3D Printing in a Secure STEM Environment: MyStemKits & D3CRYPT3D Announce Partnership

As 3D printing dives deeper into the educational system, dedicated teachers are increasing their focus on the STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) / STEAM (including art) curricula, providing students with lessons revolving around some of the most relevant areas in education today. While the lessons themselves are obviously important to students’ success with the material, so is a less-considered area in classroom technology: security.A new partnership announced today between two Atlanta-based technology companies is seeking to bring asset protection into the increasingly-digital classroom as D3CRYPT3D and MyStemKits work together to bring a secure educational environment to 3D content.

MyStemKits describes itself as offering “the world’s largest library of 3D printable kits and curriculum designed specifically for K-12 STEM education.” The company came onto the scene in early 2015, launching its educational offerings via Kickstarter, and has been working with a variety of partners to enhance the educational experience, including work with 3DPrinterOS to smooth the workflow and with Dremel Education to broaden the availability of their curriculum offerings. With this latest agreement, the education-focused company looks into security as an important part of its business operations as well as classroom management.

D3CRYPT3D offers a 3D asset protection, management, and security platform, introducing its offerings this past autumn. Through this partnership, MyStemKits’ content library will now offer a secure resource to educators and students.

“This partnership unlocks the world’s largest digital asset library of STEM focused design files to educators in a secure manner,” said MyStemKits CEO Laron Walker.

Coming this autumn, PolyPort by D3CRYPT3D promises new features and a new UI; all PolyPort users will have access to the library from MyStemKits. The partnership will help extend the capabilities of MyStemKits, as it expands beyond the ready-to-print model and allows students and educators to create their own 3D printable designs. By building upon the original focus of delivering designs and curriculum offerings, MyStemKits notes a goal of extending support to educators working in technical ed, engineering, and other design center program focuses.

For its part, D3CRYPT3D is enthusiastic about the extension of IP protection to educators and students as design becomes a more prominent part of the STEAM curriculum. Keeping up with the founders’ mission to empower creators and safeguard their intellectual property, the extension into the educational market shows a keen focus on allowing creators to “secure and trace their IP along the digital thread from concept to creation to distribution,” as the company notes.

“While the continued growth of 3D printing presents significant upsides for all areas of life, it also presents new challenges for creators with regards to safeguarding their intellectual property,” Chloe Kettell, CEO of D3CRYPT3D, tells 3DPrint.com.

“This partnership with MyStemKits has the potential to not only change the game for the education industry, but also make our nation great again. It ensures quicker learning for educators and students while ensuring a secure ecosystem for the creator, as well as catalyzing tech industry growth in Atlanta and the Southeast.”

Intellectual property protection is a large issue that will only grow as the world further embraces digital technologies. By working protections and security into the earliest contact new designers may have with the technology, D3CRYPT3D ensures that the product designers of tomorrow gain a full understanding of protections starting today.

“What better way to further our mission of safeguarding makers’ intellectual property than by investing in people who will create our future? We couldn’t have asked for a better partner to work with in this endeavor,” said Kettell.

Let us know your thoughts on this potentially game-changing partnership in the D3CRYPT3D MyStemKits Partnership forum thread at 3DPB.com.