Open-Source 3-D Printing Course (Michigan Technological University)

Summary

Michigan Technological University's Open-Source 3-D Printing course (MSE4777/MSE5777/EE4777/EE5777, formerly MY4777), created by Joshua M. Pearce and the Michigan Tech Open Sustainability Technology (MOST) group, is an introduction to distributed additive manufacturing using open-source 3-D printing. First run in Fall 2014, it became one of the best-known open-hardware courses: each student paid a ~$500 materials fee, built a customized MOST Delta RepRap 3-D printer during the first weeks, and kept the printer at semester's end. The whole toolchain is free and open source — hardware, firmware, slicing and printer-controller software — and students learn open-source CAD (OpenSCAD, Blender, FreeCAD), open-hardware licensing, and the RepRap community ethos. Projects escalate in complexity: parametric rock-wall holds, educational aids, open-source scientific equipment, and open-source appropriate technology (OSAT) for sustainable development — including a 3-D printed otoscope designed in response to a request from a Cameroonian doctor via Appropedia. All student designs are openly licensed, leaving a reusable legacy. The complete course — syllabus, schedule, five content modules, assignments, and build instructions with videos — is published on Appropedia under CC-BY-SA. The documented on-page run is Fall 2019; Pearce later moved to Western University (Canada), and the course page persists as open courseware, hence Dormant status.

Guiding Principles

Open Source: Every layer — printer hardware, firmware, software, syllabus, assignments, and student outputs — is openly licensed; students must use only open tools and publish their designs.
Modularity: Students build, modify, and upgrade their own printers; graduate students must contribute a design improvement back to the MOST Delta platform.
Circular Economy: Modules cover recyclebot filament recycling, distributed manufacturing, and appropriate technology that cuts research and consumer costs dramatically.
Transferable Skills: Open CAD, firmware, and fabrication skills outlive proprietary toolchains; students keep both the printer and permanent access to every tool used.

Learning Outcomes & Transferable Skills

Learners gain 3D Printing operation and troubleshooting (FFF/RepRap), CAD with OpenSCAD/Blender/FreeCAD, Electronics through Arduino-based printer control, Coding via firmware and parametric design, and Systems Thinking about distributed manufacturing's economic, environmental, and social ramifications. The flipped, project-based format builds presentation and documentation habits (students publish on Appropedia and YouTube).

How to Replicate or Build On It

Read the course page on Appropedia (MSE4777) — it contains the full syllabus, grading scheme, schedule, and module readings.
Use the linked MOST Delta/Athena build instructions and videos to source and assemble a printer (~$500 BOM).
Follow the five modules in order: RepRap build → open-source hardware theory → community and licensing → open-source CAD → OS science and OSAT projects.
Adopt the textbook Open-Source Lab: How to Build Your Own Hardware and Reduce Research Costs (Pearce, Elsevier 2014).
Require students to publish designs with open licenses, completing the open-source learning cycle; the model ports readily to high-school or entry-level undergraduate settings.

Considerations & Constraints

Cost: Course materials are free online; replicating the build requires roughly $500 per student for the printer kit.
Skill Level: Intermediate; designed for advanced undergraduates/graduates in engineering but explicitly portable to motivated beginners.
Space/Climate: Classroom/lab with soldering and assembly capacity; climate-independent.
Tools Required: 3-D printer kit components, soldering equipment, computers with open-source CAD and slicers.
Ongoing Maintenance: Low for the published materials; printers themselves require upkeep. Content reflects Fall 2019 tooling (e.g., Franklin firmware), so instructors should refresh software links.
Access Barriers: Some linked readings/videos may have rotted; Appropedia offers machine translations (Chinese, French listed); no institutional enrollment needed for self-study.

Prerequisites

None formal for the open materials; the original course targeted engineering students, but the designer states the content can be ported to entry-level undergraduates and high-school students.

Primary Source

https://www.appropedia.org/MSE4777 — official open courseware page (syllabus, schedule, modules, assignments) on Appropedia, CC-BY-SA.