Friday, July 10, 2020

Laser Cutters in the Classroom

I have long been a user of the paper cutting machines you see in craft stores. I have a Silhouette Cameo machine that I use for making cards and vinyl objects for decoration. It is so much fun!

I have been intrigued by the CO2 laser cutters/engravers which can cut or engrave cardboard, wood, leather, plastic, metal, acrylic, rubber, and glass up to a certain thickness.

THE FLUX BEAMO

FLUX, a CO2 laser cutter/engraver company, asked me to take one of their models for a spin and find resources to support their use in the K-12 environment.

The FLUX Beamo CO2 Laser Cutter & Engraver ($1899), seen below, is compact and has many of the features of the more expensive cutters on the market.

FLUX Beamo

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The Beamo can cut and/or engrave on various materials

   Cut and/or engrave      Engrave only 
  • Cardboard
  • Wood
  • Bamboo
  • Leather
  • Acrylic

  • Fabric
  • Rubber
  • Cement
  • Glass
  • Stone
  • Anode metal
  • Stainless steel      
 


                 Meet the FLUX Beamo


The FLUX Beamo includes software for designing and printing (Beam Studio), but  students can use many other design software programs like Autocad, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, or any software that can export out as a JPG, PNG, SVG or DXF file.

Here are links to a few Beam Studio online tutorials: 1 | 2 | 3



The set-up of the FLUX Beamo was easy and the manual that came with it took me step-by-step through all the things I needed to do. The LCD panel was bright and easy to navigate. I attached the Beamo to the WiFi network in my home (you can also use Ethernet if you wish), downloaded the design software to my Mac, and updated the firmware in the Beamo via a USB drive. I also vented the Beamo out the window to avoid any fumes in the basement. (FLUX offers an Air Fume Extractor for the classroom so you would not need to vent it out a window.)

I used a 4.5" square piece of ⅛" wood and loaded a sample item, found in the Beam Studio software, to print. There is a camera in the Beamo that allows you to see, when in the software, where the item will be printed on your material. It took about 4 minutes for the Beamo to first engrave and then cut out the item.



Below is the finished product. And I went from unboxing to set-up to upgrading firmware to learning the software and to printing in about 1.5 hours! The learning curve was really small since the documentation was so well-done. 

Want to find out more? Here is the link to the Beamo Guide and Beam Studio Guide.


And my first project of my own design is below: 



USING BEAMO IN THE CLASSROOM

There are many online resources that include tons of great ideas for the use of a laser cutter to support the curriculum and school community. Following are overviews of the ones I thought were most helpful. 

Most resources target student use of laser cutters at the middle and high school levels. However, as we found out with 3D printers, students of all ages can create a design and the final product can be printed out by an adult. 

One very cool feature of the FLUX Beamo Go app (iOS and Android) is that a student can draw a design on paper, use a phone or iPad to take a picture of it, send it to the Beamo and print it out. This method easily allows students to create projects with the Beamo laser cutter!


RESOURCES


This 158-page handbook was compiled with ideas from many of the educational experts in the fields of constructing and creating. There are ideas for many constructivist projects using various tools. I did a search of the PDF for "laser". There was information on what students learn during both the design process and the machine cutting process, which included ratio, tools, unit, scale, and other math skills and also learning how a laser works. (10)

In another project, included by Susanna Tesconi, students go through the design thinking process, and, during the prototyping stage, if the laser-cut object needs to be re-worked, each student has a box where they put their "failures". At the end of the unit, students explain how their journey to success was helped by each of the prototypes. (36)

Heather Allen Pang outlines how she taught a unit on the history of telecommunications and had pairs of students create their own telegraph. She cut out the bases on the laser cutter, but students wired and tested their telegraphs. (79) 

Another project supplied by Pang is having students create silhouettes that are laser-cut. This project brings history and new technology together. (84)
 
Mark Schreiber has his high school students make an ugly Christmas sweater by using all types of materials, many of which include electronics for the sweaters to blink and play music. However, he has them use the laser cutter for cutting out the felt objects for the sweaters. (89)

There are many more ideas in this free book including parent and teacher collaboration. Make sure to download it! 

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Although this guidebook for high school level students was put out by another laser cutter manufacturer, it includes the rationale you might need when asking for a laser cutter/engraver to be put in the budget.

This document includes ideas for both curriculum support projects and also ways in which the school can both save money (making plaques) and make money (selling school-themed keychains in the school store).

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Trotec, another laser cutter manufacturer, offers another great resource which would be applicable for middle and high school. This PDF includes categories which outline learning outcomes, instructional strategies, assessments, and additional learning resources for each of them. The categories are:
  • Personal and project management
  • Science and history
  • Materials
  • Supporting tools
  • Laser operation
  • Graphic essentials
  • Health and safety
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This site includes links to instructions for easy projects to have students create with a laser cutter.


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LASER CUTTERS AND STEM
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TOOLS TO USE

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    I hope I have supplied you with some great reasons and ideas to purchase a FLUX Beamo CO2 Laser Cutter & Engraver for your classroom, Makerspace, or STEM lab. 

    With its small footprint, easy-to-use functions, and low cost, once you get one and start students creating projects to support the curriculum, raise money for a field trip, or make up the award plaques for the assembly, you will wonder why you did not purchase the Beamo sooner!

