Students in Tonya Wheat’s engineering class have been working since the beginning of school on several projects utilizing advanced technology. To make the projects, the classes are using computer software called AutoCad Inventor and a 3D printer.

“They are learning how to problem solve,” Wheat said. “They are using math skills. They don’t even realize that they are using them and they can apply these skills in their other classes as well.”

Students must design the item they want to print using the AutoCad inventor software. Some of the projects that students have been working on include: Rubik’s cubes, a phone case, a rocket, checkers, and fishing lures.

“We are 3-D printing a Rubik’s cube without springs or screws,” junior Spence Griffith said. “Right now we are designing the core for the Rubik’s cube, which is the most complicated part. Once we get that done, we have all the other parts of the cube completed like the corners and edges.“

After designing the project, the students must send the projects to the 3D printer. The printing process is lengthy and can take days to complete.

“They can use the skills they use in here if they go into engineering field, medical field, surveying, and architecture,” Wheat said. “They will already be a step ahead of most students.”