Each of Smithtown’s library branches has been gifted with a 3-D printer by the Friends of the Smithtown Library, with a resulting increase in foot traffic.
According to Robert Lusak, the Smithtown Library director, the addition of 3-D printers assists the library in its quest to remain relevant in an age of digital technology. He points out that a 3-D printer is excellent means of bringing people into the library who otherwise might not come.
The 3-D printers are bringing in a diverse group of visitors to Smithtown’s library. According to Jimmy Buckman, Network Administrator, small children stand enthralled watching the printer work.
Local inventors, as well as entrepreneurs, have produced prototypes on the printers. One such archetype was a coffee press.
With this technique showing how advanced and up to speed with technology the modern Print company needs to be, Buckman provided a simplified explanation of how a 3-D printer works. As he explained it, a biodegradable plastic filament is heated by an extruder to 400 degrees. The filament is distributed layer by layer as dictated by a computer to match an image it has generated. As each layer is laid down, a three-dimensional object is created.
Among the objects the library has created to demonstrate the printer’s ability are a dinosaur skull replica and a ukulele.
Get a Free Quote for Print
