3D Printed Projects: Expanding on AR/VR with Tinkercad

 

We are always looking for ways to expand or use the technology in ways that interest the students.   In this example here the group for our school market day are developing unique and personalised bath toys, based on experimenting with 3D Prints.

We have spoken about the ability of the students to use their unique creations (with Tinkercad) and apply them in different contexts.    One of which we continue to develop is how we might use our CAD designs in other ways (other than 3D Printing).   These designs were increased in size so they were the size of the classroom, approximately two metres in height and two metres across.

These super size designs having been projected using Tinkercad were then screen shot to allow the students to use the image.   As part of our market day the students need to produce a series of images for videos and this is a great example to create something big and eye catching.

In another example shown left, we created another combination of AR/VR and the original student design which was projected to a massive size.  We posted the question to the students how could they interact with this? What else could they do with this super sized version? Obviously by increasing the size to this scale has meant that the students could check it for any errors or any design features.

One of the questions or challenges for this market day is to make the products be as personalised as possible.  How can the students create something that is both unique and individual.

We have detailed previously our 'Minecraft' nightlight designed group of students.   

This group have used the AR/VR feature in another way.  They have applied it to the design to see what they could potentially do design wise with their setup and their idea.   They have wanted to find a way to stage the design so that they could show someone how it might look with their name as part of the design.

They are looking at ways to project the name of an individual into a staged set-up thus allowing a prospective customer to view what they might be able to purchase with the product.   Obviously to further personalise the design the name of the person who purchases it would be prominently on display.

You can view further examples of how we have used the AR/VR feature of the Tinkercad App on the iPad here.   

3D Printed Revision: Flexi Animals 2025

One of the things that we have been able to use as a active resource is projects from this blog.  We also have a pedagogy when we want to use the students, via flipped learning to inspire and create projects for others, that is students from other schools.

Perhaps our most popular design, and series of designs that featured on this blog in the last few years was a series of flexi-animals that were original and unique and created by a former student.  These designs were created originally as either close copies or free sourced animals,  As the print investigations and printing developed we went from copying existing designs to taking the available designs and breaking them down via a deconstruction process.   This allowed students to master the process and apply the process to a range of designs and animals.   The student responsible has left the school however prior to doing so they created a google slide that detailed the entire process from start to finish.

This year as we have used our inspiration box of a range of prints that we use to say to students 'could you make this?' 'can this be made?' One of our capable students located the kiwi shown in the picture above and we explained about the process.

Having made the slideshow available to the new student (who is a Y4 student, someone turning nine) the student was able to use the instructions, the designs and the creation to complete the process and produce their own version of the product.    

The 2025 student created version (shown left) has a number of issues that the student should be capable of resolving moving forward.    She needs to pay attention to the linking specifically - while the linking is correct as it stands it needs to be more robust to allow the design to be played with and manipulated.  The student will be more than capable of this which will then unlock the process of producing a range of these designs with this basic.   Shown below is the original student created slideshow.

Technological Showcase Highlights at Auroa School

 

We recently held a showcase at Auroa Primary School detailing some of the amazing work that has been created by students and our amazing AV tech Jason.  A reminder that you can follow his youtube page here.

We showcased a number of special projects at our school, a few of which have been created by students using the laser cutter,  Roland Versa sign maker and our 3D Printers.    For each project extensive media has been created.    We were very excited to see the nearly completed marble mazes, which have been detailed on this blog previously.   The finish on these machines is incredible as the decals look professional.   The playfields for the games have been created by using a combination of all of the three tools.   You can see posts on the Star Wars Marble Maze here and the Avatar themed Marble Maze here.

We have a proud history of virtual pinball at Auroa School, however we have managed to put our own spin on this process by having a team of students make a scale machine from scratch -  the Motorcross Madness table, which resulted in the fifth Auroa Primary School Pinball competition which we live streamed.

The cabinet featured the laster cuter and has been detailed both here and on the display posters that you can see left and right next to the machines.  If you would like a copy, to see them in detail please let us know.

Excitement is growing this term as we are fast approaching one of our signature live events - in this case the livestream of our 2025 Step Master Dance machine battle competition.

