Intervjuu on tehtud Tallinna Kuristiku Gümnaasiumi töö- ja tehnoloogiaõpetaja Märt Tammisaarega. Allpool on ka intervjuu inglisekeelne versioon.
Down below is the English version of the article.
Kui ma esmaspäeva hommikul Märdi töötuppa sisenesin, ei tervitanud mind ainult tema, vaid ka 3D-printeri rahulik sumin. Ta valmistas kooli jaoks uusi WC silte. Ma olen varemgi näinud, mida see masin teha suudab, aga see endiselt vaimustab mind. Sellega võib valmistada peaaegu kõike mitte millestki ja seda juhtub siin ruumis üsna tihti. Laud ja aknalaud olid kaetud võtmenagidega, draakoni peade ja tiibadega, eri värvi molekulide ning muidugi kuhjade viisi uute WC siltidega.
Kuidas su päev läinud on?
Küllaltki lihtsalt. See on esimene päev uue tunniplaaniga. Uus tunniplaan on päris hea, kuna mul on reede vaba. Mu elukaaslasel on reedel mõned loengud, nii et ma saan last hoida.
Milline oleks sinu ideaalne päev?
See oleks segu 75% tundidest ning ülejäänu oleks vaba aeg, et ma saaksin tegeleda projektidega kooli ja enda jaoks. Hetkel teen ma lihvimisketta jaoks uut rakist, mis on kooli projekt, et ma saaksin tööriistu teritada.
Mis projektid sul veel praegu käsil on?
Las ma mõtlen …
Siis ta näitas mulle kuvaril erinevaid värvikoodidega nimekirju. Kõik olid eesti keeles, aga ma sain aru, et seda on ikka palju.
Mul on märkmed tuletamaks meelde, mida pean tegema. Need, mis on erksalt välja toodud, on tööd, mida ma teen praegu. Näiteks vineerist kastid. Igal klassil on oma kast – nad panevad oma lõpetamata tööd sinna, et need segi ei läheks.
Räägi mulle veidi 3D-printimisest. Kus sa seda õppisid?
Ülikoolis, kus ma sain bakalaureusekraadi, oli eraldi tund, kus õpetati ainult selle programmi kasutamist.
Kas ka õpilased kasutavad 3D-printerit?
Ei, see on nende jaoks liiga keeruline. Õpilaste jaoks on mul arvutiversioon. Isegi kolmas klass saab sellega hakkama, see on nii lihtne. Alustada võib lihtsatest kujunditest, nagu kast või silinder või püramiid vms, ning seejärel saab need panna omavahel kokku.
Sellest hetkest minu hämmastus ja entusiasm 3D printimise vastu suurenes mitme protsendi võrra, nüüd, kus ma tean, et sellega saab hakkama isegi kolmanda klassi laps.
Mis oli esimene asi, mille sa printisid?
Tegelikult kasutasin ise 3D-printerit esimest korda siin koolis, olin varem kasutanud ainult CNC-freespinke. Kasutasin seda palju ülikoolis. Ma tegin isegi oma diplomitöö sellel teemal. Need kaks on päris sarnased, mõlemaid kontrollib arvuti. Iga väiksem liigutus on üks koodirida. Ühes osas võib olla sadu või isegi tuhandeid koodiridasid.
Kuidas on nende raskemate asjadega, näiteks selle draakoni osadega?
See koosneb umbes 50 megabaidist koodidest. Nendes osades võib olla isegi miljon koodirida.
Kuidas sa neid teed?
Ma laadisin draakoni internetist alla ja kohandasin seda natukene.
Kui kaua võtab 3D-printimine aega?
Kui ma teeksin seda iga päev, võtaks see umbes nädala. See draakoni pea valmis umbes 5 tunniga, aga suurem osa (kael ja keha) valmisid 8 tunniga. Tiivad valmisid kumbki 4-5 tundi.
Draakon nägi välja metsik ja detailirohke, seega pidin seda lähemalt vaatama.
See kaalub vähe.
See on seest täidetud ainult 50% ulatuses – see säästab materjali.
See oli see moment, kui ma sain aru, et üks nendest sarvedest oli katki ja ma hakkasin paanitsema sekundiks, aga õnneks polnud see minu süü.
