Further 3D Projects Combining Additional Programs and Apps

 

We have a number of students who are working on the development of combining Pic Collage with its filters to Tinkercad designs which are then presented in different formats.

We are combining the boat, shown left with various students completing designs of the paddles or the oars.   Realistically for our classroom to complete all of the boats would take too long (these are roughly eight hours each at present) therefore we have opted to focus on printing the oars and paddles instead which are generally taking about thirty minutes.  The example shown left shows the original catamaran and paddle combination.   The objects have been placed directly on a printed out copy of a Pic Collage example.   This has used the 'festive' filter which has taken several seconds to apply the details that are shown, which has placed the boat in a winter location.

We have also looked at expanding our Pixton Comics, related to our Tinkercad Designs.

Again when we are working with a class of twenty seven students and using a #3DPriting shared with our class and the wider school we cannot use it all the time, and in particular we have mentioned in the past designs which look creative and the students are sometimes no practical to print.

This is a more detailed version of a previous task where we were using a single frame to illustrate a point, in the example shown left the students had to produce a minimum of four frames that included two different screen shots or design from Tinkercad with a filter or an altered image, the way that the boat will be powered (in this instance the paddle design) and finally a shot or screenshot of the Sphero Robot which is ultimately the way which the ship will be powered.

Junior Progressions: Earrings to Stationary Holder

 

Challenge: To show progression with a series of print to increase their difficulty and show development of ideas.

Background: This series of prints started with a earring design, which was printed in a pair (as seen far right in the photo). The student was then asked to think about how they could develop this ideas into a storage item.   They developed the star shape into a stationary holder.   He deliberately oversized the holes so that they could have multiple items held in each of the holes.   

The third iteration of this design featured additional storage in the shape of a rectangle that was inserted into the middle of the base.   The overall size of the shape was also increased at every step.

As shown left the next stage of the project is the decoration.  The spray painting of each of the shapes.

They were designed by a Y4 student (someone who is eight years old) who is developing his design skills in Tinkercad.   They were able to develop each of the designs without any teacher input.

Level of Difficulty: Medium - each of the designs in sequence is essentially based around the main interface shapes.   There could have been additional features added such as a personalisation of the design by including lettering or a name on the outside of the design.  We have been encouraging students to look at sinking the lettering into the design instead of having it stand out to ensure that it looks effective.

Timeframe: There are three distinct prints in this series.   The first is the earring which featured the shape that was to be developed.   This took thirty minutes.   The second or third prints was considerably longer.  The second (red) print was four hours and the largest print (the yellow print) was five and a half hours.

Size: Obviously there are three very distinct designs.  The earrings, which was the first stage is 45mm across and was 15mm thick.   The second container (which is red as shown above) was 60mm high and was 70mm across.   The final design included additional space for the pencil sharpener and was 100mm across.   Given the dimensions of what the student intended and the stability of the print this suited it perfectly.

What we would do differently/next steps for the students: As noted the design could have potentially had some form of personalisation.  We have started looking at adding small button LED lights into designs, and this would have been a great project to complete this.

Exemplar Boat: Problem Solving the Catamaran

 

As we have mentioned and detailed in a previous post on this blog we have previously developed and planned a Catamaran, as part of a class challenge for the students to build a boat.

The student concerned put a considerable amount of work into the project - but initial trial prints raised some issues from a range of areas.   The student themselves had the design undergo some significant testing to identify the errors in printing, and also look at what solutions that they might be able to use to resolve issues.

In the first version, two small join holes, created when two linked parts of the boat met, caused a minute hole which allowed water to enter ultimately causing the boat to list having taken on water.

The bow of the boat was designed more as a space that looked appealing, instead of being more water tight, so once water came into contact with the front of the boat it tended to cause it to start to take water onboard.   

The mast was designed to look appealing and not be functional, so the students reinforced it making it stronger.   The steering wheel is only visible in early designs as when the rafting was removed the steering wheel needed more robust attachment.

