By BRIAN WALKER

Staff Writer

POST FALLS — Call it your cutting-edge trip to the printer — and grab a book while you’re waiting.

As part of its Future Ready program aimed at introducing patrons to technology, the Community Library Network, which has branches in Post Falls, Hayden, Rathdrum, Spirit Lake, Athol, Harrison and Pinehurst, will soon offer 3D printing services.

"It's taking abstract ideas and bringing it into the physical world," said Nick Madsen, who has held the network's new title of emerging technology librarian for three months.

The network will offer 3D printer demonstrations on April 10 at the Post Falls Library from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; April 11 at the Spirit Lake Library from 4 to 6 p.m.; and April 12 at the Hayden Library from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. An online tutorial is also available at CommunityLibrary.Net/Ready.

Computer-aided design models that can be virtually any personal object or a prototype for a business can be uploaded to a cloud or taken to a library on a flash drive to be printed. Library staff will take it from there with one of three 3D printers the district recently purchased.

Printers will be at the Post Falls and Hayden sites to launch the program, while the third machine will rotate between the remaining libraries in the district.

"Our hope is that every library will eventually have its own," Madsen said. He added that patrons will be able to pick up their 3D items at whichever library they choose to have them printed.

"Not many people can afford an $1,800 printer, so we're happy to share this resource with the community," said Anne Abrams, the network's communications director.

Biodegradable, non-toxic plastic models are formed in the printers and customers can choose one color. However, the material can be painted for folks who want their model to be multiple colors.

Models can be up to 10 inches long, 6 inches deep and 6 inches tall.

"We estimate that models will be available to pick up in 10 to 14 days from the time they are ordered, depending on how many are in the queue and other factors," Madsen said.

The only charge will be for the material. The cost is 12 cents for each gram of filament used.

For example, a bookmark will cost about 75 cents, a 10-inch elephant with bendable legs $15 and a 6-inch eagle statue $4.

It takes about half an hour for a bookmark to be formed in the printer and 15 hours for the elephant.

Plastic resembling weed eater line is fed into the printer, which melts the product and forms the model layer by layer.

"The easiest way to think about it is a hot glue gun controlled by a computer," Madsen said.

Abrams said staff think the printers will be used by patrons of all ages for widespread reasons, from business to personal gifts. She developed a chess piece with a poodle head while learning the system.

"There are huge applications for this," she said. "We are also preparing the workforce."

Madsen said he's aware of a blind pregnant woman who was able to feel a 3D model of a baby to get a sense of what someone else feels when they see an ultrasound.

To enter the 3D world, people often start out using computer programs such as Tinkercad or Thingiverse to access pre-designed models that they can also tweak to personalize. As they advance in the hobby or profession, people design models from scratch or develop more detailed items.

Madsen said 3D printing technology has been around for about 40 years, but, like most technology, it's moved from an industrial grade and costing thousands of dollars to a more compact, affordable version that's being latched onto by libraries and going mainstream.

Abrams believes the network is in the middle of the curve with offering 3D printing. It has had a 3D printer for three years, but it has only been used for demonstrations, not patron orders. The Coeur d'Alene Library also offers 3D printing services.

She said part of the network's function is introducing folks to technology.

"We're here to help people gain confidence in technology," she said. "Technology can be a scary thing, but this makes it fun. You have to learn, but we're here to walk you through that. The motivation is the object at the end. We can help you put ideas into reality."