An introduction to additive manufacturing for undergraduate engineering students using authentic learning pedagogy and a project-oriented teaching-learning design

An application of authentic learning pedagogy through a project-oriented teaching-learning method was developed to introduce second year engineering students at Dalhousie University to additive manufacturing. Different projects are offered in five different discipline sections for students in the engineering design course. This paper focuses on a project offered to the Chemical Engineering section. The project introduces manufacturing skills by teaching additive manufacturing principles in the classroom, then incorporating a real-world design project by having the students design and build a 3D printhead for the laboratory 3D printer. Students applied design principles in this multidisciplinary project, collaborated in a team, and compared the performance of their printheads. This project was effective in teaching students design and manufacturing principles and increased their familiarity with 3D printing. The outcome of this project is shared in this paper so that it may be used by other instructors considering a similar project.