A longtime challenge of teaching STEM with robots is that when parts break or need to be replaced that often means purchasing more expensive components for an already expensive product.
Krzysztof Szyliński, a teacher at the Vocational Training Centre & School Complex No. 1 in Stargard, Poland, doesn’t worry about this happening with his students. That’s because the robots his students use come with a 3D printer with repairs in mind.
“Students can take measurements of damaged elements themselves, and then model them in CAD, and print them,” Szyliński says. “The measurements made force the student to perform mathematical calculations, the design develops spatial imagination, and the result is a printout of a finished element.”
Szyliński is one of several teachers I spoke with in Poland (via email with the help of a translator) who is using Astorino robots. Made by Kawasaki Robotics, these recently debuted in the U.S. and lend themselves well to incorporating 3D printing into robotics education.
Szyliński and his colleagues recently shared tips for teaching robotics and 3D printing to support student success and job training in STEM.
Teaching With Robots: Letting Students Lead
Robotics, as with many STEM subjects, needs to be hands-on for the students. That’s why Paweł Derwic at the Electrical and Electronic School Complex in Toruń, Poland, advises not solving problems that come up for students.
“Help as much as it is needed but give them the opportunity to come up with different solutions on their own,” Derwic says. “The most important thing here [for student] is to create your own algorithms in programs and draw conclusions from any failures.” He adds that students should be reminded that making mistakes at this stage are to be expected and a key part of the learning process.
Sławomir Szymanowski agrees. “We must make sure that students do not passively accept technology and technical solutions,” says Szymanowski, a teacher at the Technical School Complex in Ostrów Wielkopolski, Poland. “We want them to be creators, to be able to create not only programs for a robot or a PLC, but also machine parts or elements of robotic production lines.”
Benefits of 3D Printing
Incorporating 3D printing into robotics education in particular, and STEM education in general, offers many lessons for students, say the educators interviewed for this story.
“Spatial modeling develops many skills and competencies,” Szymanowski says. “In addition to teamwork and developing creativity, 3D printing teaches a technical approach to many areas of life, including those related to robotics or broadly understood industrial automation.”
He adds, “When we develop even the simplest element for printing, we first have to imagine it. 3D modeling develops spatial skills and spatial visualization. When we reconstruct machine components, we have to take them apart, analyze, measure, or at least determine their size and proportions.”
Real-World Jobs Training And Beyond
Utilizing robotics lessons alongside lessons in 3D printing helps students develop skills that can lead to jobs. But it’s important for these lessons to be designed with the current and ever-evolving needs of the industry in mind.
“Teachers should be open to cooperation with companies where students will find employment in the future,” Szyliński says. “It is important to educate staff who not only have general knowledge of the educational material but also take into account the needs of the local labor market.” He adds this isn’t always easy. “The challenge for me, as a robotics teacher, is to meet expectations regarding the educational process and to properly prepare students for the requirements of the labor market – industry 4.0.”
For his part, Szymanowski says that one way to accomplish your objectives as a robotics instructor is to embrace the STEM concept of learning through discovery. "Such classes activate students very much, and give them a lot of joy when they are allowed to create and discover on their own," he says. "They do not passively participate in the teaching and learning process, but even create it and to some extent even direct it."