Kuidas sa näiteks seda parandad?
Parandan seda atsetooniga. Atsetoon sulatab natuke materjali ja osad saab liimida kokku. See on väga lihtne.
Olgu, aitab 3D-printimise müsteeriumist. Mis on su kõige erilisem mälestus?
Oh, raske küsimus … Kõige erilisem? Mul on palju mälestusi, seega on vastamine raske. Võib-olla ajateenistuse lõpetamine oli hea mälestus. Lisaks ka kooli lõpetamine: kõik koolid, ülikool. Millegi lõpetamine on hea mälestus, sest see on hea tunne, kui sa oled teinud või saavutanud midagi. Tavaliselt võtab see kaua aega, aastaid, et lõpetada kooli. Ma olen selle üle uhke.
Mille eest sa oled tänulik oma elus?
Olen õppinud, et elus tuleb kõige eest tänulik olla, mis sulle on antud. Olen tänulik inimõiguste eest. Ma võin tänaval kõndida, ilma et keegi jageleks minuga, või ma saan süüa ükskõik millal, ükskõik mida. Ma võin minna ükskõik kuhu. See on vabadus. Olen sündinud Nõukogude Liidus. Tänapäeva noortel, kes on sündinud Eesti Vabariigis, pole aimugi varasemast. Näiteks leiva ostmine poes – seisin seal tunde, kuid lahkusin tühjade kätega, sest poes sai leib otsa. Täna saab minna poodi ja valida, mida soovid.
Mõtlen selle peale, kui hakkan vinguma, et miski on raske. Aga võiks olla ka halvem, seega see aitab mul edasi minna. Alati leidub keegi, kes on halvemas olukorras kui sina. Me elame Euroopas. See on põhimõtteliselt parim koht, kus elada, peale Põhja-Ameerika. Ma ei saa kurta liiga palju. Muidugi saame nuriseda, et me pole nii arenenud kui Skandinaavia riigid, aga ikkagi. Ma arvan, et meil on päris hea elu.
Peab olema tänulik iga väikse asja üle. Elus peab nautima ka väikseid asju, mõistad? Asi on väikestes asjades, nagu aja võtmine küpsise söömiseks ning kohvi joomiseks. Need on need väiksed asjad, mida tuleb elus nautida, muidu ei ole millelgi mõtet.
Kui sa saaksid valida ükskõik kelle, siis kellega läheksid õhtusöögile?
Kahjuks ta just suri: Stephen Hawking. Kui sa tahad rääkida kellegagi, siis ta peab olema kõige targem inimene maailmas. Aga kui ma saaksin valida ajaloost, valiksin ma mõne türanni, näiteks Hitleri või Stalini. Ma räägiksin nende inimestega, et mõista, millest nad mõtlesid. Mis oli põhjus selle taga, mida nad tegid? Miks nad olid sellised? Miks nad kujundasid maailma nii, nagu nad seda kujundasid?
Kui saaksid muuta ühe asja maailmas, mis see oleks?
Hmm. Peaks muutma paljut. Aga ütleme, et tahan muuta vaesust. Asi on selles, et 10 inimest omavad sama palju raha kui ülejäänud 50% maailmast. Olgu, see on probleem. Aga siiski, saad tegeleda sellega hiljem, sest siis pole ühtegi taime alles, kui me jätkame samamoodi nagu praegu. Ma leian, et meie planeedi säilitamine järgmistele põlvkondadele on hetkel kõige tähtsam teema.
Kui rääkida sõdadest, siis on sel ka positiivne pool. Pärast suuri konflikte toimub alati tehnoloogiline areng. See organiseerib kõik ümber, näiteks ka inimeste väärtushinnangud. Ma tean, et see kõlab veidi karmilt, et nii kõrget hinda on inimkond korduvalt maksnud.
Mis üleloomulikke võimeid sa endale sooviksid?