The base of the boat was reinforced with additional shapes and additional blocks to ensure that it was waterproof.   Previous testing on the early versions of the print identified that it was unable to sink.

The dimensions of the print have not changed, as the base is the same that is 140mm long, 120mm across and the cabin being 60mm high.   The print time was eight and a half hours, while this is significant, this is a particular detail process with a specific intention to complete a working boat, it features a high degree of difficulty. 

The water proofing that was attempted was initially using blu-tack.  This was discovered to be acceptable but the student wanted to upgrade to use a hot glue gun as he felt that would be more succesful.

Sphero Robot: 3D Printing the Paddle

We have started recently a 'boat building challenge' which came about as a result of a class wide design process for our students to start the new term.

We have a set of Sphero Robots in the School and we use these for a variety of coding relating tasks.   For this challenge we are looking at creating the ability for the Sphero Robot to power a boat.

The students have worked on a range of designs, with these designs the emphasis has been on the students considering shape and design and how the Sphero Robots power function (which is a spinning ball) will then allow the motion to be transferred to the boat to allow it to move.

Once again in terms of our design we have allowed our students to use Tinkercad to help with the process.  While we are wanting the students to complete the build process (or as much of it as possible) themselves we once again had students locate some of the pre-made material to help.  In this instance a key elements of the build is going to be the paddles.   These were located online.

We had a discussion in class about their format, while the shape looks like it will be suitable it was also determined that it could be broken down into a number of key elements - a series of rectangular wedges and a circle at the base of it.

The design measures 90mm from end to end and was 15mm high.   The design was imported into Tinkercad and then can be reshaped, addressed and modified.

We are now working on an axel, a way to connect the paddles and want to test it on the basis of how much power is produced as part of the process.

Sticker Machine Examples - Paint Container Conversion

Roland - Versa Studio Sign Maker BN-20 

This machine has a number of uses and is able to produce stickers, vinyl prints and prints on canvas material.   We have used it for examples that are on a variety of surfaces.

A brief example of how it might be used is something like this - in the example shown left an old paint container bucker has been cleaned out, for food scraps from the school for the worm farm.   The decal has been applied, including transparent sections where the black lettering stands out with the white background.

Applying another form of media to the plastic bucket would be challenging - as the applying of glue etc would unlikely to be successful due to the durable surface.    As can be shown from the example the sticker allows for a clear use for the container, and while the media is pre-made creation of any image, then a simple conversion of the image into a .PDF allows it to be printed into a sticker format.

Combining Tinkercad, Pic Collage and Pixton Part Two

 

This is a combination of using three web based programs in one.   In this example the student created a boat as part of the Room Seven Classroom Boat Challenge.

While we intend to print a number of them, some of the students when the design has been completed would like to share and have it shown to others.   While the Tinkercad design by itself is interesting and creative there are additional filters that can be applied.  In this case the original Tinkercad file was then imported in Pic Collage and the 'Cherry Blossom Filter was then added.   The final step was the student using Pixton, a comic App to produce an avatar of themselves standing in front of the design explaining about its creation or details about the print.

This is another student who followed the same three step process, and used their design avatar to explain information about the print.

This involved two of the three stages, with this design the student opted to leave the Tinkercad design in its regular state by just using a screen shot and then adding the characters from Pixton.

3D Printed Boats: Catamaran

Challenge: For a student to create an original boat.

Background: As part of the challenges that we are giving the class of students this year we recently gave them a 'boat' making challenge.    Experience has taught us in the past that the 3D Printer is able to produce an object that will float, due to the typical infill that is present in most printing.   This has meant that students have been able to produce themed prints (such as bath toys which we used as part of our school market day, which was last held in 2023).

We also had our senior students attempt to create Catamarans in the past (due to their balance).   You can see examples of this that were originally produced in 2017 and later variations and expanded updates from 2019.