    For updated links, visit my site here: https://www.schrockguide.net/lasercutters.html




    Monday, July 06, 2020

    IPEVO VZ-R HDMI/USB Dual Mode 8MP Document Camera

    IPEVO has been offering document cameras for schools for many years. Many of us started with their their first offering, the IPEVO P2V (Point to View) USB camera with its removable camera. (Who remembers the thrill the students got when they could show a bug at close range and full screen? Ugh.) That low-cost ($69) device demonstrated to us how effective a document camera could be in supporting teaching and learning.

    IPEVO P2V CAMERA (2009)

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    OVERVIEW

    Fast forward to mid-2020, and IPEVO has just released their 8th gen model, the newly updated IPEVO VZ-R HDMI/USB document camera. This camera has functions we could only dream of in those early P2V days!

    IPEVO VZ-R USB CONNECTION TO LAPTOP OR DESKTOP (2020)
    Of course, true to its roots, the IPEVO VZ-R HDMI/USB can attach to a laptop, Chromebook, or computer desktop via a USB cable, and mirror what is on the "stage" for recording and sharing a screen of information with others. IPEVO offers two free software programs to support this: Visualizer and Visualizer LTSE (accessibility software to use with the document camera).
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    USING THE IPEVO DOC CAMERA FOR REMOTE LEARNING

    The IPEVO VZ-R HDMI/USB, using the USB mode, can be used to support remote  teaching, learning, and meetings. When in USB mode, the IPEVO VZ-R HDMI/USB also activates a built in microphone!

    Many educators are submitting their uses of the IPEVO document cameras and sharing them with the rest of us.

    IPEVO offers printed step-by-step guides for using the IPEVO VZ-R HDMI/USB in USB mode with some of the most popular online collaboration tools.
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    IPEVO VZ-R HDMI/USB plugged directly into a projector

    The IPEVO VZ-R HDMI/USB document camera can also easily be used to showcase items, live drawings, and book pages to the entire class, even without a computer! Since this document camera also includes an HDMI connection, it can be plugged directly into a projector for mirroring and streaming on a whiteboard with no need for a computer.

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    IPEVO VZ-R HDMI/USB plugged directly into a monitor or TV

    Since many classrooms now use a large touchscreen monitor or flat-screen television for projecting to the class, the IPEVO VZ-R HDMI/USB can also be plugged directly into the HDMI port on the monitor or TV and stream live to the big screen! This document camera includes easy-to-access adjustment buttons to use in any mode, too!

    Full product manuals and information may be found here.
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    TECH SPECS

    Price
    • $219

    Size
    • D x W x H (when folded)
      With base-4.57”x 4.25” x 11.85” (11.6 x 10.8 x 30.1cm)
      Without base-3.07” x 1.57” x 11.42” (7.8 x 4.0 x 29.0cm)
    Weight
    • 2.2lbs (1.0kg)

    Model
    • CDVH-03IP
    Color
    • Emerald Green

    Camera
    • 8.0 Megapixel
    • Full auto-focus lens
    • High definition resolutions-up to 3264 x 2448 (USB mode), and up to 1920 x 1080 (HDMI mode)
    • Up to 30 fps live video capture (at full HD)
    • Sony CMOS image sensor and a powerful Ambarella integrated system-on-a-chip (SoC)

    Output
    • HDMI and USB

    Maximum Shooting Area
    • 10.6” x 18.9” (270 x 480mm) [16:9]
    • 13.5” x 18.1” (344 x 460mm) [4:3]

    Compatibility
    • Works with Mac, PC and Chromebook

    Package Contents
    • Camera head and stand
    • Base
    • USB Type-C to Type-A cable (4.90ft/150cm)
    • Screwdriver
    • Screws x 4
    Mac

    Minimum Requirements
    • Intel® Core™ i5 CPU 1.8 GHz or higher
    • OS X 10.10 or higher
    • 2 GB RAM
    • 200MB of free hard disk space
    • 256MB of dedicated video memory (For lag-free live streaming up to 1920 x 1080)
    Mac
    Recommended Requirements
    • Intel® Core™ i5 CPU 2.5 GHz or higher
    • OS X 10.10 or higher
    • 4 GB RAM
    • Solid-state drive, and 200MB of free hard disk space
    • 256MB of dedicated video memory (For lag-free live streaming up to 1920 x 1080, and video recording of 1920 x 1080)

    Windows
    Minimum Requirements
    • Microsoft Windows 7 Service Pack 1 or higher
    • Intel® Core™ i3 CPU 3.20 GHz or higher
    • 4 GB RAM
    • 200MB of free hard disk space
    • 256MB of dedicated video memory (For lag-free live streaming up to 1920 x 1080)

    Windows
    Recommended Requirements
    • Microsoft Windows 10
    • Intel® Core™ i5 CPU 3.40 GHz or higher
    • 4 GB RAM
    • 200MB of free hard disk space
    • 256MB of dedicated video memory (For lag-free live streaming up to 1920 x 1080, and video recording of 1920 x 1080)
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    UNBOXING

    Below are two of the images taken I was putting the IPEVO VZ-R HDMI/USB through its paces. I attached the sturdy metal bottom plate, plugged it into my Mac, open the IPEVO Visualizer software, and I was ready to go!





    You can find out more details of the IPEVO VZ-R HDMI/USB  and learn about the company's other products on the IPEVO site!