Mr Bloor has detailed the progress to build this full scale machine, not only in an amazing video detailing the process but in addition the videos themselves that are created by the students to dance to (for the machine) are created, originally made and then recorded here at school.  You can see an example of one of these videos here.

Our school is incredibly proud of these machines and what has been created by out students.  If you want any additional information about these machines please let us know by contacting us.

Innovation School Project: Marble Maze

Since 2023 we have been tracking the progress of some of our major school innovation projects.   These are made by small groups of students, working over a long time on projects that require innovation and creativity of the highest level.   You can view some of the pre work and early production information for the marble maze by clicking on this link to a post on this blog.

Credit for this amazing work needs to go to our incredible AV staff member, Jason - you can view his amazing work on this project and other incredible examples of school work via his youtube channel at Sonic Vision Studios by clicking on the link here.  If you would like to contact him directly for further information you can email him directly by contacting us in the 'home link'.

This machine and project involves using the 3D Printer, the Laser Cutter and also the Sticker Machine combined to detail, create and adapt an amazing machine.

3D Printing: Repairing a Office Guillotine

 

Challenge: Repair an item from the office that is not functional - a miniature guillotine.

Background: This harks back to one of our earlier projects here on our blog over ten years ago when we first used our (admittedly very basic) 3D Printers to attempt to repair various items around school that needed replacement buttons or parts.   We were creating for the first time, so the scale of the prints was not particularly large.   With ten years of experience behind us as a teacher and a huge wealth of experience with the students we are sometimes looking for different projects and different tasks to complete.   This example came from our office.

The sliding guillotine has had the end of it broken.  The identification of the problem and a potential solution was to create a piece that would be able to be held in place, or realistically super-glued into place that would hold the unit together and allow the unit to work as intended.

We have highlighted in the past how we are looking for projects that can be completed by the entire class (of nearly thirty students) due to their size and level of complexity.   

In this instance the biggest issue was for the students to be accurate.   The need to be accurate was based 

around the need to be accurate using Tinkercad.   

There were nearly thirty designs completed and we have begun the process of printing the designs and then applying them to the object to see if they meet the criteria. 

Early examples were slightly larger than the space that was needed and therefore a redesign was required, however some of the early versions of the prints were taking just twenty minutes to print.   We also had the potential to either drill or reshape the design as the plastic could be modified.

This is an example of the basic design students have completed, with the issue on the left being the size of the insert which in this case is out by 2mm.   Even something as minimal as this has caused the part to be shown to be too large, and needing to be redesigned.    The other issue is that the gap in the object, shown left is rectangular shaped, and in the original object it is slightly off from this.

It has challenged our students to ensure that they are extremely accurate and have used the ruler function of the main Tinkercad interface.

Size: The prints are numerous (there are nearly thirty) however the size of the object needing to be fixed into place so generally as shown left they are 30mm long, 15mm wide and 20mm deep.

Timeframe: One of the reasons that this project was such a worthwhile one for the students that it was realistic to have the entire class attempt the task so we could the select the piece that best completed the brief (and we have identified a class prize for the winning entry that best works with the object).

What we would do differently/Next step for the students: It just remains to print the full set of prints, and then we are having a lesson where we will test the viability of each print to select the ones that best meets the purpose of the print.

3D Printed: Market Day ideas for 2025

We have been looking at creating interests for our students for Market Day 2025.   We are trying to encourage our students by further developing the examples as they progress.   Something similar like the addition of basic fairy lights to our Minecraft themed nightlight has had the students thinking about colour, design and composition.

As we have mentioned previously the example shown left is chiefly generated by students using files located from 3D Printing sharing sites such as Thingiverse.

You can read additional information about the print here.

Generally as a rule we try to encourage our students to look at using commercial grade prints as inspiration rather than simply printing them out.   Our students are constantly sharing examples and prints from online, many of which have been purchased from online retailers.   We recently had to problem solve for a student who had purchased a small dragon in an egg online, where the egg itself had snapped at the join.  While the student was wanting to replace the original we also saw an opportunity to use a small scale, detailed dragon as a point of conversation.  As the print was small measuring 20mm across and being 35mm high it takes just over thirty minutes to print.   By printing multiple copies we encouraged conversations about games that we could play - such as noughts and crosses.   We have had students construct entire games like this for our previous market days.

