3D Printed Christmas Decorations: 2025 Edition

 

Challenge: To produce an original Christmas decoration suitable for display.

Background: As we have been producing projects and ideas with and from our students using our iPads and our 3D Printers since 2014 we have a large and significant bank of examples that have been created from the past which we can sometimes use as a starting point for design tasks.   In this instance the design shown left was part of a group of designs that were first published here in 2022.  The idea at the time was really simple, using Tinkercad, the Tinkercad iPad App  to create something simple but that had the recognition factor.   Importantly since this print was conceived and developed the quality and speed of the prints that we are using have improved considerably.   The basis of the design was the same - it was the 'scribble' option from Tinkercads main interface (for the leaves) combined with three geometric shapes and finally a ring to allow the object to be hung.   As we had one of the originals in the classroom to act as a guide for the students it took a seven year old under five minutes from the start of the build to the completion of the design.

Level of Difficulty: Low - this was designed completely independently by a seven year old and was completed in a very short space of time - they are a talented designer and this was easily within their abilities.

Size: This print measures 100mm across, and was 100mm high.  The print had a width of 5mm.   This was slightly larger than the original that was 60mm by 70mm (and also 5mm thick).

Cost Price: The previous version was not produced at a time where we had a Bambu H2D at school.  There was not any rafting with either version, in this one the printer used 16g of PLA filament and the identified cost to complete the print was $0.42c (NZD).   

Timeframe: The original print three years ago took slightly under ninety minutes to print.  This revised version, which is larger took fifty minutes to complete.  The finish, which is visible somewhat in the photographs with the Bambu H2D is clearly superior to the original with a smoother finish.

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students: This was a very straight forward project by adding additional details the project could have had a longer focus.  Obviously the design could be tested and put in place with the Tinkercad App and the AR/VR option for it.

As we have stated we have an entire slideshow related to student Christmas themed projects (which is shortly going to be updated for the 2025 'season' available in the Guides/Special Projects tab on this blog above.

3D Printed Trophy: Junior Exemplar

Challenge: To produce a 3D Printed trophy suitable for end of year prize giving. 

Background: This project has been detailed in three previous posts on this blog and has now been updated as it has reached its finishing stage.  The challenge came originally from the school principal in a whole class AR/VR challenge which is listed here.

It continued with a development of the first physical versions of this print which were detailed here.  As this was something that we were looking for a very refined print, it was adjusted several times and a second major reshaping took place and was posted about. on the blog here.

These refinements have allowed significant progress and contributed towards a more polished finished to this print.

The completion of the process took a bit of a back seat due to the 2025 School Market Day however since that event has now been resolved it has allowed us to return to projects that were in the works prior to that.

The final two versions of the print are shown left.  The first (on the far left) was used several times before a final design decision was made to increase the size of the print so that the 'plate' piece at the front could hold more information.   In addition to this we printed it using a 'marble PLA' to give the design the look of a stone type trophy.   The plate at the front is interchangeable, being replaced and colour matched depending on the award that needs to be given.  The entire project has been created and actioned by a eight year old student using Tinkercad and their iPad to design and create and manipulate the details.

Level of Difficulty: High - this design has seen a lot of revision and a lot of work and the effort that the student has put in is not for the faint hearted.   While they are a Y4 (eight) year old student they have been using Tinkercad for two years and produced a number of detailed designs.   There has been several hours work put into this design to get it to this stage.

Size: The final design dimensions are the rectangle at the front is 95mm across is 30mm high and is 35mm deep.  There is a distinct edging for the inside plaque to be put which is 5mm around the inside of this.   So the insert will need to be 90mm by 25mm and 5mm or so wide.

The base of the main design is 130mm across and is 120mm high.  The main disc is 10mm wide as it the bordering pieces.

While slightly smaller versions have been created this was intended to have the balance between this and the smaller designs.

Cost/Price: Based around the Bambu Studio Lab suggestions this print will be using 105g of PLA to complete the print - this would mean that a regular 1kg roll of filament would be able to produce just less than ten prints - and that each one would come in at around $3.00 NZD to produce.

Timeframe: Using the Bambu H2D the print as a run time of just over four hours.  We would not consider using the Snapmaker machines for this print as there is considerable details in the lettering and we would be expecting a print completion time of double.

