2022 Introductory Projects: Refining Basic Ideas

One of the issues when having a 'new' group of students in the classroom as we have this year is we have been pushing out 3D design to some of our younger classrooms, so when the students make it to our room they are already well versed and experienced in using Tinkercad and have in many cases already completed basic designs.

One of the options here for their first individual prints is to look for examples that are 'different' or more creative.   One is example is sinking the lettering into the design rather than have it, a very basic version of this is shown left - the design here is only a 45 minute print, the name of the student stands out by virtue of it being cut out of the design, while the strength is maintained by the print.   This is the standard 80mm by 60mm design - the student in question here wanted to look at redesigning the hole in the top right hand corner, he queried whether or not his design was not perfect, resulting in the rough edging (it was not, it was a result of the plate of the printer having been adjusted by the previous student and not returned to the correct place.   If you have an eagle eye on this blog and an excellent memory you may recall a variation of this design was created two years ago, which is featured in the exemplar section.   This is the same student who two years later is continually using the point of difference created by this in his 3D design and creation.

This design, shown left while it may appear a standard version of the usual tutorial actually has a detail setting it apart from the regular print.   The student concerned wanted to incorporate an arc into the design, and spent a small amount of time making the arc work in terms of design and the overall presentation.

She was able to produce something for someone with a unique name that could not be sourced elsewhere.   The print took sixty minutes to complete and was 90mm by 60mm with the typical dimensions.   The print was created by a student in ten minutes and they spent time refining it to ensure that it met the expectations of the student (who is ten years old).

The arc of the print can be clearly seen in the photograph to the left showing the arc.

The student has been tasked with using spray paint to decorate the design and think about additional aspects of it that can be added to the finished print.