A10 vs. A20 For Schools (Teachers Report)
Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2019 11:05 am
YouthQuest Foundation serves at-risk young people sing our 3D design and printing curriculum. Our students include those who have dropped out of school and have come back to try to obtain their GED and other students, on the autism spectrum, in schools that specialize with special needs students.
We also supply the 3D printers for Youth ChalleNGe sites and train their teachers. For the first time, we have added a "build" component to the curriculum and we've settled on Geeetech printers for this new initiative.
This past week, teachers from 3 states came to our lab to learn how to build both a Geeetech A10 and an A20. Our initial idea was to supply these teachers A10 printers for their students to put together and then use for the lesson cycle. But, to a person, it was decided that the best choice was the A20. It was not about print size. It was about exposed wiring and curious kids.
Of course, they weren't paying the extra cost; but, we felt they were right. The enclosed chassis of the A20 will probably result in less down time from a student's curiousity about "What does this cable do?" Being bigger is actually a slight negative since in the environments we serve the printers must be securely stored when not in use and carried to to the classroom for use. Even, so, the teachers felt the enclosed chassis was so clearly more suitable that they would put up with the extra size.
Both printers work well for teaching how to get a 3D printer put together and optimized. Both our recommendation for schools would be the A20.
BTW, we will make our "Build & Optimize" document freely available to the public after we have tested it in practice. It will also include a "What to do if..." section since each of the four printers we have built so far (Three A10 and one A20M) have had at least one or two minor challenges that the teachers had to resolve. We do not anticipate beginning with the A20M in the initial builds due to lack of experience dealing with a "MIX" head.
We also supply the 3D printers for Youth ChalleNGe sites and train their teachers. For the first time, we have added a "build" component to the curriculum and we've settled on Geeetech printers for this new initiative.
This past week, teachers from 3 states came to our lab to learn how to build both a Geeetech A10 and an A20. Our initial idea was to supply these teachers A10 printers for their students to put together and then use for the lesson cycle. But, to a person, it was decided that the best choice was the A20. It was not about print size. It was about exposed wiring and curious kids.
Of course, they weren't paying the extra cost; but, we felt they were right. The enclosed chassis of the A20 will probably result in less down time from a student's curiousity about "What does this cable do?" Being bigger is actually a slight negative since in the environments we serve the printers must be securely stored when not in use and carried to to the classroom for use. Even, so, the teachers felt the enclosed chassis was so clearly more suitable that they would put up with the extra size.
Both printers work well for teaching how to get a 3D printer put together and optimized. Both our recommendation for schools would be the A20.
BTW, we will make our "Build & Optimize" document freely available to the public after we have tested it in practice. It will also include a "What to do if..." section since each of the four printers we have built so far (Three A10 and one A20M) have had at least one or two minor challenges that the teachers had to resolve. We do not anticipate beginning with the A20M in the initial builds due to lack of experience dealing with a "MIX" head.