What we would do different/Next steps for the students: We would consider this project now complete as the original brief has been met.   This is not intended to be a mass produced item (or if it was it would need to be scaled down) the idea being to gift one to students for prize giving for the school.

3D Printed Junior Challenge: Miniature Bees

 

We have talked about in the past how were always looking for things that might combine from the 'real' world into a 3D Design challenge or a 3D Printing challenge.   Examples of this which we've covered this year was the cyclops challenge which was based around the use of an oversized eye as the starting point for a project that morphed into the 'cyclops' project, the dolls house project which started with our students looking to repair something local or our art stencil project where we asked our students to use Tinkercad and their iPads to develop their own stencil for use with art.

This challenge came in a similar vein - we were looking at bees for shared reading and this provided the theme.  We again source from a local dollar store a bag of 'miniature craft bees' we then presented them to the students and encouraged them to think about ways to build a design around the object.   Early examples from our seven and eight year old students had the students using Tinkercad to combine a bee shape (from the main interface, left) with a small group of the craft bees.   The student had some knowledge about queen bees and their role so wanted to show this was a queen and therefore used the 'scribble' feature to add a crown and some regal features.  The student then took their iPad and used the TInkercad app to project the queen onto a scene with the 'real' bees.

The student shown left had a different idea - they wanted to use the bee as an inspiration to create honey comb earrings - with the craft bee placed there for scale.

We have talked about the suitability of ear rings as a realistic project before in terms of print times and detailing.   We have also created a slideshow (for teachers) detailing the process of how to create such a project.   Again the student to display the creation used the Tinkercad app and its AR/VR ability to project the earrings into place so they could determine how they might look once they were constructed.

This design challenge also allowed students to work on their own bee designs and also have a conversation about the parts of an insect and its composition.   The colour matching on Tinkercad also included discussions about the stripes, the wings and the details.   The student not only then projected their own AR/VR bee next to a 'craf't' bee they also created an entire flower (right) and started to look at pollination and the different features of a flower (again which lent itself to another AKO or investigation).

We also had students who were a bit less confident use the designs repeat feature to build a scene like the one shown left.  This is typical of something that the students can create, then use for a purpose (in this case it was projected onto the floor of the classroom).

This featured the first 'queen' bee (from the top photograph which was then transferred between students for some to use again or put a different spin onto it.

This open ended challenge also allowed students who were operating at the other end of the design scale to share their ideas - as shown left.  In this instance the student has been experimenting with hinges and locks and wanted to print an entire box.

We are likely to break this down in seperate pieces and print it as a set.  In every case we are going to have a sharing session with the classroom where we can apply to the students the same questions that were a key cornerstone from our recent School Market Day - can you personalise the print? How can you use your iPad to create? How can you innovate or improve your design once it has been started?

3D Printed Spinning Top: Follow Up

 

This is a follow up post about an activity that we have mentioned several times in the last week, and one that is working really well with students in terms of being practical and also achievable.

Credit where credit is due - Tinkercad the browser based software which our students do nearly all of their 3D designing on, in conjunction with their iPads.

One of the really interesting things that has come out of this challenge in terms of making physical spinners is that the larger spinners have not proved so far to be the most effective which has caused the students to consider the engineering aspect of what they have been making.

We are holding a competition this week where we are wanting students to spin against each other in competition aiming to last the longest with the best original design.   We will be adding this to our blog in due course in the meantime this is another video explaining this process and providing some demonstration of the students work:

3D Printing with Five Year Olds

 

Challenge: For a Y1 student (a five year old) to be introduced to CAD design and construct their first print, as tutored by a Y4 student.

Background: As a teacher one of the most reluctant aspects that I personally had when shifting levels was the prospect of using Tinkercad with junior students here at Auroa Primary School, this was proven a very long time ago to be a non-starter not only have the students constantly come up with great ideas and engagement with their iPads and technology.

In this instance a pair of students from the core classroom which is seven and eight year olds went back to a junior (five year old classroom).  We have worked with five year olds already this year on a couple of collaborative projects - which you can see by clicking on the link here.

While there are a series of prints featured in this post they have all followed the same design and creation format, so we will treat them as a single example.