Phone stands are another item that we are currently investigating.   It is something that fits the key criteria for our market day - innovation and personalisation.

Our students are able to master a design like this independently with ease, the base design has been shown to our students as an example from a past project left.

We also have the advantage of being able to have a range of examples that have been featured in the past on this blog such as a heavily personalised example from 2023 and or a smaller example that was created in 2018.

We see these as starting points for our students and projects for them to work on to develop their ideas and skills moving forward.

3D Printing: Customised Box Junior Engineering

 

Challenge: To produce a customised box for a localised engineering project.

Background: We are always trying to find ways to interact and share with the local community so our students can engage with interaction and learning opportunities.   

In the past we have gone out of our way to talk about the technology available at our school and created projects specifically for locals shops, stores and clubs, these are still in use many years later, including our own school versions as we have detailed in posts such as this.   

In this example one of the members of our local community sought us out to help with a project involved the creation of a specific adaptation of a piece of farming equipment.   For this the individual wanted to have a customised box.

The dimension of the box are not particularly challenging for our Y4 students (who are eight years old) but the person concerned has a specific dimension that he needs.    For the initial design the dimensions of the print didn't match, so the printed design (shown left) was adjusted as the student needed to have the draw in the area marked by the silver pen, and cover the top of the print.

The positive thing was that the student was that the member of the public (a parent from another classroom at our school) is able to pop into class at the end of each day, check on progress and provide feedback to the student about adjustment, so that in a short space of time the print was designed and revised several times.

Size: The specific measurements for what the parent is after is based on its intended use to work in conjunction with an electric fence.   The box measured 50mm across and was 50mm long.   The inside sleeve or box needs to be inside by 20mm, hence creating an insert that is 30mm wide.

Timeframe: The first version of this print took just over sixty minutes, the revised version of the print was slightly expanded on this (the difference being the location of the slot.   This is being refined and will be very specific but is not going to be significantly larger than this.

What we would do differently/next steps for the students: It is going to very much depend on the member of our community.   The potential to get a engaging project working has meant we have been making the students available to adjust the print and return it the following day - for the students the benefits is targeting their design, for the adult they get custom made pieces that are getting completed at 24 hours notice.  It is a partnership we want to encourage and continue with.

3D Printed Junior 3D Printed Business Ideas - Beads

 

This is another of potential businesses that are being developed in our classroom - the idea came from the student selecting an interest in jewellery as their intention to create something that fits the brief of being innovative, creative and individualised.

The student brought in this example shown left - it featured a number of shapes, a number of objects that the student felt they would be able to put their own spin on the design.

The personalisation was something that the student was really interested in and as a result she wanted to produce a series of cubes or beads that spelt our either her name or could be created to create a one of a kind object.

The student is a eight year old who has shown the ability to have designs created and made independently.   She is someone who has an interest in craft and creations unique and interesting pieces.

The beads that she has designed are shown left and are among some of the smallest prints that we have attempted.   This is very much the prototype stage however the beads are currently taking twenty minutes to print the set - but the student needs to address the balance between producing 2mm beads and having the lettering or the image and symbol on them being allowed to be clearly read.

The student skillset means that she will be developing these further and locating a range of additional shapes that can be linked to form the rest of the chain.   It will be a matter of determining the PLA colour used and experimenting until the task is complete.

We will be publishing an update on this project as it continues as we move towards a market day later in the year.  There are multiple groups operating in our classroom.

3D Printed Pencil Topper - Junior School Printing Challenge.

 

The concept for this idea came from a student bringing an object into the classroom and into school that we were able to use as a model or inspiration and apply some of our design and creation techniques too.

A student brought a comedy monster figure, that was wrapped around a pencil and was light enough not to affect the writing for the student.