Ma tahaks olla selgeltnägija, et ma saaksin lugeda teiste inimeste mõtteid ja neid mõjutada veidi. Ma arvan, et ma kasutaksin seda headel eesmärkidel. Oletame, et ma räägin kellegagi ja ta arvab, et ma olen ebaviisakas, siis ma saaksin ennast parandada. Parimatel pokkerimängijatel on see oskus peaaegu et olemas. Nad loevad palju mängukaaslaste emotsioonidest välja ja teavad, kuidas sa mängid, ning võivad ära arvata, millised kaardid vastastel käes on. Nad on väga läbinägelikud inimeste suhtes.
Kas sa mängid pokkerit?
Jah, koos oma sõpradega mängisin, aga enam mitte. Peale seda, kui mu pere suurenes, pole mul selleks enam aega.
Mis sa siis vabal ajal teed?
Mida sa mõtled vaba aja all? Mul ei ole seda enam. Kui ma olen tööl, aga ei tööta, teen oma isiklikke projekte kodu jaoks, pisiasju. Kodus ei ole mul vaba aega enne beebi magama minekut. Peale seda me vaatame filmi, võib-olla joome natuke veini, räägin oma elukaaslasega ja see ongi kõik. Hetkel ei ole palju vaba aega. Septembris loodame saada vaba koha lasteaias. Siis on meil natuke rohkem vaba aega. Ma tegelen ka veidi spordiga: jalgpalli ja võrkpalliga. Võrkpalliga tegelen rohkem suvel, õues, nii et ma lihtsalt ei lamaks ega ootaks päikest, vaid oleksin aktiivsem.
Kas sul on elumoto?
Midagi sellist on jah. „On kaks asja: mida inimene saab teha ja mida ta ei saa.” Oletame, et sa oled lennukis, mis kukub alla. Kas sa saad midagi selle vastu teha? Arvatavasti mitte, sest sa ei ole juhikabiinis. Seega ei ole mõtet paanitseda. Või oletame midagi suuremat: kas ma saaksin olla Eesti president? Arvan, et mitte. Aga teiste jaoks, noorte jaoks, on see võimalus. Sa pead teadma, kus sa oled, kas sa saad seda teha või ei saa. Kui on väikegi võimalus, siis sa arvatavasti saad. See on minu moto. Ma usun asjade saavutamisesse.
Kus sa näed ennast kümne aasta pärast?
Vanemana. Ilmselgelt. Arvatavasti olen töötanud ühes kohas mitmeid aastaid või niikaua, kui see minu jaoks ammendub. Aga hetkel õpetajana töötades ma ei usu, et kümne aasta pärast ma tean kõike, mis selle tööga seostub. Mulle meeldib kasutada enda pead ja lahendada probleeme – see on väga huvitav minu jaoks. Nii et ma oleksin ikka õpetaja. Ma arvan, et mul on oma maja, rohkem lapsi ja parema väljanägemisega soeng. Ma sooviksin rohkem trenni teha, sest pärast lapse sündi olen ma ümaramaks läinud. Siis oleksin ma abielus, ma arvan. Ja ma arvan, et läheksin uuesti ülikooli, et saada magistrikraad. Ma ei tea, kas samal erialal või näiteks haridusasutuse juhtimises.
Kuidas sa õpetajaks said? Miks?
Mul on palju kogemusi erinevates valdkondades, sealhulgas tehastes, mis on seotud käsitööga. Ma tahtsin anda oma teadmised nooremale põlvkonnale, seepärast otsustasin minna ülikooli. See on huvitav nii minule kui ka teistele. Ma ei suuda ette kujutada mõne keele õpetamist. Kõik lapsed magaksid viimases reas, aga töö- ja tehnoloogiaõpetuse tunnis mitte keegi ei maga ja energiatase on alati kõrgel. Tagasisidet saades saan aru, et nad naudivad seda.
Tütrele ehitatud mängupliit
Mis tööd sul kodus käsil on?
Praegu on mul käsil kuus projekti: peegelliuguks, millest tuleks vabaneda, sest see tuleb siinist välja ja võib teha kellelegi viga, paberirullihoidja, lihaviilutaja, väike lastelaud, kus peal laps saaks joonistada. Ma ei taha osta asju, mida ma saan ise meisterdada. See oleks raharaiskamine ja ma tahan, et see oleks ise tehtud. Oma tütrele olen ma teinud vineerist mängupliidi. Oma elukaaslasele teen meikimispeegli, mille äärtes on spetsiaalsed tuled. Samuti on mul tegemist keldrisse riiulite ehitamisega. Need ongi mu kodused projektid.
