cameras and more. They also have Mac computers with adobe software programs such as Photoshop, Illustrator and such. If you need a one-on-one tutorial on how to use a certain device or program you can book an appointment with one of the advisors online at https://library.ryerson.ca/dmelab/. Besides those resources, the lab is happy to help you with a project or prototyping and let you even borrow stuff. You can drop by the lab anytime Monday to Friday between 10 am to 8 pm. The faculty members will be happy to assist you.
My Experience at the DME Lab
As a Ryerson Student I have gotten to know about the DME Lab through a friend however I was not aware of their devices and workshops until my Digital Skills and Innovation Course, EID100. I have always been curious about their technology devices in the lab so I decided to drop by the lab for a 3D-Printing workshop on March 7th at 12 noon. The workshop was an hour long and it was very interesting. The faulty member that was hosting the workshop was also very friendly and answered questions that I had. In the workshop I was able to learn about the different 3D printers that the lab provides, the different temperature settings depending on the plastic material used and the program that is used to 3D print. The faulty member had lead me through the whole process to how to 3D print but we did not get a chance to 3D print something as all the printers were occupied. However, I was able to see 3D printer in action. The 3D-printer I saw that was currently printing is called the Simple Black and it has a medium bed size.
There are also other 3D printers that are available at the DME Lab and they are the Simple White (Same model as Simple Black), Makerbot, Taz and Prusa. The main difference between the 3D printers mentioned is their bed size. Makerbot has the smallest bed size and Taz has a biggest bed size in terms of the width out of all the 3D printers in the DME lab. As well Makerbot can only print with the laptop connected to it as it has it’s own system therefore anyone who wants to print on the Makerbot must put their models and STL files in that laptop.
Please note that there are a few things that you should know before accessing and using the 3D printers.
First of all, not everyone can use the 3D printers. They must take the 3D-printing workshop and take a test to be certified to use the 3D printers.
Second, it is important to know the safety rules, density limits and temperature settings of the two different plastics filament PLG and PETG. You must ensure that you are NOT printing any weapons, inappropriate figures and phone cases. Before printing you must be sure that you double check the type of plastic on the 3D printer you are printing on. Usually, the type of plastic filament is labelled on the spool and after you have checked the type, you must adjust the correct temperature on the OctoPrint (the program use to print prototypes in STL format). If not, it won’t print properly. PLG must be set at the temperature 210° and PETG must be set at 245°. The density limit on the advanced settings of OcotoPrint is also important and it can be 10 and 20 or in between. 10 is the lowest and 20 is the highest fine standard. It should not be lower than 10 or higher than 20. As well when you print it is important that you tie up your hair and roll up your sleeves and DO NOT TOUCH the nozzle as it is very HOT.
Lastly, the user should know what kind of support structure his or her model needs in order for the print to be successful. The support is important as it prevents overhangs and holes in the print. If you are not sure which support to use please ask for assistance of one of the faculty members available or use the program Cura. Cura is a program you can see the layering of the prototype and it helps users spot holes and potential overhangs better. As well it can help predict the total timing of the print before you print unlike OcotoPrint, where it tells you the timing once you start printing.
3D Printing Conclusion & Recommendation
In conclusion to my experience with 3D printing and 3D printers, I think that 3D printers are fairly easy to use and learn. They are very user-friendly for beginners too as the programs and settings are very simple to understand. As long as one go to the workshop, follow the rules and learn the process, anyone can use the 3D printer to print their prototypes. However there is a few things the 3D printer can improve on.
One, the main program OctoPrint can’t predict the overall print time of the prototype before printing and the printer itself does not tell you the process of the printing or time. It would be better if the 3D printer has a small digital screen that tells the user the number of percentage being completed and the time left. Similar to uploading a file or downloading a file. It tells you the process of the task being completed and the estimated time.
Second, I have noticed that the 3D printers such as Simple White & Black, Prusa and Taz have a lot of dangling wires and parts. It looks hard to assemble and could be inconvenient for people printing. As well it could be a potential hazard if it comes in contact with the hot nozzle or water. The design can be improved if the 3D printer can be more compacted with the wires being placed somewhere else or wrapped up in another part where it is not visible so it doesn’t get in the way of something.
Something like this:
Thirdly, the 3D printer can also be improved by printing in different materials beside plastic filament. If the 3D printer can print other materials such as rubber, felt ,metal, cement or silicone, the printer can print more variety of things. And those variety of things can also help people in need like printing something for medical purposes or in the architectural field.
If the 3D printer has improved on these things, I believe the printer would be more successful in the future.
Exploring other devices
Besides the 3D printer, which was my first time exploring one and learning how to use one, I also explored another device which was the HoloLens. There are also other technology devices in the DME Lab such as the VR, cameras and the AR Sandbox however they were not new to me as I have experimented with them before.
The HoloLens
I have always heard of the HoloLens as people describe the device as a computer on your head but I have never seen the actual device itself before. My experience trying on the HoloLens was very unique however at the same time it made me very dizzy. It was very interesting seeing a loading window and a pulsing movement through those lens. When wearing those lenses it reminds me of watching a 3D movie with my 3D glasses where in the movie things pop up out of no where. It was fun moving the head around and I can see the window and pulsing followed my vision and movement. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much installed in the HoloLens that I could experiment with. I have to probably book another appointment to get a better experience. Overall, the device was user-friendly as it was easy to turn on the device and put on the gear. However, there could also be a few things that can be improved in the design of the HoloLens. One could be a lighter design of the head gear since the materials used for this HoloLens is very heavy and tight. Due to the fact, the HoloLens is heavy around my head it made me dizzy using the device therefore it wasn’t a totally pleasant experience. Besides implementing a design with lighter materials, the HoloLens should have the option to change the lens colour or lessen the opacity of the grey. Some people may prefer shaded lens but some may not. The dark grey lens was hard for me to blend in the virtual hologram with reality. The lens was so shaded that I can only focus on the virtual hologram and the reality in the background was dark. If the design of the Hololens was made lighter with more of a transparent lens then I believe it would make people’s experience with virtual hologram and reality more real and successful.
To take everything into account in this blog post, there are always ways to improve ourselves and to improve things. Technology is growing and improving every year because people are improving themselves first. They get resources they need to gain better understandings of things, skills, abilities and improve their ideas. If you are someone who want to improve yourself and enhance your skills or want to be innovative check the DME Lab or the Ryerson Library out. I hope this blog post has helped you learn something about the DME Lab and some of their devices too. :)
If you are someone who is new to DME, I challenge you to take one of their workshops!
Thank you for reading this post.
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