We felt that our students given the opportunity would be able to replicate this design but put their own spin on it.    As a project the print time for each of the prints that the students develop would be minimal which would allow the project to be completed with the students being able to produce a print each (remembering of course that there are 27 students who are present in our class).

The PLA as evidence by our first prints has held up quite well.   One of the issues that has been coming up already is the balance between having the prints snug and allowing them to clasp onto the pencils.   We want the design to be able to used across multiple pencils depending on the students wish.    

As we have been doing when its appropriate as our students use iPads they have the option of using Tinkercad to AR/VR their designs into place how they could potentially look, which allows them to check their viability prior to printing.   In the example shown left the student was able to create a design and then test how it might look by placing it on a pencil as an example.

One of our tasks at present is the preparation for Market Day 2025, we discussed this design with students but discussion at present showed a limit to thinking that this could potentially be a business.   While there is some variation in the amount of PLA and print time it is amongst some of the shortest or smallest designs that we have featured for a while - with early examples taking twenty minutes or so.

In the coming days we are going to look to the students to refine their designs.  We have the example, we have the ideas but we would be looking for expression, details, characters and exaggerated features.   In addition to the regular PLA we also have some special PLA like rubber, which would perhaps be ideally suited for something like this.

Students also need to consider features of the pencils like erasers or how the tops can sometimes differ.  The key to this task is precision measuring to ensure that everything fits.    

Some designs like the one shown left have a spiral that fits perfectly but the star that is going to be at the top of the design certainly needs to be more robust or have strength to survive repeated use and changing of positions, which the student has already completed.

Market Day 2025 - Junior 3D Printed Business Ideas

 

Our students focus is on planing and creating a viable project for our 2025 School Market Day which focusses on innovation and personailisation.

We have already demonstrated that one group of students wants to use a 'Mirecraft' themed design, which was have shared on this blog.   Our second group is currently investigating the viability of using our 3D Printers to create some range of bath toys.

We have touched on these in the past.   Our initial designs in this regard came by accident as we found to our surprise that in nearly all cases the 3D Prints that are produced on default setting (which has a twenty per cent infill) float.   You can read about our initial investigation into this when our articulated butterfly which was designed by a student was then shown to float and have the articulated 'flying' motion added to by motion the in the swimming pool.

This led to this 2023 post about floating in the school pool.    From this we developed the idea of a 'Bath Toy' business for our 2023 Market Day - you can read about this idea here.   We also have completed numerous versions of boat toys, including entire sessions devoted to the 'will it float?' concept.

Auroa School Event: Step Master Dance Competition

 

Every year at Auroa Primary School we have special events for the students, which as an Apple Distinguished School we like to consider 'special events'.   In the past we have had virtual pinball competitions and for the past two years we have held a livestream of this event.

The dance machine that was created by the students, has an amazing video produced by our wonderful AF teacher here.    The students in addition to creating the machine have also been responsible for creating music videos (originals) which are then used for the competition.   You can click on an example of one of the videos here.

We used a combination of our technology for both the creation of the machine - such as the laser cutter for the mechanical elements and the display.   Since the machines creation we have added additional features such as the display on the top which has been created as a decal using our sticker machine.

We are now allowing our students to rehearse for the competition by spending their lunch and break times to compete in competitions (against each other) which we will also use to double as qualifying.   The best students will advance to our livestream finals which we will broadcast on youtube for our community.

The two posters that are shown above in the top photograph are 2m by 4m having been printed on the massive school printer.

We will be publishing further details about the competition as it grows closer over the next few weeks.
 

Market Day 2025: Junior Development of Ideas

This year we have one of our major school events - our school market day.   This year we are having a longer build to the project and the students are spending ten weeks prototyping and designing their ideas with a focus on innovation and personalisation, two key things which we are always looking for to highlight with our students work.

Our junior class of students with our eight and nine year olds have been typically using Tinkercad and 3D Printed designs for the past two years.

In this example show left the students have now spent two weeks (afternoons for an hour) thinking about designs and creations.    They started with a Minecraft theme as it was a game that they all played regularly and enjoyed significantly.

