The inaugural FIU Pig Roast celebrates food, culture, and community — but this year, technology also had a seat at the table. As preparations for the roast get underway, College of Communication, Architecture + The Arts labs are busy “cooking up” something new: more than 1,600 gold coins, created entirely with 3D printing.
Just like a perfect roast depends on steady heat and the right equipment, 3D printing requires precision. Temperature control keeps the filament flowing, while the build plate ensures a strong foundation. With these ingredients in place, our CARTA teams turned spools of filament into coins that combined tradition with innovation in true FIU style.
For this project, the School of Architecture’s Miami Beach Urban Studios (MBUS) Innovation Lab, the SoA Digital Print Lab, and the Robotics and Digital Fabrication (RDF) Lab came together, using PLA (Polylactic Acid) filament. PLA was chosen because it is biodegradable, safe for public events, and reliably prints at relatively low temperatures. To ensure quality and efficiency, the extruder was set at 195°C, which allowed the filament to melt smoothly without clogging. Each coin design was carefully pre-sliced with precise parameters, eliminating the need for supports and post-print cleanup. The build plates were kept cool and cleaned between jobs, with glue-stick adhesion providing reliable results and fast turnover. Using Bambu Lab matte gold PLA, the teams were able to produce 16 coins at a time in just 5.5 hours, with each coin measuring 1.75 inches in diameter.
The process was a coordinated effort across three CARTA labs. At SoA MBUS, staff and 3D Printing Lab Technician Karim Nishida oversaw production and created the final design, while Kevin Basulto, SoA Print Lab Manager, managed operations in the Digital Print Lab. Student lead Sujay Kumarji kept things running smoothly in the RDF Lab. Together, they managed print failures, replaced filament spools, and ensured continuous output across all three sites.
By the end of the project, SoA MBUS had produced 964 coins, the Digital Print Lab created 580, and the RDF Lab contributed 60, bringing the total to an impressive 1,604 coins. What started as a challenge turned into a showcase of CARTA’s creative problem-solving. From roasting pigs to printing gold, the Pig Roast proves that technology can add flavor to the celebration.
