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Can you teach an old dog new tricks? Eleven-year-old Domenic Berardi recently tried his best to show a Winchester News reporter how to use a 3D printer.
He’s had two, so far, and thanks to help from high school senior Marcello Goluboff, he was able to set up his first one a couple of years ago.
Domenic shows his banana sword. VIDEO COURTESY OF CATHY DEPRIMEO BERARDI
Berardi recently made a bird house — it took three days — but his specialty is a collapsible “banana sword.”
“You can’t make something longer than the printer bed,” he says, “so I made it with five tubes.”
Berardi even started his own business, selling the printed items to friends and classmates. He charges $50 for the sword, but also offers a family discount.
“I make tons of fidgets,” he explains, adding he made small dog and cat figures to give as Christmas gifts.
Time lapse of a the creation of a dinosaur skull. VIDEO COURTESY OF CRAIG SMITH
A sixth-grader at McCall Middle School, he belongs to the 3D Fab Club.
“But I’m not good at advertising,” Berardi says, so his grandfather finds customers for him.
The new printer
The Winchester Public Library’s new 3D printer is the charge of Craig Smith, the library’s Head of Technology & Information Services. Smith used to work at the Cambridge Public Library where they had a printer, and he realized his budget in Winchester would allow him to buy one for about $1,400.
Smith says there’s a queue at the moment, and that most of the projects are for toys, parts for air tags, and some Greek statuary.
And residents can find patterns themselves (Berardi uses Thingiverse) or library staff can help find patterns. Details about how to do all this can be found on the library’s website.
So if you need advice, you can get hold of Berardi through the middle school club.