This is the first attempt at a project like this with our current classroom which consists of junior school students who are seven and eight years old.

This project was open ended in that it was presented to students and they were encouraged to come up with an original design.   The students were provided a very basic example to help guide them, but were also encouraged to push themselves to look for real life examples that they could draw inspiration from and have details that they could mimic with their designs.

The teacher also demonstrated to students that Tinkercad, which was used for the designs,  includes as part of its object interface a hull option.  In this design shown in this post the student was able to use the hull from here as the main basis for the twin hulls.  He then made a third copy of the hull which he flipped/inverted, shorted and hollowed out which is the shape that he used to make the cabin.  Having located various Catamaran photographs he then added additional details such as the sides, the sails and then used various shapes to build a steering wheel.

The student from start to finish was able to complete the design within a thirty minute period of time.

Level of Difficulty: Hard - this students is a Y4 student however he was able to use Tinkercad to manipulate and make a Catamaran in a short period of time, this is by far the most complex and detailed project from the class as a whole, for this task, and also that this student has attempted.

Timeframe: Eight Hours.   There was considerable rafting that was present with this print, as the base of the boat, between the two hulls and the floor, needed to be printed with support which had to be removed.

Size: This is a large print, 140mm long, 120mm across and the base (the cabin area was 60mm high).

What we would do differently/next steps for the students: There were some issues with the print that were not apparent when this design was completed.  There was a very small hole that was at the base of the boat where the hull joined the floor.  Although this was only 1mm or less it allowed a small amount of water in, which overtime caused the boat to list.  This was an awesome teaching experience as the student tried to work out ways to plug the leak.  He applied blu tack the first time, without success and then started to look at water proofing - he was also concerned that part of his print was not water-proof, and has begun the process of taking the boat, placing it in a container and then checking on it to see if it has taken on any water.   He has already discovered that the boat itself isn't going to sink, as the cabin ensure it remains afloat.   Again the learning experience from this is rewarding and the student will be looking at several aspects of this.   The steering wheel which is clearly visible in the AR/VR version of the print (photograph shown above) did not survive being robust enough.   The student is also looking at what he can add to the overall design to improve its presentation.

Numbers Update: Long Term Displays/Assembly Areas

Several years ago, in 2018 to be exact we decided to create a series of prints that would allow us to  clearly make the assembly area for emergencies for our school wide drills.  We have detailed this previously on this blog, including detailing the process by which it was developed, including updates three years after its initial creation.

As of August 2024 the original prints are more or less in place.   We have had to replace a number of these, however it has not been as a result of the prints deteriorating from the weather conditions, the prints have spent six years mounted on a fence, in full weather conditions - the sole change that has been made is for the prints to resprayed as they have lost colour over the years.

Today we had to reprint another number, in this case the number two as shown, as it had received a direct hit from a soccer ball kicked at it by a junior student.   The print was shattered as a result of this, however two of the students in the classroom were able to create the replacement piece in under three minutes.

The print took four hours to print on standard settings.   The print measured 120mm across was 140mm high and was 20mm thick.  This is slightly oversized however this will be outside and intended as an assembly point for the classroom.

This has been the single longest standing print in use, that has been consistently outdoors during all of the seasons and constantly exposed to the elements.   At the current date (six years almost to the day) there is no evidence of any damage to the print from high winds, rain etc.   It is regular PLA that was printed on a standard printer (at the time an Ultimaker 2).

3D Printed Phone Stand Junior Printing Challenge 2 Update

Challenge Update - Phone Stand

As detailed previously we have our students for the second challenge this term to create and make a phone stand.   The original stands which were featured on this blog involved a basic design however as they have developed their skills - other features were then introduced.   In the example shown left while the dimensions have remained similar the student decided to sink the writing through the entire base of the design, as he did with the heart.

The students design was printed, took three and a half hours and then was decorated by senior students at the school who then completed the spray painting.    We have previously detailed these on our blog over the years.

