Thanks to the tenacity and drive of librarian Don Moses, Robertson Library now has a 3D printer, a Ditto. Don spent the past weekend assembling the kit from scratch, and so when I heard on Monday that it was all stitched together, I sent him an email:

Coming up to campus on Wednesday for lunch. Will I be able to print a fork?

To which Don quickly replied:

I plugged the printer in … lights came on, fans whirled, did not go to home position so I’ve got some calibration to do. If I can print a fork I will :)

To which I replied:

Perhaps the motivation of knowing I will have to eat with my hands will inspire you to great feats of technical wizardry!

This morning I received a short email from Don:

Your fork awaits…

And, sure enough, when I arrived at Robertson Library this afternoon for my fortnightly lunch with Mark and Don, I was handed this:

Later, in his office, Don showed me the 3D digital object that was the source for the print:

It’s a little tinier that I needed, so there are some refinements for version 2.0 (Don just printed the object verbatim, without adjusting for scale or design).

But it’s a fork.

Made in the library.

Perhaps the first fork ever made in a library. Or at least in Robertson Library.

I look forward to seeing what emerges from the manufactory in Don’s office in the days and weeks to come.