Märt näitas mulle pilte mänguköögist, mille ta oli just meisterdanud. See nägi välja väga professionaalne.
Poest ostes maksaks see umbes 100-150 eurot ja need pole kunagi õiges suuruses. Aga ise meisterdasin selle umbes 20-50 euro eest. Tegin selle ühe nädalaga, mõned tunnid päevas. See on odavam ja mõõtudelt selline, nagu ma tahtsin. Need on need väikesed tegevused, mida mulle meeldib teha.
Terve jutu ajal 3D-printer ümises ning see tegi selle väga eriliseks. Mina õppisin palju mitte ainult atsetoonist ja vineerist, vaid ka elust. Näiteks: naudi väikeste asjade tegemist ja jätka õppimist. Kõige tähtsam oli see, et ma õppisin paremini tundma ühte väga erilist õpetajat nimega Märt ja ühtlasi ka tema projekte. Lisaks sain ma ka võtmehoidja!
Juhul kui mõned õpilased loevad seda intervjuud, on mul neile sõnum: tehke kõvasti tööd ja õppige hoolega! Praegu ei tundu see tähtis, aga tulevikus, kui oled vanem, on sul aina keerulisem õppida. Õppige praegu, sest teil on praegu aega!
Richárd Kiss, vabatahtlik Ungarist
“I believe in doing things.”
When I entered Märt’s office/workshop on a Monday morning, not just him but the relaxing humming sound of the 3D printer was welcoming me, too. He was preparing new WC signs for the school at the moment. I’ve seen it before what this machine can do but I’m still amazed. You can create basically anything out of nowhere and that happens quite a lot in this room. The table and the window sill were full of keychain holders, dragon heads and wings, molecules with different colours and of course a pile of the new bathroom signs.
How’s your day so far?
It’s been easy. It’s the first day of the new schedule. The new one is quite okay ‘cause I have the Friday off. My fiancée has some lectures on Friday, so I get to watch the baby.
How would your perfect day be like?
It would be mixed with 75% lessons and the rest would be free time so I could do my projects for the school and for myself. Right now I’m doing contrivance for the grind wheel which is a school project so I can sharpen my tools.
What other projects do you have?
Let’s see…
Then he showed me several colour-coded lists on the screen. All in Estonian but I could still see that it’s quite a lot.
I have notes to remind me what to do. The ones that are highlighted are the things that I’m doing right now. For example there are these plywood boxes. Every class has their own box; they put their unfinished works there so they don’t get mixed up. And there’s a huge project I’m doing right now, the bathroom signs.
Tell me a bit about the 3D printings. How is it? Where did you learn it?
At university when I was doing my bachelor’s degree. There was a class only about this programme and they taught us how to use it. Basically, you can do anything with it as you design it.
Do you use it with students?
No, it’s too complicated for them. For students, there is an online version. Even the third graders can manage it, it’s really simple. You start with basic shapes, like a box or cylinder or pyramid and then you mix them together. Then you can change their sizes. Basically, you have predesigned objects and you can shape them.
In this moment, my amazement and enthusiasm for 3D-printing has just increased with several percents now that I know that even a third grader can do it.
What was the first thing you printed?
Actually, it was in this school. I had never used 3D printer before, I had used CNC milling machines. This one prints the whole material from bottom to top but a CNC mill has a drill bit on top and you put wood or plastic there and it cuts out of it. I used that a lot in university; I even did my thesis of it. The two are quite similar, both are computer controlled. CNC is for computer numeric control and basically what it does is the same thing. It has a code for every move it makes. It commands the bottom half to move to that direction for that long and then again. Every little movement is one line of code. There could be hundreds of thousands of lines in only one part.
And what about these more difficult stuff, like theses dragon parts?
It’s like 50 megabytes of codes. So there could be like a million lines in these pieces.
And how do you make these?
This was downloaded from the internet and I adjusted it a little bit.
How long does it take to print all that?
If I do it every day, then about a week because I’m not here all the time. This (the head of the dragon) was about 5 hours, the bigger one (the neck and the body) was like 8 hours. And the wings were like 4-5 hours each.