The basis for all of them is the students name, then projected around the classroom as a object (using the AR/VR function of the Tinkercad App and the students iPad).   This was shown to the student (the Y1) and the student was encouraged to continue the process.   

The Y4 tutor also was clever in her design of putting two capital letters into the design the first was to exclude the possibility of the 'i' being unlinked in the result of printing (as can be seen with 'Abbie').  In the second instance the Y was made a capital so it would sit above the line and not be reduced to handing  underneath.

As can be seen once the students had projected the image inside the classroom they then moved outside and projected it to be bigger than the single storey classroom the student is from, and allowed her to manipulate it further.

The final manipulated image was taken on the school field where the image was made as large as was feasibly possible and then a photo was taken using the students iPad.

From the start of the process to taking the photos was approximately ten minutes.

Once this had been completed the students then again looked at the 3D Print design and thought about how it might look.  The first version of which was printed.  This print measured 80mm in length was 15mm high and was 20mm wide.   This took only thirty minutes to print on the Bambu H2D (included in this was essentially fifteen minutes of printer preparation time and 15 minutes of actual printing).

The students realised that while this had some appeal as a practical print it was small, so a second version was created.   This was then doubled in size.   Even on the smaller version the precision of the Bambu came to the fore as the printer was able to print the lettering with minimal rafting or waste plastic/PLA.

As can be shown by this print (in yellow) the print itself would benefit from an increase in size to allow it to have a touch more stability.

In this second version (shown immediately to the left) the print time has increased to just over one hour.  The new dimensions for the print are essentially double of the previous print - that is 140mm long however 40mm high and 25mm wide.  The provided more stability 

3D Printed Key: 2025 Junior Exemplar

 

Challenge: To produce an original piece of work as a gift suitable for another school to use in some way.

Background: We have been wanting to look at working with another school on collaborative projects and including design that could be unique and something special for another school.

As we noted previously we looked at working with another ADS (Apple Distinguished School) from Auckland, New Zealand, The Gardens School.

We had the students create a range of ideas based around the logo of the school - the challenge for the students was to create something featuring the Gardens School logo.   As detailed our students worked in various dimensions of Tinkercad to produce the logo.    We stressed to the students the importance of accurately depicting the logo as closely to the original.  Various versions of the design were attempted by the students and then we used AR/VR to project the ideas around the school at different locations.   This tested the viability of the design.

The colour matching that was available for the project came in the form of the main interface of Tinkercad.  The student relied on scribble from Tinkercad to provide the koru detail.

Level of Difficulty: High - the detail in this project need to be particularly careful and respectful of the logo and its importance to another school, creating something that was not considered close was something that we steered the students away from creation.  This was always intended to be a project where we would have a narrow number of final products eventually 3D Printed.  While this student is a Y4 student (eight year old) they have been constantly creating a high degree of designs throughout the year.

Size: This is something of an oversized keyring as the project currently measures 100mm by 100mm.   The print has an outer rim which is 10mm high on the outside, and 5mm on the inside - this creates a layering affect with the design which is eye catching.   The font is faithful to the original being two regular fonts with the 'Gardens' part of the logo again relying on the student using scribble to create.  This is designed as an oversized keyring for teachers with teachers specifically in mind.  For it to be more practical the project would need to have been reduced in size as it is not intended to be put into a regular pocket.

Cost/Price: Using the reliable feature on the Bambu H2D with regular prices for PLA which we are currently experiencing at $30.00 NZD for a 1kg spool of filament this print requires 36g of filament to complete and this would have an associated cost of $0.90c to complete.   For a full regular roll we would be able to produce 27 units on regular settings and infill.  There is no waste PLA with this print - that is it prints as shown directly onto the plate without the need for any waste plastic support.

Timeframe: Using the Bambu H2D this print takes just over sixty minutes.  Given the detail with the lettering this would be the best potential result for the machine to complete successfully.

What we would do differently/Next Steps for the students: This is not a project for our own students it is very much intended to be something for the students to do for someone else, and therefore judging its success is very much dependant on others opinions of the final product.

If you use the search bar top right and use the tag 'Keyring' you will see a multitude of projects with this theme.

3D Printed Spinning Top Exemplar

 

Challenge: To produce a unique and personalised '3D Printed Spinner' that is able to be spun and last the longest in the class.