Most of the students have now completed this design and we have started the process of printing the remaining student stands.

Challenge Update: Reproducing a 'commercial' print

We have continued to look at students ability to reproduce and print a series of prints that are available commercially.   A number of local craft markets and online sources have a variety of animals available - dragons in particular are a particular favourite.  We previously had an entire range of printed animals available that were a significant part of our School Market Day.

This turtle shown left was found by a student who had purchased it, via their family.  It was then broken as a result of an accident.  The student wanted to try and repair the print, and in doing so the original .stl was found online.   The entire print took four hours - it was a excellent teaching point during printing as the legs were printed the first and then the as the print progressed it printed over the top of the legs and this then held them in place, allowing them to rotate.

Junior 3D Printing: Farm Scene - Progression

Challenge: To design and print an authentic farm scene.

Background: Recently we have been experimenting with a group of students who have designed farm scenes.   To put it into perspective we are in a rural area of New Zealand with a heavy emphasis in farming.

We recently produced a series of Tinkercad designs that we felt were creative but initially we were reluctant to print the designs as we (underestimated) the ability of the Snapmaker printer to successfully print the design, as it had a number of detailed parts.

Each element of the design shown in the photograph was created by the student with the overall scene in mind.   The hay bales for instance were designed from the main grid.   The student also expanded their design skills considerably by adding details onto the digger.   In the original design there was no scoop at the front of the tractor, the student created this and then added it to the existing image.   He also wanted to add an axel at the back of the tractor and did so by using the basic shapes.

The design featured a high level of rafting/support into several places, the tractor in particular.   The student was aware of this challenge and the teacher attempted to remove this without compromising the details in the print.   This was more or less successful (see below).   

The student also used the 'terrain' feature from Tinkercad for the base, however opted to make it still thin, and was considering the ability to laser cut MDF to complete a base for the project.

Level of Difficulty: Hard - this was created by a Y4 student who has just started 3D Printing, however they have already shown an awareness and a creativity that is unusual for this level- it has come from experience and design in Minecraft and other programs, but they have then transferred these skills to TInkercad.

Timeframe: Three hours - there is a question over the purpose of the print (see below) and this will have an impact on the ultimate design.

Size: The current version of this print is measures 120mm and is 85mm wide.   The height of the print is 40mm, at the point of the tractor.   The current thickness of the terrain base is 2mm making it particularly thin, however as noted the student has decided to use the laser cutter to create a thicker base.   Each of the different elements of the scene were relative to the main part, which was the tractor.

What we would do differently/next steps for the students:  The student has created a detailed scene, however the first draft print alerted him to the fact that there were subtle adjustments that needed to be made - to the hay bales and the tractor.   The removal of the rafting of the tractor also caused a challenge - if the rafting cannot be removed with the machinery suffering, then the tractor need to be adapted.   The student is also thinking about the next stages for the design, however the student has been quizzed about the purpose of the print and is considering how they might create a purpose for this, including having labelling on the print.

Combination Work: Tinkercad - Pixton and inbuilt blocks

 

This is the follow up posts to examples of how my class of students is looking to use Tinkercad in other ways to combine with other apps and form of presentation.

As we have noted yesterday we have some students, based in our rural area who have been producing 3D Printed Mini-Farms.   While we have not printed all of these creations, we also want to use them in other ways and explore other potential uses.   We also have students producing writing in Pixton, another iPad app.  In this instance the student has imported their design from Tinkercad directly into  and used the it as the background for a creation.   The comic book characters are avatars of the students, and the students are going to have a series of explanation of the different aspects of the design explained by the cartoon characters.

The original format for this design, looks 'blocky' as it already has been converted into a block option from the main interface.  We have students who are big fans of the plastic block building material, and this converts their original designs into a brick format.   There is also options for another similar not a mining game, to make similar blocks.

