Paper Authors

Abstract

NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract

The Development of User-Friendly Information Resources in Rapid Prototyping

Abstract

This current NSF-ATE project provides guidance in the development of technology transfer approaches, marketing materials, understanding of the incorporation of Rapid Prototyping into the design process for manufacturing, and maintenance procedures for the purchased Rapid Prototyping equipment. The project dissemination includes regional workshops and support material that is being disseminated through workshops to publicly funded K-12 Institutions, Regional Technology Centers, Community Colleges, and Universities. This paper reports the informative website developed for the P-16 Rapid Prototyping education. The structure of the site development, its content and usage statistics collected through a web counter system are reported in this paper.

Introduction The largest downfall of the Internet has become apparent, organizing the mass of information that is available. Lack of awareness and education are impeding the growth and expansion of the rapid prototyping (RP) industry1. Structuring large amounts of information to enhance accessibility is the ultimate goal of the development of a RP Instructional Delivery Support (RPIDS) site, which is http://rpids.csc.tntech.edu/ or RPIDS.net. There is an abundance of information available on the Internet about emerging technologies. Students and instructors can spend hours of wasted time sorting through unrepeatable sources. The goal of the RPIDS site development is to create a portal through which students and educators can interact in a constructive and well-organized learning environment. The project also maintains a growing database of presentations and handouts that can be utilized by the subscribers of the site.

Background Several RP sites have been developed thus far. Most of them are available online and they are free for their users’ industrial or educational needs. Castle Island’s information site contains various informational materials and links prepared in hypertext modes and it is commonly used for quick RP information needs2. The other one is being developed by the staff of University of Utah3. This site is pretty similar to the one developed by Castle Island. The links draw broad attention from industrial and educational users. There are a number of similar sites to both developments. They can be reached via reference 44. Although there are many technological sites available in this emerging fabrication technology there is no existing knowledge base for use by educators, students and industry. Such a site should be a combination of educational panels, student information links and industrial knowledge sets. In order to address these needs, a modular site is being developed by the researchers at Tennessee Tech University.

• Citation

• Format
  • APA
  • APA - LaTeX bibitem
  • MLA
  • MLA - LaTeX bibitem
  • Bibtex
  • EndNote - RIS

Fidan, I., & Bennett, G. (2009, June), The Development Of User Friendly Information Resources In Rapid Prototyping Paper presented at 2009 Annual Conference & Exposition, Austin, Texas. 10.18260/1-2--5098