The dragon looked fierce and super-detailed, so I had to take a closer look at it.
It’s very light.
It’s only 50% filled inside so it saves material.
This is the moment when I realized that one of the horns is broken so I panicked for a second but it wasn’t me luckily.
And how do you fix this for example?
With acetone. Acetone melts the material a little bit and you can stick it together. It’s very easy.
Okay, enough of the mysteries of 3D-printing. Let’s jump to the real questions.
What is your most treasured memory?
Oh, difficult question… About what? I have lots of memories, it’s a bit tricky. Maybe finishing the conscript service was a good memory. Also finishing school, of course, every school, university. Finishing something is a good memory because it feels good that you’ve done something and you’ve achieved something. And usually it takes a lot of time, years to finish school. I’m proud of these.
What are you thankful for in life?
I have learnt that you have to be grateful for everything in life, even the basic human rights. I can walk down the street without being hassled or I can eat whenever I want, what I want, go wherever I want. It’s basically freedom. I was born in the Soviet Union. The younger kids growing up today, born in the Republic of Estonia, have no idea what was before. For example buying bread in the store: I was standing there for hours and came out empty handed because they were out of bread for the day. Today, you just go to the supermarket and pick whatever you like.
I think about these things when I’m about to whine about something, when something is hard. But it could be even harder so it keeps me going. There’s always someone in a worse condition than you. We live in Europe. It’s basically the best place to live, besides North America. I can’t complain too much. Of course, we can complain that we’re not as advanced as the Scandinavian countries, but still. I think we’re pretty good off.
You have to be grateful for every little thing. You have to enjoy the little things, you know. It’s in the small things, like having a biscuit with a coffee and you take your time to enjoy it. These are the little things you have to enjoy in life, otherwise, there’s no point.
If you could choose anyone in the world, who would you have dinner with?
I guess he just died: Stephen Hawking. If you want to talk to somebody, it has to be the smartest person in the world. But if I could choose from history, I would choose some tyrant like Hitler or Stalin. I would talk to these people to understand what they were thinking. What was the reason behind what they did? Why were they like this? Why did they shape the world like how they did?
If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be?
Hmm. You have to change a lot of things. But let’s say that I want to change poverty. The thing is that 10 people own the same amount of money as 50% of the whole planet. Okay, that’s a problem. But still, you can deal with this later ‘cause there won’t be any plant left, if we keep going at the rate that we are going. I think preserving the planet for the next generations is the most important thing right now.
And well about wars, there’s also a plus side of war. There are technological advances always after a major conflict. It reorganizes everything, for example the people’s values. I know it sounds a bit harsh because of the cost.
But to the original question my answer would be that I would find a way to preserve the planet.
What superpowers would you choose for yourself?
I’d be a mentalist so I could hear other people’s thoughts and influence them a bit. I think I would use it for good. Let’s say I’m talking to someone, and he thinks that I’m being rude so I could improve myself during that. The best poker players almost have that skill. They know a lot from your emotions and how you play, they can think that you might have that card or that but not that one. They are really good at reading people.
Do you play poker?
Yes, with friends, but not anymore. After the family has become bigger, I don’t have time anymore.
So what do you do in your free time?
What do you mean by free time? I don’t have it any more. When I’m at work and not working I’m doing my personal projects for home, little things. And at home, I don’t have free time before the baby goes to sleep, so. After that, we watch a movie, maybe a little wine, talk with my fiancée, that’s about it. Right now there’s not a lot of free time. In September, we are hoping to get a free spot in a kindergarten. Then, we’ll have a little bit more. I also do some exercise: soccer and volleyball. Volleyball more in the summer, outside, so you don’t just lay and wait for the sun, you have some activity.
Do you have a motto for your life?
Something like that, yes. “There are two things: that a man can do and that a man can’t do.” Let’s say you’re in a plane that’s going down. Can you do something about it? Probably you can’t ‘cause you’re not in the cockpit. So there’s no point in panicking. Or let’s say something bigger, like, can I become the president of Estonia? At the rate I’m going with my life, and the paths I have chosen, I think not. But for others, for youngsters, there’s a chance. You have to know where you’re at, you can do it or you can’t do it. If there’s a little chance, then you probably can. That’s my motto. I believe in doing things.
