We visited iMakr’s New York City retail store and were surprised to find a number of people training to become 3D print experts.
iMakr has two retail locations, London and NYC, where they provide a number of services related to 3D printing, including sales of multiple brands of 3D printers, supplies, 3D printing services, repairs and basic training. It’s the kind of well-rounded product spectrum that you don’t get from anywhere else.
iMakr founder Sylvain Preumont took us to the rear of the NYC shop to “show us something interesting”. There we found a number of students working through a 3D design problem.
This is not particularly unique, people learn about 3D all the time. But what’s different here is that these folks were deep into a long-term, extensive program to fully educate them on all things 3D printing.
They were in a ten week, full-time, all-day training course. Ten weeks! That’s fifty full days of training!
What were they learning? Preumont explained they’ll be taught “all the software”, meaning a number of typical 3D modeling tools, as well as how to operate several 3D printer models (which happen to be handy in the store).
Students also learned the details of GCODE, the underlying machine language that controls 3D printer movements. But here’s the interesting part: no one actually codes in GCODE directly, but by learning GCODE, these students gain a far deeper understanding of how the machines actually work internally. This can be applied to higher-level scenarios when diagnosing a problem, for example.
The students also were instructed to completely disassemble a 3D printer down to raw components, and then reassemble it to a working state. In this way they gain a huge understanding of how the mechanical aspects of 3D printing work.
Here’s the most incredible part: iMakr charged these students only USD$2,400 for the entire ten-week course. That’s an incredible deal for someone who wants to learn as much as possible in a new industry where jobs can be obtained.
However, for some people ten weeks of full day training is not an option; jobs or other distractions may preclude attendance. In those cases, iMakr offers a 20-hour, two-evenings-a-week program for only USD$800, which covers a similar curriculum but at less detail.
For those of you located in NYC and London that have an interest in joining the 3D printing world, this could be a quick way to dive in. However, we understand the pricing of these courses may rise in the future, so you’d best check with iMakr.
Via iMakr