Printing a Better World
Donation protected
I want to teach kids the basics of the arduino, manufacturing processes, and 3D printing. Through a two week after-school program, we will be guiding them through building a 3D printer from recycled materials for their school.
I believe that every school should be equipped with a 3D printer- even if they can't afford it.
Please support my dream and join us in Printing a Better World.
My name is Kyle, and for the past five years I have been traveling in a school bus that I converted into a sustainable home using recycled material.
I have a deep passion for reusing old things in an effort to reduce waste and save resources. So when I bought a bus - I started collecting materials, broken appliances, and electronics from curbs or recycling centers to build my tiny home. I became very interested in 3D-printing, and began to experiment with a cheap 3D-printer that I got online. It wasn't the highest quality printer and I was often fixing and maintaining it. Through this, I gained a solid understanding of the mechanics, hardware, and software that goes into a 3D-printing unit.

I decided to build a 3D-printer from mostly recycled material and 3D-printed parts. Many YouTube videos and four days later, it was complete. The rails were taken from broken inkjet printers that I found in the garbage, the body/frame from junked wooden shelves, the bed from the aluminum case of a old MacBook. Most of the wires and circuitry I already had on hand, but it added up to about $40 dollars of hardware that had to be bought new.

I want to share this learning experience - that I have enjoyed so much - with other people. I am setting on a mission to travel across the country, visiting schools and teaching kids how to build their own 3D-printers from recycled materials.

With each class that I visit, I will be giving to the school the printer that the students have participated in building. This will provide the kids with the means to experiment, design, and hopefully build their own printer to use at home.
In the future, I would also like to start producing the filament from recycled plastics that the students could collect prior to the class. This would allow us to go a step further and print the necessary parts from recycled plastic - and with how much plastic is being thrown away - it would give us an endless supply of filament.
To many people, 3D-printing seems out of reach. The opinion is that it requires expensive machines that only the most experienced technicians and engineers can understand and use. I proved that this is false, by building a cheap machine and learning to use it from very little experience. For this reason, I want to offer this program to schools in low-income areas. Let's change 3D-printing from a status symbol to a basic tool that any kid can access!
The materials needed for each class will cost roughly $100, and I will be offering this program to the schools free-of-cost. This is why I need your help.
I am seeking funding to start a non-profit organization and another bus to retrofit into a dedicated mobile maker space. We could also use a decent camera to document the project.
I already have all of the equipment for a maker space - but our space is limited since I live in our bus with my wife and four-year-old son. I would like to move the tools from my tiny home into a mobile shop that has a bit more room and accessibility.
Here's a list of the things that I need to get this project off the ground.
- I can start with my own bus, but I eventually want to build this into dedicated mobile recycling center.
- Enough parts to supply the first 50 schools with a 3D-printer ($5000)
- Fuel to travel ($1500)
- Legal assistance to establish a non-profit (501c3) ($1000)
- A Camera and a few accessories to document the journey. ($500)
If we start gaining more funding and support I would like to add a few more things to the list including solar for the bus and arduino nano's to give out to the kids.
If you have a passion for recycling, 3D-printing, or teaching kids, I would love to have your involvement. I would also appreciate any sponsorships, or even just a shout-out or a share. If you have any kind of help that you'd like to offer, don't hesitate to contact me.
I am hoping to start this tour in the Spring of 2018, but can't do it without your help.
Please help me share my vision of a giving children the opportunity to build a 3D printer for their school.
Any donation or support in this project is greatly appreciated.

Together, we can Print a Better World! Thank you for your support.
printingabetterworld.com
I believe that every school should be equipped with a 3D printer- even if they can't afford it.
Please support my dream and join us in Printing a Better World.
My name is Kyle, and for the past five years I have been traveling in a school bus that I converted into a sustainable home using recycled material.
I have a deep passion for reusing old things in an effort to reduce waste and save resources. So when I bought a bus - I started collecting materials, broken appliances, and electronics from curbs or recycling centers to build my tiny home. I became very interested in 3D-printing, and began to experiment with a cheap 3D-printer that I got online. It wasn't the highest quality printer and I was often fixing and maintaining it. Through this, I gained a solid understanding of the mechanics, hardware, and software that goes into a 3D-printing unit.
I decided to build a 3D-printer from mostly recycled material and 3D-printed parts. Many YouTube videos and four days later, it was complete. The rails were taken from broken inkjet printers that I found in the garbage, the body/frame from junked wooden shelves, the bed from the aluminum case of a old MacBook. Most of the wires and circuitry I already had on hand, but it added up to about $40 dollars of hardware that had to be bought new.
I want to share this learning experience - that I have enjoyed so much - with other people. I am setting on a mission to travel across the country, visiting schools and teaching kids how to build their own 3D-printers from recycled materials.
With each class that I visit, I will be giving to the school the printer that the students have participated in building. This will provide the kids with the means to experiment, design, and hopefully build their own printer to use at home.
In the future, I would also like to start producing the filament from recycled plastics that the students could collect prior to the class. This would allow us to go a step further and print the necessary parts from recycled plastic - and with how much plastic is being thrown away - it would give us an endless supply of filament.
To many people, 3D-printing seems out of reach. The opinion is that it requires expensive machines that only the most experienced technicians and engineers can understand and use. I proved that this is false, by building a cheap machine and learning to use it from very little experience. For this reason, I want to offer this program to schools in low-income areas. Let's change 3D-printing from a status symbol to a basic tool that any kid can access!
The materials needed for each class will cost roughly $100, and I will be offering this program to the schools free-of-cost. This is why I need your help.
I am seeking funding to start a non-profit organization and another bus to retrofit into a dedicated mobile maker space. We could also use a decent camera to document the project.
I already have all of the equipment for a maker space - but our space is limited since I live in our bus with my wife and four-year-old son. I would like to move the tools from my tiny home into a mobile shop that has a bit more room and accessibility.
Here's a list of the things that I need to get this project off the ground.
- I can start with my own bus, but I eventually want to build this into dedicated mobile recycling center.
- Enough parts to supply the first 50 schools with a 3D-printer ($5000)
- Fuel to travel ($1500)
- Legal assistance to establish a non-profit (501c3) ($1000)
- A Camera and a few accessories to document the journey. ($500)
If we start gaining more funding and support I would like to add a few more things to the list including solar for the bus and arduino nano's to give out to the kids.
If you have a passion for recycling, 3D-printing, or teaching kids, I would love to have your involvement. I would also appreciate any sponsorships, or even just a shout-out or a share. If you have any kind of help that you'd like to offer, don't hesitate to contact me.
I am hoping to start this tour in the Spring of 2018, but can't do it without your help.
Please help me share my vision of a giving children the opportunity to build a 3D printer for their school.
Any donation or support in this project is greatly appreciated.
Together, we can Print a Better World! Thank you for your support.
printingabetterworld.com
Organizer
Kyle Butler
Organizer
Taos, NM