Jude Chamberlain
eSomethin Staff
Maker-Preneurship is a new class this year that is a student-run business using STEM to complete orders and master various machines and tools. The participants focus on both the business side and the manufacturing side.
Logan Lawniczak, a student in the class says, “there’s freedom in the class and there’s always something to do.”
Maker-Preneurship has class in the STEM lab, a space used to hold technology and machines to fulfill orders. The class has different machines including 3D printers, laser engraver, heat press, a shirt printer, embroidery machine, CNC machine and large printer for stickers and posters.
Class participants are split up to create and manufacture products with their machines.
Dominic Navarro says, “Nice to use these machines” and “Not everybody gets this opportunity.”
Posters can range in size and can also be improved by adding garments. Both the posters and stickers can be multicolor using a variety of inks that mix together to make colors.
Using both the 3D printer and laser engraver there are almost no limits for designs. With the 3D printer prices are based on weight and time. The laser engraver cuts into materials ranging from cardboard to wood to acrylic and using a laser cuts into the material. Designs can be really complex with the laser engraver and prices can depend on material usage.
Some products that can be created include coasters, posters, stickers and puzzles. One newer product is fat heads that are a big blown up picture of someone’s face. With the use of 3D printers almost anything can be created from replacement parts to fidget toys. The cost of items vary in price depending on materials and cost of equipment.
If shirts are something you would want to purchase there are three options: the first is using the shirt printer where a shirt is heated up then the design is printed onto the shirt with ink. This leaves room for complex designs with many different colors.
The next option for shirts is the heat press, where a layer of vinyl and other materials are put onto the shirt. They stay on the shirt by heating up both the material and the shirt, melting the material onto the shirt. This option can leave for designs that also go through the printer or otherwise left as one color.
The final option for shirts is the embroidery machine, which takes the shirt and puts thread in the shirt and naked a design. This type of machine has limited design flexibility as the more colors the more likely the machine is to break. Students will help to find out what type of shirt to do depending on design.
Throughout all the machines the possibilities of creation and design are endless. Over on the business side of the class there are positions of manager, marketing, design lead, order manager, and accounting. The positions from the business side and the production side switch halfway through each quarter. The best selling products are posters, stickers, and shirts. For any orders email Lexi Marshall at lmarshall@perrysburgschools.net.
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