A 3D printer, desktop CNC milling machine, laser cutter, vinyl and paper cutter — Pine Belt residents may not know what all these devices can do, but they can soon find out because Southern Miss is making them available to the public.
These machines are known as digital fabrication tools, and they can be found in a place called Eagle Maker Hub — Southern Miss’ first publicly available makerspace.
The space is the brainchild of Anna Wan, assistant professor in mathematics.
“A makerspace is just a space where things are made,” she said. “Makerspaces connect people who want to make things with people who have the knowledge to make the things and the tools (to do it).”
Zach Cochran is a 3D printing and testing specialist at Southern Miss. He said you can make any three-dimensional object with a 3D printer.
“If you can design it, you can 3D print it,” he said. “There’s a lot of design…