SSB Robotics is reviewing applications to send a handful of 3D printers to rural robotics programs. The printers are valued around $300 each.

Courtesy photo

A 3D printer is on its way to Armenia while SSB Robotics, a nonprofit spinoff of Powell High School Robotics Team Squiggle Splat Bang (3188), a 2025 Worlds competitor, chooses four more recipients out of 39 applicants.

SSB began last December and has since gone from a fiscal sponsored organization to a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. It also received a $2,000 grant from the Gene Haas Foundation, which will help the organization assist budding and rural teams.

“So basically, our goal of this nonprofit was to get underserved or underfunded robotics teams in Wyoming access to vital things like 3D printers and mentorship,” SSB President Mason Coombs said in a May 2025 Tribune article.

SSB is run by Coombs and a board of directors made up of recent Powell High alumni Isabella Gomez as secretary and Luke Legler as treasurer. While SSB first started with Squiggle Splat Bang and is currently a facet of the team, it will likely follow Coombs and the board upon graduation, he said. 

When it comes to mentorship, SSB is looking southwest to Cody where they have been speaking to Park County School District 6 about restarting the high school’s robotics program — the nonprofit is now waiting on the district’s decision. Teams can also find additional resources on SSB’s website at ssbrobotics.org/resources.

The original idea to help Wyoming teams was expanded to all rural teams due to a lack of in state applications. Now, the emphasis is on nearby states but international applicants like the Armenian program are welcome as well, with some modifications. The Armenian program will be sent a different printer model from domestic applicants to accommodate international shipping — sending either of the two printers SSB had selected for purchase would cost $1,000 in shipping alone.

SSB Robotics selected an international group first because they fit the selection criteria that focuses on the number of students impacted (how many students will have access and how many can learn computer aided design from it). The program has 16 teams, allowing the printer to potentially have a positive impact on roughly 300 students. The printer is expected to arrive Wednesday, and while it travels the globe, the Powell High-based nonprofit is focusing on finishing their initial round of selections for the remaining printers. 

Coombs originally expected somewhere in the ballpark of 10 applications, but received nearly four times that. They first advertised in Reddit groups and an Instagram and Facebook ad received roughly 5,000 views.

They have a color coded sheet of applicants, Coombs explained: Green signals they might be a good fit, yellow means they may have other needs such as mentorship and red is a rejection.

Coombs, a senior, is looking at pursuing a marketing career and received advice from local professionals, but he also has experience as a robotics competitor where teams have to market themselves. It’s important for teams at the international competition to know a club’s name, to increase the chances of being picked as a partner to compete in the later rounds. 

The applicant’s metrics were developed following SSB’s rejection for a Daniels Fund grant; the prestigious charitable foundation recommended more metrics, Coombs said. SSB landed on tracking offensive power rating (a measurement of how many points a team contributes) and a CAD adoption rate which would track recipients progress learning the program using images of CAD designs to track progress.

SSB is focusing on 3D printers right now; the number of applications SSB received signals “a vast need” for 3D printers and STEM education, Coombs said. A survey the group conducted also shows a combined 70% of groups who self identify as advanced or developing lack access to a 3D printer, “obviously [I] feel like that needs to be fixed in order for teams to actually reach their full potential,” Coombs said. 

Robotics is expensive, he added. Starting a team including purchasing a starter kit can cost thousands of dollars and a 3D printer allows teams to prototype faster. Most high level robots and those competing at the FIRST Championship on the international level have robots with 3D printed components. 

“Being able to give them access to that will make their teams so much better, especially when they have mentorship and resources,” Coombs said.