Awardee: Zachary Cofran
Semester of Award: 2022-2023
Materials Awarded: Anycubic MonoX 6K (resin 3D printer and Wash+Cure machine)
Project Description:
I purchased a resin 3D printer, in order to create high-resolution 3D models of human fossils for my teaching and research. The main goal was to support my intensive course, “Virtual Anthropology,” specifically to give students the opportunity to study rare human fossils that had previously been digitized from CT scans. I selected this model of resin printer for the grant, because this specific medium is able to print at sub-millimeter resolution, which is necessary to capture minute details and tiny structures (see photo of printed inner-ear cavity or “bony labyrinth” from 300,000 year-old “Homo naledi” fossil). Unfortunately, I have not had much success printing with this machine, either because of the printer itself or user error on my part, so I have not been able to use the printer with students as intended. But the few successful prints have been helpful when teaching, for instance to help students appreciate the scale of some of the anatomical features we discuss in class.