All of the three options here are very easy to import into the various extensions, or within Tinkercad.  It is simply a single button pushed.

Combination Work: Tinkercad and Magic Camera (Pic Collage)

 

Using Tinkercad we have students who have developed, created and worked on a variety of 3D Designs.

While the focus for our classroom has typically been 3D Printing we have also discovered that there are some prints, when run through filters or worked in conjunction with other apps or programs can enhance what would be a potential project.

A project that we are going to run through is shown here on the left.  This is the original Tinkercad design, created by a student who is a Y3 student meaning that they are seven years old.  They have started experimenting with 3D Design, specifically using Tinkercad on an iPad to create a series of designs, some of which have been featured in posts for this year on this blog.

This year we discovered that Pic Collage, one of our key design iPad Apps has had an update where an option for 'Magic Cam/Camera'.  

This option allows a filer to be placed over either an existing photo (ie one one the camera roll) or a photograph that has just been taken.  It is a simple matter for our students to take a screenshot in Tinkercad, save it to the camera roll on the iPad and then import it into Pic Collage to apply the filter.  For anyone who has the app there are three options.   The first is 'watercolour' as shown left, which can in a single click apply the filter as shown - it allows junior school students to enhance their design and the students enjoy looking at how the image has changed with the adjustments which are automatically made.

The results of the Magic Cam/Pic collage 'Festive Filter' can be seen on the left.   Again this is a single filter selection which is applied to the image, which within a few seconds adds aspects to the design which are not previously present.  Aspects such as the lighting can be seen clearly in the photograph shown left, there is the addition of plants where they are not present previously, 

Again students have the opportunity to compare the original designs, and see how the app in this case Piccollage, once they also start using the different filers available the students can then compare them against each other to see what they prefer.

The final filer that is now freely available is the 'Cherry Blossom' filter.  Again if you look at the original screenshot from Tinkercad there are elements in this example that again have been highlighted and focussed on, while other elements have not been altered compared to the Festive Filter as shown above.

Finally, as we will also demonstrate shortly there are significant and further options available from the main Tinkercad interface to further develop the 3D models.   

We have also used these images to combine them with presentations and other media format.

Printing Projects Currently Underway in Junior Classroom

As detailed previously on this blog our term three students started with a series of challenges.  The challenges graduated in difficulty starting with a pair of earrings, a phone stand based around a template from the main Tinkercad design panel and a third challenge.

The third challenge involved creating housing for a pencil sharpener.   The initial prints based around a shape, however now the students are refining and testing their ideas and working on a next level.   In the example shown left the student has completed successfully the base part of this project including a location to insert a pencil and space for the shavings from the pencil to be held in once the pencil sharpener has been used.   The student has started to experiment with different versions of lids that could then lock onto complete the project.  The student has also determined that she can create an additional layer on the lid of the box (so in this instance not to have a single, simple flat design but to build something into the project to further personalise it or add detail.  There are a large number of examples that have been featured on this blog which can be located by using the search bar right and searching the codeword 'box'.

Name Badge: Next Level Developments.   In this example shown left the student has the idea of a basic name badge and attempted to add layer and details to it to make it stand out more.

The student has opted to build layers to create a scroll like affect with the design, added a ring for the connection (which in previous examples would typically be a hole through the base of the design) and finally has added a flourish at the bottom of the design to further heighten the presentation (before it was subsequently spray painted to decorate the entire project).   This print took two and a half hours to print which was primarily based around the size or width of it while not obvious this measures 20mm across.   The student then decorated it as shown.   A issue potentially to be discussed is the ring used to attach the badge.   It currently is built on top of instead of inside the print - and there is a question of how robust this will make this for the gear bag it is intended.

Shown left are two designs from the range of phone stands that the class are working on.   There will be a seperate post about these items as they are the second in a series of challenges that have been put forward to the students in the classroom.

The size of some of these has been worked on and engineered by the students to try and work out the size that is still workable but also allows the stand to function to hold a phone.  