How do you see yourself in ten years?
Older. Obviously. Probably I will have worked in a place for several years or until it’s completed for me, like I can’t learn anything new. But right now, as a teacher, I don’t think in ten years I will know everything. So I will still be a teacher. I think I will have my own house, more kids and better-looking haircut. I would like to exercise more because after the birth of my first child, well, I’ve got a bit more round. Then, I’ll be married I think. And I’ll be thinking to go to university again to get my master’s degree. I don’t know if the same speciality or something different like managing educational institutions, like kindergartens, schools. Maybe that one, a little step up.
I want to learn more and more. I don’t think that in ten years I will be done with this area. But I have done more simple jobs without any educational prerequisites. You can master those pretty fast in a few years and reach a point where there’s nothing new you can learn. Right now it’s a bit more different ‘cause you have to use our head. I like it. I like to use my head and solve problems, different problems; it’s really interesting for me. So you have a problem and you have to reach something and figure out how to get there. Right now I’m building this from scratch just from my head. It basically started with two measurements and I work around them and I can visualize it in my head. I’ll print it and then test it if it’s working. It probably is. I check everything twice.
How did you become a teacher? Why?
I have a lot of experience in different areas, factories, as well, with sort of manual labour. And I wanted to give my knowledge to younger generations. That’s why I decided to go to university. It’s interesting for me and it’s interesting for the others. Especially if you can make it even more interesting with things like this (pointing to the dragon). I couldn’t imagine teaching Estonian or any other language for example… all the kids sleeping in the back row. But here no one is sleeping; the energy level is always high. From the feedback I’m getting, they really enjoy it, and me, too. Although I could have a little more free time to do my own projects and school projects. These are interesting, as well, this foosball table for example. It’s working but there’s still some work to do, like the handles are missing. I 3D-printed the ball also, it’s not completely round but it’ll do. It’s full of material, it’s not empty inside.
What projects do you do for home?
Right now I have 6 projects. I have a sliding mirror I want to get rid of ‘cause it gets off the rail and it can hurt someone. There’s a meat slicer. Erm, I’m doing a holder for kitchen paper roll. There’s also a small table for the kid to draw on. I don’t want to buy things that I can do myself. It’s a waste of money and I want them to be custom made. For my daughter, I made a stove out of plywood. For my fiancée, I’m doing a makeup mirror with lights around it. Then there’s a basement a want to organize with shelves. I have some material and I want to cut them to pieces. So these are the projects that I’m doing for home.
He showed me some pictures about the baby kitchen he just built, it looked really professional.
It’s like 100-150 euros if you buy it from a store and it’s never the size you want. And for me, I did it with like 20-25 euros for the materials and that’s it. And one week, a few hours every day, 10 hours maximum. That’s it, it’s cheaper and it’s custom made. These are the little things I enjoy, as well.
There are some jobs here also for the school, like the wrestling area. The mat keeps moving so I’ll drill some wood to the floor to keep them together. There’s also some shelf they want to do in the basement. Then there are some jobs I have already done. These are for the science class extra for example (showing the models of molecules and other chemistry things I should remember.) I did 3D-printing and before that we 3D-printed snowflakes with the 3-4-5 graders. We designed them in the software then we 3D-printed them, it was pretty cool!
And we ended up where we started: 3D-printing. The printer kept on humming around during the whole conversation and it made it really special. I personally learned a lot, not just about acetone and plywood but some life lessons as well, you know, like enjoy little things and keep learning. And most importantly I also got to know better a really special person, a really special teacher called Märt with his colour-coded list of projects. Plus I got a keychain holder!
If some kids will read this, I would have a message for them: Work hard, study hard! Because it may not seem important right now, but in the future… when you’re older, it’s harder to study. Study now, you have the time!
Kuidas su päev läinud on?
Mis oli esimene asi, mille sa printisid? 
Kui kaua võtab 3D-printimine aega?
Olgu, aitab 3D-printimise müsteeriumist. Mis on su kõige erilisem mälestus?
Kui sa saaksid valida ükskõik kelle, siis kellega läheksid õhtusöögile?
Mis sa siis vabal ajal teed?
