3D Printer Management System
Campus operations system used by ~400 students per semester
Internal operations software for department 3D printers—real-time status, queues, usage records, and staff/professor dashboards.
Overview
- My role
- Full-stack builder (solo)
Operational context
Printers were used without reliable logging, so staff lacked real-time visibility into availability, queues, and issues.
Users & stakeholders
- Students reserving and using printers
- TAs and operators managing availability and incidents
- Professors reviewing usage and operational status
Problem
Students used printers without proper logging, and staff lacked real-time visibility and issue tracking.
Constraints
- Had to fit existing department workflows
- Needed low-friction student UX or people would bypass logging
My ownership
- Scoped the operational problem with students and staff stakeholders
- Implemented reservation/status visibility, queue, and dashboard flows
- Shipped and maintained the system in real semester use
Solution
Built a web operations system with live status, queueing, usage records, and dashboards for staff and professors.
System architecture
React/Next.js web app focused on operational visibility rather than heavy analytics.
- Student reservation / status views
- Queue and availability tracking
- Operator / professor dashboard
Key decisions
Optimize for accountability, not novelty
The pain was missing records and unclear ownership of machines.
Prioritize status, queue, and usage history over secondary features.
Trade-off: Fewer ‘smart’ features; stronger operational reliability.
Deployment & operations
Used by approximately 400 students per semester in department operations.
Measured impact
Lessons
- Internal tools win when they reduce operational ambiguity for multiple stakeholders at once.