Further innovation has been developed by students completing tasks such as pushing a shape through the design to the other side as shown by the position of the heart in the design on the right.   The lettering is slightly more of a challenge as the font have elements in the capital 'M' and lower case 'm' that need to have the sides removed while they stay intact.  This is very challenging to do as the removal of the rafting (by the teacher) usually results in the removal of some of the key elements of the lettering.  We have again been using some of the previous examples contained here on the blog as points of discussion related to this project.   You can see information about these prints by clicking on the search box or looking at examples here.

Laser Cut: Storage Box

 

Challenge: Using the laser cutter to construct and personalise a storage box.

Background: This was created by a student who was working in our senior school with SketchUp and was creating an individualised storage box.  Our senior students are able to follow a series of flipped video content which allows them to follow a series of steps to construct the tabs to make the box.   When this has been happened the student then pops the laser cut design out of the MDF.   Following this the student needs to simply use PVA wood glue to hold the design in place until a time that the glue sets and the design is complete.   The personalisation of the design was completed by the addition of a area of particular interest to the person it was given to which was shown by being placed on the lid, as part of the design.

Level of Difficulty: Low this student was able to work independently by following teacher created video instructions.  The student was able to print the resulting print and independently put it together.  There was no teacher input provided to this task.

Timeframe: Five minutes to laser cut the design.

Size: box measures 160mm long,  was 80mm deep and 60mm high as shown in the photograph this produced a long thin box.

What we would do differently/next steps for the students: This print is ideal for producing something effectively and the laser cutter has the ability to decorate or personalise something.   There is a question of what additional parts could be added to this design, such as using the 3D Printer to produce a lock or a hinge to lock the lid in place.

Repairing a broken Toy

 

Challenge: To repair the broken part of a sandpit toy.

Background: We have a school sandpit, and in it we have a large number of high use items.  One of these is the bulldozer shown in the photograph on the left.  As shown the front of the bulldozer has broken off.  While this was a shame for the students it also allowed us the opportunity to use the broken toy as a discussion piece - could we 3D Print something to replace the broken part of the toy.

This provides a number of challenges - the first aspect for that is to build the replacement part that fits the size and shape of the digger, the second is to work out a way to attach the blade to the front of the digger.   We used a group of students to work in pairs on the project with three groups working to produce ideas that they could bounce off each other and then selected one to produce the first draft effort.

We come from a rural area of New Zealand and as a result the students live rurally and are involved significantly in dairy farming.  The students as a result have experience and knowledge of machinery, which in this task they were able to bring to the fore.  

The first attempt at a replacement piece is shown left, at five and a half hours it was considerable, but the challenge is in producing a durable piece, potentially an interchangeable piece and something to replace the broken piece.

Level of Difficulty: Hard.   There are a number of complexities to the print, while the blade itself is the key element the hardest part is making a connector for the back of the blade to the front of the digger.  The students have made a first attempt at this but they are looking at revising what has been made as they are not happy with the connection and then the subsequent operating of the digger.

Timeframe: As noted five hours.  We are now attempting to look at the connection (shown left) as the back of it needs attention.   Having printing the main part of the digger blade, we are now just focussing on printing the connection piece, this can be measured in short minutes (ten to fifteen).    We are going to concentrate on correcting this part of the print until it is perfect and then look at printing the entire project again from the start once the students feel that the can be successful.

Size: The blade measures 140mm long and is a basic shaped rectangle of 60mm by 60mm, hollowed so it is able to scoop.   

What we would do differently/next steps for the students: The students have already identified that they can make a range of scoops to go at the front of the machine, once they get the connection piece right.   Once they have mastered that we are going to be challenging them to 'brand' their machinery.  We have already attempted this in a series of prints from last year with a similar theme.  This project was carried out by a senior student - this project is being worked on by seven and eight year olds who are working with Tinkercad for the first time.