Library branch adds 3D printing to its list of services

THUNDER BAY – As technology advances, 3D printing is expected to eventually become part of day-to-day life.

The Thunder Bay Public Library’s Waverley Park branch has collaborated with Ohm Base Thunder Bay to host a Maker Space on the ground floor of the library, which has been home to a publicly accessible 3D printer for nearly a year. The printer can be used by anybody at a rate depending on time spent printing and amount of material used.

Stephen Hurrell, Thunder Bay Public Library’s head of automation, said the purpose of the printer for the library to be a space to develop new ideas.

“It’s really a way for the library to gain relevancy in the community and to be an interesting device people can come to use in the library to begin to explore the technologies that are probably going to be very important in the future,” he said.

The printer has been used for projects ranging from toys and small items, such as whistles and tools, to demonstrate the machine to prospective innovators designing and constructing prototypes to test their ideas.

People can either find a pre-existing design online of an object they want to make or create the blueprint themselves.

The goal is to work with different organizations and associations, such as the Northwest Innovation Centre, for people to be able to build both their product as well as a business case.

While the concept is envisioned to have many commercial applications such as allowing consumers to print off replacement parts for various objects, the applications for 3D printing are still being explored. Many people believing the concept could result in previously unimaginable breakthroughs across many different fields.

“The possibilities are limitless,” Hurrell said. “We’ve had inquiries from the medical field, engineering fields, from Lakehead University and Confederation College. Everybody has been interested in the technology and we think there is a good plan for growth here.”

Ohm Base volunteer Jeff Cliff said about 100 people visit the space on a weekly basis, some just to learn what is happening and others to work on bringing ideas to life.

A number of different workshops are held on a regular basis and attended by people of all ages, ranging from children to their grandparents.

“We find as people want to learn about it if they come in the biggest barrier of entry is actually just showing up,” Cliff said. “If you want to show up wanting to learn we can teach you.”