American Business & Technology University has announced it plans to launch a public 3D printing lab for training and public use.

“It’s a great way to get creativity sparked in young people,” Lute Atieh, ABTU Chief Operations Officer said. “There’s really hundreds of uses for all industries.  Anything from of course the art and design industry to veterinary clinics and even the medical applications of this are big.”

It is the first 3D printing lab in Northwest Missouri available to the public to use and learn from.

“As far as classes go we’re going to do everything from a two hour workshop all the way into a six month program that now only touches on the 3D printer at the technology but also touches on the design pieces,” Atieh said.

The 3D printing lab consists of 10 printer stations and is located at the university’s headquarters in the historic Wyeth Mansion at 1018 W. Saint Maartens Drive (north of the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce).

3D printing specialists from California were on location Monday and Tuesday to assist in the installation of printers and to train staff members.

Pat Ryan is a 3D printing specialist and said this is just the beginning of the public utilizing the new technology.

“The patents have expired so that’s why you’re just now seeing the 3D printer hit the general public,” Ryan said. “These will become cheap enough and one of these days you will have one of these in your house just like you would a microwave.”

Ryan said eventually instead of running to the store to pick up a piece of hardware you will be able to simply download the design and print it at home.

Atieh said classes will start at ABTU in the Spring of 2015.  However, people looking to get on a waiting list can do so by checking out the University’s Facebook Page and asking to be put on a list.

A nine-year-old St Joseph boy will soon be able to hold a pencil, a textbook, or the hand of a friend, thanks to Computer Aided Drafting students at the Hillyard Technical Center.

In a news release, the St Joseph School District announced that Jackson Weston was burned in a house fire about four years ago. He suffered burns over 65% of his body and lost his fingers in the fire. Douglas Weston, who adopted Jackson after the fire calls him his “little miracle boy.”

“Jackson wasn’t supposed to make it, and if he made it, he wasn’t supposed to walk,” he said. Today Jackson is an energetic and enthusiastic nine-year-old student at Carden Park Elementary School.

Weston first thought of the idea of the 3D-printed hand after a co-worker shared a news story with him about a man who 3D printed a hand for himself. He began researching 3D printing, and was all set to purchase the machinery, but decided to contact Hillyard first to see if there was another way. “I’m glad they were able to do it, because now that I’ve seen the process, I know it would have been hard for me to complete.”

Roger Mapel’s CAD class decided to take on the project. “I had actually seen an article about a 3D-printed hand,” said Mapel, “and my classes read it as part of an assignment last year. Luckily, the creator was not looking to make money and had made his designs available online.” The project dovetails with the engineering process the students learn: design, print prototype, adjust, refine.

The class was able to modify the designs using Jackson’s measurements, and has created an initial prototype. After fitting the model to Jackson’s hand, the class is now working to tweak the design to be as useful as possible, which includes designing a sleeve and palm support to make the plastic hand fit onto Jackson’s palm comfortably.

John DeLee is the Adult Educational Coordinator at Hillyard. “Hillyard acquired the first 3D printer in St Joseph about ten years ago,” DeLee said. “At that time, we started a CAD/CAM lab which was shared by students in the machine shop and computer aided drafting programs.”

The school’s second printer, currently in use, is the Dimension Elite, manufactured by Stratasys. DeLee says they acquired the new printer about four years ago.

“When we did our research, this was the product that came out on top, in terms of quality, durability and ease of use,” he said.

In the ensuing years, all three high schools in the St Joseph School District have acquired 3D printers for plastic. The district’s Industrial Technology Coordinator, and Project Lead The Way Coordinator Ryan Stobaugh, says Central High School also has a 3D power resin full color printer. That was purchased about three years ago.

Mr Stobaugh says all three district high schools have next ending 3D scanners. He says middle schools may soon receive smaller 3D printers, depending on grand funding.

As for Jackson, he is excited. His new hand will be in blue and orange, his favorite colors, and will include his favorite superheroes on the palm support.

Real estate sales in the St Joseph area were up nearly 20% in November compared to November of last year, but the year-to-date numbers are still lower.

According to data from the St Joseph Regional Association of Realtors, home sales in the group’s nine-county area totaled over $8.1 million in November.

The group reported $6.8 million in home sales in November of 2013.

So far this year, 1,127 homes were sold by realtors here, compared to 1,149 through November of 2013. Total year-to-date sales were worth $127.3 million, a 2.31% drop from the same figure in 2013.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled next month for a St Joseph woman charged with neglect in the malnutrition-related death of her seven-month-old baby boy.

Macayla Jo Armstrong made her first court appearance Tuesday before Associate Circuit Judge Keith Marquart. Armstrong told the judge she would apply for legal representation by a public defender. Judge Marquart scheduled Armstrong’s probable-cause hearing January 9.

In court documents, police investigators say the 22-year-old failed to provide health and sanitary living conditions, food, nourishment and medical care for the baby, which they say resulted in his death. Charges were filed December 13, and Armstrong was arrested the following day.

Armstrong remains in custody in the Buchanan County Jail, unable to post $50,000 bond.