By using their technology we were able to locate a series of examples that the students felt were featured in the game.    By located these they then started to see what 3D Prints that they could locate that represented them, focussing on public domain sites that had freely available .stl files that they could convert and adapt (size, and personalise them where potentially appropriate).

The various combinations were then 'staged' by the students as shown left.   The idea came for a version of a night light, or some form of illumination and as these discussions developed the students looked at the potential to name, or personalise the display.   The swords that are featured in the print were an obvious location and the students looked at the concept and the ideas around including a 'name' block (similar to the Minecraft font/heading) with the name of the person between the two Minecraft labels.

The final part of the initial design was for students to think about a base and storage.   In the second photograph you can see that the initial base was circular and relatively flat.  While this was initially used, the students quickly picked up the idea of creating some height to go with it to allow it to have more of a display presence.    The senior school students have several templates available for use with the school laser cutter.    We took one of these examples and combined it with our design, the idea being it could potentially used to house the lighting.  We have located a set of fairy lights that could work in conjunction with the set up.   The slot in the box is used to access it when it is in position.   The idea is to place the box underneath the design to raise it, then have the circular design placed on top and then the additional features to be mounted (most likely via a glue gun) the entire project will be set up in various designs until the students feel that it able to be prototyped.  At this stage all of the features of the design are able to be printed in under an hour.

3D Printed Juniors: Replacing School Items

 

Its the changing of season in New Zealand, moving towards winter and in our rural area we have the start of some issues with small pest animals (such as mice) starting to move into school areas and we need to combat them.

One practical way that we can do so is to use bait stations to act as a deterrent.   While these can take different forms and are commercially available we have the option of printing them.

We recently needed a significant rat box which cost us $50.00 from a local hardware store.   There were also some online options which started at $10.00 including shipping.   Out solution was to locate a sample file on a popular design sharing site, Thingiverse, and download a freely available example.

We want to share this with the students in class and ask them how they can adapt, modify or create their own versions of this.   We have previously (2017) built housing for mouse traps including a tunnel, lid and information - you can view this post by clicking here.  We have also constructed outdoor bait stations for a variety of projects which you can see examples of by clicking here.

3D Printed Dolls House: Final Room Reveal

This is the completed shot for the bedroom of the Dolls House project when all of the elements have been completed and put together for a final shot before it is passed over to the junior school students for final testing.

The students have put together a range of piece of furniture.  These have undergone several revisions and reworking from their original designs.
 

As these have developed several examples have been highlighted due to their details and success of scale.

There are still some aspects of the project that need completion.   The flooring which is shown above is obviously not the finished version, which is being completed with the sticker machine.   The flooring needs to have perspective, and will be based upon a new MDF floor completed by senior students and using the school laser cutter.

We are also looking at examples which we have found online of using wallpaper however again it will require the senior students to complete MDF replacement of the walls before 

3D Printed Bed Exemplar

 

Challenge: Produce a unique, interesting and creative original piece of furniture suitable for a dolls house.

Background: It was never supposed to be as successful as it has been, in terms of output and also the creativity and the engagement with the students but as we are reflecting on the task and winding down the project it has been one of the most significant worthwhile projects that our students have managed to utilise the 3D printers and Tinkercad for.

The progression the knowledge and the development of the students work has shown clear evidence that we have been able to document as designs have been improved discussed and prototyped.

The bed shown left has come from a student who has made several items of design stand out for the project - including putting a detail on the headboard that stood out.     This was created using the basic design template, however its placement shows excellent thinking outside of the box and creativity.

 The design is not perfect and the student is going to address a couple of issues - as shown in the photograph left one of the duplicated blocks for the base is off centre.   The student missed this during creation and it wasn't picked up during testing of durability or AR/VR previewing (which it really should have!).  The student who created this is a student who has developed his skills over the last two years of using Tinkercad in the classroom and is eight years old.  As with nearly all the designs featuring in the blog from the classroom the teacher has not had any input into this design - the student has manipulated the design and created the project.   The final stage in the process is the testing.

