The PIRL PresS
The PIRL Ethos
The PIRL serves to provide an environment for all members of the St. Stephen’s community to engage in design, innovation and creative service while also recognizing the individual, local and global hope and change that compassionate making can bring to society.
Student Spotlight
Jenna Rogge, Class of 2019, developed an interest in prostheses a few years ago. She had always loved medicine and engineering and thought that designing prosthetic limbs would be a great way to "mash up" her love of both of those areas. Jenna came to The PIRL wanting to build the "Raptor" prosthetic hand. After almost 90 hours of designing, scaling and printing, Jenna began the process of assembling all of the parts, which took close to 5 hours. While Jenna is still waiting on the final parts to arrive, she is excited to send her prosthetic to e-NABLE to have it validated. Once her prosthetic hand is validated, Jenna will be approved to create 3D Printed prosthetic hands for children in need right here in the Austin area. The PIRL is so proud of Jenna's hard work, dedication and innovative spirit.
Team Spotlight - Football
Oscar L. Humphrey III, Class of 2022, came to The PIRL wanting to make something to display team pride in the Austin Saints football team, where he plays offensive guard and defensive tackle. He designed a paperweight out of acrylic that featured the Saints' logo, his initials and his number. After he left and showed the other members of his team, the entire Saints Football team ended up asking to make paperweights as well. We are so excited to host them in The PIRL in the upcoming days!! Thanks to Oscar for convincing the football team to join the growing list of Spartan Innovators!
Class Spotlight
While the 9th grade students were on their retreat, Kim Meyer took the opportunity to bring her Geometry class to The PIRL to work on constructing geometric shapes using Adobe Illustrator and TinkerCAD for laser cutting and 3D printing respectively.
Club Spotlight
The co-heads of the Engineering Club, Jack Turner and Michael Martinez (both Class of 2020), stopped by to learn about The PIRL and to take a tour. They then brought the entire Engineering Club to The PIRL during club time to have a tour and to think about how they might be able to use their space during club time! We look forward to welcoming the Engineering Club, and hopefully other clubs, to The PIRL soon.
Tool Spotlight
The Ultimaker S5 3D Printer is the newest out of the Ultimaker line of extrusion printer. Known as an "extrusion printer", this type of 3D printing takes a solid, flexible filament spool, extrudes it through a printer nozzle heated to 260 degrees Celcius, and then lays that heated filament down in layer heights of anywhere between .10 mm to .20 mm. That heated filament then cools and the process repeats itself. In addition to PLA (polylactic acid - made from renewable resources), this printer also makes use of a PVA (polyvinyl acetate) that build dissolvable support structures for 3D printed items.
A few spots remain for the faculty in-service opportunity in The PIRL on Monday 9/17, 4-6pm. Email me if you would like to come.
Interested in bringing your class to The PIRL or discussing ways to utilize it in your curriculum? Find a time to meet with me!