Can 3D Printing Turn Imagination into Reality? Here Come Gen-Z College Students’ Works!

Can 3D Printing Turn Imagination into Reality? Here Come Gen-Z College Students’ Works! 3D printing builds bridges for us. Now these bridges are extending to more and more campus classrooms and student projects, bringing new possibilities to education and student practice.

3D Printing Supports Smart Helmet Design and Production

At the 7th National College Student Embedded Chip and System Design Competition, the “Guardian of Safe Travel – Smart Helmet” project  from South China University of Technology won third prize in the national finals.

Team members: Ma Yiting, Zhou Chengfeng, Yu Yichang

It is reported that this smart helmet uses LiDAR and gyroscope technologies to monitor the surrounding environment in real time. Through unique scanning algorithms, the system can accurately extract and optimize the calculation of obstacle distances. When detecting rapidly approaching objects, the helmet issues warnings via lights and buzzers to alert users to potential dangers and indicate their directions.

Helmet dimensions: 260mm×262mm×265mm

Printing material: eSUN PLA+

Embedded system design requires comprehensive capabilities in electronics, software, and structural design, while 3D printing has significant advantages in product structure verification and customized modeling.

In this competition, 3D printing not only helped achieve rapid prototyping of the helmet but also played a major role in module customization and precise control of functional structures.

Moreover, 3D printing technology can extensively assist and support visual and practical learning across various scientific fields.

Efficient Application of 3D Printing in Architectural Model Verification

Image source: Russell Zeng, Cornell University College of Architecture

@罗素小儿 (Xiaohongshu)

Printing materials: eSUN PLA High-Speed and PETG

Taking Russell Zeng’s work as an example, the model’s roof creates different acoustic fields through varied dome spaces, naturally guiding people to different spatial areas, thus demonstrating the interaction between building facades and indoor acoustic experiences.

The model showcases the synergistic relationship between space, structure and acoustics in the design concept.

3D printing technology excels in designing and producing complex curved surfaces and special-shaped structures, with diverse materials meeting different scenario needs, such as transparent materials being ideal for architectural glass components.

Through 3D printing technology, students can more precisely control curved surfaces and detailed forms, express design processes, and quickly verify ideas.

Through communication with various student teams, it’s evident that 3D printing is playing an increasingly important role in education.

In university classrooms, competition projects, and innovation experiments, 3D printing enables students to quickly verify designs, optimize structures, and complete prototypes, thereby enhancing their hands-on skills, engineering thinking, and interdisciplinary collaboration capabilities.

Particularly under the educational trends emphasizing “project-based learning” and “interdisciplinary integration”, 3D printing’s advantages of visualization, practicality, and iterability are becoming key drivers of educational model innovation.

Innovative Material, Creative Life – eSUN actively supports the application and expansion of 3D printing technology across various industries.

In education, we will continue to provide free material sponsorship for teaching, competitions, and research projects, encouraging innovative practices and supporting talent development.

If you are conducting or planning related projects, please feel free to contact us. This initiative is long-term.