Next week we are creating a table in the junior (five year old) classroom for the students to look at the designs and creations and have some creative play with them, we want to have our students have an opportunity to view them, to see them being used and then to 

Size:   The print measures 80mm wide is 95mm deep and is 10mm wide at the base.   The four blocks to raise the bed are 20mm high cylinders.   The headboard that contains the penguin is a further 50mm by 80mm being 5mm thick, which needs to be tested to ensure it can survive being dropped etc).   This is to work in conjunction with the 'lego esq' figure that we have been using, already the student has been asked to 'barbie' size the design up, which the student is happy to do as it simply a matter of rescaling the design in Tinkercad which can be completed with a single click.

Timeframe: Eight hours on the standard default setting.   In this instance the issue to deal with was the rafting that was produced underneath the base of the design which was then subsequently removed - but again as we have stated several times we would anticipate this toys would potentially be in use everyday for years (as evidence by some of our long term prints) and we need them to be as strong as possible, printing them separately and then re-gluing them in our experience weakens the structure.

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students:  We want to wind up the project and move into the focus on the school market day so this is the near completion of the project.  As mentioned the feet of the bed requires adjustment and the juniors need to be able to be let loose with the furniture to test it to see if anything unexpected happens.

Market Day: One off inspiration for Junior School

 

We are preparing students for the bi-annual Auroa School market day.   In doing this we want to get them enthused and thinking about what they are interested in, what they are able to create and what gets them excited and motivated.

Minecraft is an example of something that is available with numerous examples and creations online.   The two examples shown here are available as free creations from the Thingiverse site.  In both instances we did not design or create these prints.   We wanted the students to handle, use and then think about what could be next or what could you compare these designs to.

The sign that is shown above took just over sixty minutes to print and due to its current size it has a limited purpose, however the students have already starting thinking about what they could add to it, could it be made into a sign or a display, or used in combination with an LED light.   The second design the iconic TNT boxes have been developed as candle holders by a user on Thingiverse.  This print took over sixty minutes to print for each box measuring 30mm across, high and deep.  

3D Printed Furniture: Double Bunk Bed

 

Challenge: To produce a working piece of (robust) Dolls House furniture suitable for a bedroom.

Background: This task has been explained in detail on this blog including details of the original project, how it has developed and how the students have shaped the design.   We are now at the stage where we have completed the project and are now printing the final runs of prints.

Having worked on the designs on the project for a number of weeks, having developed and refined the designs the students have reworked, developed and AR/VR their designs and examples.    We feel confident that we have addressed the issue of the balance of the designs and also the base, where we replaced the various feet for designs and replaced them with blocks, to ensure that enthusiastic junior school students do not break (easily) the designs.

The student in this case is a Y4 (eight) year old student who is designing (using Tinkercad) for the first time.     The student wanted to create a double bunk bed and had seen the previous example from another student

Some of the features that were shown in this example the student used to further his own design.  He placed a ladder for access, and by making it oversized it has given further strength to the design.   The decal that is being used for the blanks will have the shapes in the base create an image of being raised.    There is a small technical detail as there is a visible sight light along the side shown in the the middle photograph.  This came from having the filament roll tighten during printing.   The teacher noticed this, corrected the problem and although it did not affect the final print it was noticeable.  It gave the classroom an excellent discussion point during the day, including taking the original design and comparing it to the print to see where the fault had occurred.

Size: This is one of the biggest prints in the series of furniture pieces as it is intended as a statement or an exemplar piece.   It has considerable dimensions 110mm across 90mm long and 90mm high.   The print also has the four columns and the base pieces which are 20mm wedges.  There was considerable rafting as the entire middle portion of the print (the bottom bunk) was fully rafted - printing it in parts which this would have reduced the rafting would also mean that the strength of the print was not there.

Timeframe: Eighteen hours on the regular default settings.   This is a very long time, but this is also something that we anticipate will last for years and be used for creative play by a significant amount of children.

What we would do differently/next steps for the students: This design is completed and has passed all of the tests that we have put forward for it.  It has been suggested that we could modify this design to work for a 'barbie' sized doll, while we would consider this it would depend on the success of this at its current scale as that would be achieved first.