The students at Berzeliusskolan invest in Trotec’s R400 model.

For the students at the Berzelius School in Linköping, the new year offered an exciting and fun element – a new laser machine, model R400, from the Austrian brand Trotec. With the machine, they carry out school work and innovative projects such as the creation of house models and mock-ups of state parts.

Nils Winge has worked as a teacher at Berzeliusskolan for almost 8 years and teaches for grades 1, 2 and 3 in, among other things, courses with a focus on technology, construction and CAD where the students learn to draw different house constructions. It is one of the largest technology programs in Sweden and after the education the students further their education in areas such as design and product development, machine construction, building technology and architecture.

The students who take these courses get to work a lot with 3D printers, but that type of machine is often perceived as complicated, time-consuming and limited for the model sizes to be printed.

Currently, their R400 laser is running continuously and the students have created models and prototypes in a variety of materials, such as MDF, acrylic plastic and thin plywood. Next to the machine is a BOFA Extractor filtration unit that captures any smoke from the work.

A group of students is currently working on a final school project that goes by the name “play store” where they will create a collapsible kiosk for the preschool located in the same building. Students cut the model out of MDF – first on a smaller scale to visualize and test the prototype – before cutting the kiosk to the correct size and material.

Another exciting project that the students are working on in the laser is creating tie hangers. The tie hangers on the market today leave much to be desired, and the students have been given the task of creating their own where only their imagination sets the limits.

Before the Berzelius school invested in a Trotec, they only had 3D printers to rely on. In connection with the acquisition of larger premises, there was therefore an opportunity to purchase a laser machine of that size. Nils searched various laser machines and suppliers and came into contact with Logimark’s laser experts. The machine has currently been running for six months and is used extensively by the students in many of their innovative projects.

“The most fun is to combine the laser with our 3D printers, in order to get the most out of the different techniques. And we are very pleased with the speed that our R400 delivers.”