continued from page 43

industrial roots and its energized
(MIBB) because of its link to Auto-
entrepreneurial spirit, Blair Evans,
mation Alley — and because of Stra-
through his organization Incite
tasys' Israeli connections. When Gov.
Focus, opened a fab lab in 2010 at
Rick Snyder went with the MIBB on
one of the Detroit charter schools
a trade mission to Israel in 2013, he
for troubled children he supervises
handed out USB drives printed on
as superintendent. In partnership
Dasi Solution's 3D printers.
with Automation Alley in Troy, Incite
Although Darbyshire doesn't see
Focus offers job-training skills that
3D printing as the next industrial
teach about work environments and
revolution, as it sometimes is called,
give participants tools for bringing
he said, "I believe 3D printing is the
the most value to companies.
catalyst for the entrepreneur revolu-
Evans also is part of a global team
tion because 3D printing brings a
running the Fab Academy, started
wide range of manufacturing capabil-
by his alma mater, Massachusetts
ities to the common person. It allows
Institute of Technology. Through its
them to experiment with manufac-
Fab Lab Network, the academy offers
turing on a small scale I think it will
classes, certificates and diplomas via
change how on-demand products are
online videos and lectures from global delivered to the consumer."
instructors, combined with hands-on
To illustrate his point, he tells of
instruction and collaboration in as-
an employee with a broken plastic
sociated fab labs around the world.
switch on his lawn mower. The man
On Nov. 17, Evans will be a key-
designed the switch and created one
note speaker at the DigiFab Con in
on a printer at work.
Baltimore, which will focus on 3D
"A dealer would never have to stock
printing, manufacturing, business
replacement parts: Darbyshire said.
development, education and commu- "One could be printed on-site from
nity building.
John Deere on demand."
Area schools and colleges are using
3D printers as educational tools as
well. For example, Farmington Public REPAIRING THE WORLD
Aside from revolutionizing manufac-
Schools has printers in all of its high
turing on grand and individual scales,
schools. For a small materials fee of
3D printing and associated
about $50, Michigan
technology
also is making
State University and
the
world
a
better place.
University of Michigan,
Israel
hosted
its first
among other in-state
Tikkun
Olam
Make-
colleges, offer 3D printing
A-Thon (TOM) June
to all students and faculty
29-July 1 at the new
(and often the public).
Nazareth
Industrial Park.
Users can create their
Sponsored
by the Reut
own computer designs or
Institute
in
Tel Aviv and
visit free 3D file-sharing
the
Schusterman
Philan-
repositories such as
trhopic
Network's
Con-
Thingiverse, Threeding,
nection
Points
program,
Cubify, 3dfilemarket.com Arnon Zamir
the three-day event gath-
and myminifactory.com.
ered 120 creators from six
Printing service sites,
countries to use 3D print-
such as Shapeways or
ing and design to address
Sculpteo, allow creators
the
needs of people with
to open stores on their
disabilities.
sites, usually for a com-
A dozen teams created 14
mission, so consumers
products
collaboratively, all
can purchase — and
with
a
"need
knower" (doc-
customize — 3D-printed
tor,
nurse
or
disabled in-
designs that include
dividual
with
deep knowl-
jewelry, home decor and
edge
about
the
challenges
much more.
people
face)
on
board.
At Dasi Solutions in
Products
included
Pontiac, you can buy a
David Darbys hire
a prosthetic hand for
Stratasys desktop 3D
an Israeli boy, a mind-
printer — or larger print-
controlled robotic arm, a
ers designed for industry. Or you
solution
for
moving back and forth
might use the company's 3D studio to
from
wheelchair
to floor, a kit to
test out a printer by making a rapid
let
a
disabled
child
play as a soccer
prototyping model of a business idea.
goalkeeper,
a
customizable
tablet
Owner David Darbyshire joined
keyboard,
a
tool
to
hammer
a nail
the Michigan Israel Business Bridge

44 November 20141

RD THRUM

At Hillel, student Jacob Banooni partners with Trevett Allen to solve problems using the 3D
printer.

with one hand, a hat for a blind
person that allows them to avoid
indoor walls and customized shoes
for people with disabilities.
"You create the right environment
with the right people, and you don't
really know what will happen: said
Arnon Zamir of Tel Aviv, co-founder
of TOM. "We created conditions for
good things to happen and then sup-
ported it. All that we created is now
in the public domain and published
on the Internet afterward so no one
can patent it" — and all can use it.
"One of our goals was to inspire
and create a community around the
world of makers with technological
skills to harness energy for tikkun
olam, for a positive impact on the
world: Zamir said.
It seems to have had success. At the
end of November, another Tikkun
Olam Make-A-Thon will be held
in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Next March, a
second TOM Israel will be held in Tel
Aviv.
Although not all participants at
this summer's TOM were Jewish,
the event clearly had roots in Jewish
values.
"In the most direct way, the Reut
Institute and Schusterman both are
Jewish institutes with great interpre-
tations of tikkun olam," Zamir said.
"On a deeper level, it is very likely
for such things to come from Israel
because of the Jewish understand-
ing of our place in this world. Part
of what we are obliged to do is to
leave the world a better place than we
found it.
"And on a practical approach:
he said, "Israel is full of innovation,
a very technologically innovative
country. We are extremely success-
ful in harnessing the 'startup nation'
spirit for innovation for tikkun olam
issues:'

Zamir's other hat is as COO of
XLN (Cross Lab Network), whose
mission is to open a chain of af-
fordable makerspaces across the
Jewish State. Five are open already.
This communal model requires no
registration and offers tools, systems
and support to help you do what you
want with your idea, Zamir said.
It's an interesting goal for the Reut
Institute, an apolitical nonprofit pol-
icy group focused on Israel's national
security and the Israel 15 Vision that
calls for Israel to become one of the
15 leading countries in terms of qual-
ity of life in 15 years, among other
objectives.
XLN also created its own educa-
tion initiative, including classes in
3D printing and other technology for
ages 12 and up.
"This is a revolution — industrial,
educational and personally: Zamir
said. T3D printing] is a collab-
orative tool, an investigative tool. It
places the teacher as the enabler, not
the source of knowledge. People use
their creativity to gain creative confi-
dence. We are developing educational
programs for 3D printing and other
technology and running them in
schools in Israel:
Zamir easily puts 3D printing in
perspective.
"Look around for the next step for
3D as it becomes more accessible:
he said. "As printers become easier to
utilize, people are finding new uses
for them.
"It's like with computers in the
early 1980s. At first, they were con-
sidered something you needed at a
bank or an accounting firm. Once
they became accessible, easy and
affordable, people are using them for
everything. Now you can't do any-
thing unless you're online. To some
extent, 3D printing is like that." 11-r