This large-scale 3D printer is the first of its kind in the U.S., found at the Bolles School 

This large-scale 3D printer is the first of its kind in the U.S., found at the Bolles School (Courtesy of the Jacksonville Business Journal) — Students attending the Bolles School will soon be able to utilize a state-of-the-art fabrication lab, slated to open at its Sanchez Fender Center for Innovation in the coming weeks.

Among the technology available for use is a 3D printer called the Modix Everest — unique for its large build volume — is first of its kind in the U.S., according to a Bolles spokesperson.

The Frank R. Sanchez & Hope and Dana E. Fender Center for Innovation first debuted at Bolles Upper School San Jose Campus in mid-2024. It’s a three-story, $25 million building that houses the private school’s science, math and technology programs, among other specialties.

“The hope is that we want to bring some really cool tech into this space, like that printer, which I think no other school has at this point,” said Arthur Maiman, director of innovation and applied technology. “It’s a new sort of piece of technology to create really large format prints. And so our hope is to reach beyond this building.”

The Modix Everest is different from other 3D printers mainly because of its size, enabling users to print objects up to two meters tall in a single print, according to the company’s website.

Other equipment being added to the Fabrication Lab includes woodworking saws, a robotics arm by UnitedRobotics, metrology equipment, CNC machines and various 3D printers, among others.

Though technology is the focus, the idea is to converge students with the ability to create in a way that is synonymous with the Innovation Center.

The arts and other disciplines may not reside within the same building as STEM courses, but Maiman wants to bring them together to create.

“We want to bring the art department into this space,” he said. “We want to help them build sets for plays and for theater and so we want to really branch out beyond just the STEM piece. Hopefully, like a STEAM type engagement, where we engage with the arts, we engage with other disciplines, with humanities.”

Using technology in creative ways is a theme of the Innovation Center as a whole, which was designed to promote engagement and synergy.

“We engage with technology in a user type way and we want to bring our students out of that user sort of experience to be more of like a maker rather than a user to, you know, get inside of their cell phone and take it apart and see how it works,” Maiman said. “We want to equip our students with those skills so that they’re not just consumers of technology, but developers of technology.”

Photo courtesy of Modix Everest