Background: This came from the Tinkercad challenges. The template came from this page as the idea was not something that the students had considered prior to that.

Level of Difficulty: Low-Medium.   With the template available for the students to build onto everyone can essentially complete the task - the detial comes in the personalisation and once all the students have started testing the spinning tops we want the students to focus on the variables that will make a difference to the different tops ability to spin for as long as possible.

Size: The idea of printing an entire unique class set of anything can be daunting but this design measures 60mm high and is 40mm wide at the main base part.  That leads in nicely to the....

Cost/Price: This print took 10g of plastic to make and the cost suggested via Bambu Lab (which tends to be very accurate) was 40c (NZD).  There was a small amount of rafting associated with the bottom of the top.  

Timeframe: Forty minutes to complete the task using the Bambu H2D Printer.   

What we would do differently/next steps for the students: As we have mentioned the intention with this is to run a series of class competitions around the students ability to spin the tops for the longest time.   We want to lead a discussion about balance and weight, relative to this print and allow the students the opportunity to develop their ideas.  Also as part of the process we want to look at time and recording the length of the spinning, using our iPads to do so and considering how we might record this information.   We also want to look at technique etc. so this project is going to potentially make a nice finish to the year for the students.

Tinkercad/scribble + Pic Collage Filter

We have a range of students in the classroom a group who have been working in the class time provided (which is usually once or twice a week for forty five minutes or so) and also in their own time to use their iPads to develop their design skills.

During that time in class over the course of the year we get students who develop their ideas and skills and we build into them the ideas, encourage creativity and look for ways to have moments of excitement and magic with them.  Sometimes in the time frame they work this creativity in ways that is great to share.  As we posted recently our creative 'festive' designs have started taking shape for the year.   

Another example is the original design shown left.  This was created by an eight year old student whose been designing in the first year of using Tinkercad as an app.   The student tends to be a little reserved with some of their ideas.   They opted to use the Tinkercad scribble tool which we have used in the past and created an elf like figure, which is shown in the photograph above.   They then used their iPad and the Tinkercad apps AR/VR function to start projecting their image in different locations around the classroom.   In the photo above it is 'standing' on the floor of the classroom.   The student has used one of the 2025 Market Day Christmas trees to include in this projected image as she intended to use the Pic Collage filter for the next step.

The image shown left is the Tinkercad image, which has then been VR/AR projected onto the floor and then screen shot, which has then had the Pic Collage Silent Night 2 filter (which is currently free for anyone who has the app) applied to it.

The filter has taken the design added additional features, taken the tree at the front, coloured the entire photo and then added the additional colour and stars to the picture.
 

There are currently a range of filters with the app that are available for use (and free) and the student used a range of them with her Tinkercad image.  She settled on this final design as she is going to create a Christmas Card using this image as the front of the card, with additional lettering and a message on the inside.

As noted the entire process took under one hour.   Other students also created a range of designs using Tinkercad for this project, searched through their Tinkercad accounts and looked for other designs that they could import and then 'filter'.   Some students opted for figures but we also had others building entire scenes such as the typical 'Santas Grotto' with a range of buildings and other features.    This task (using scribble) could easily be completed (successfully) by younger students.

3D Printed Christmas Design

 

Challenge: To produce an original, unique Christmas themed festive design.

Background: We tend to start this process each year at this time building on what students have completed in the past as it tends to be a universal activity and as we usually like to print at least one print for each student we want to be able to complete it in a realistic timeframe.

As we previously mentioned we started the activity with an open challenge to students and this design came out as a result of it.  The student wanted to shape a face themselves and came up with this idea intending to modify it later but it was pointed out to them several times that the design of the face was very similar to a lego-man face, which the student was happy with.   The student who created this project is a seven year old working independently in Tinkercad with just the app and an iPad.

He was especially keen to work with the colour palette and while that wasn't available with the 3D Print at this stage did use the colours available to detail what he wanted it to look like.   The image shown left is the design, created using an iPad by the student who has then used the Tinkercad App and has AR/VR the design into different locations so he could see its composition and to check it.

Once the student felt that it met these guidelines the final stage was to opt for printing, which was completed using the Bambu H2D.

As this has now been completed the student is looking at developing this idea further as questions were posed to him about further detail that he could add.

The design was also put through a filter, in this case the Pic Collage, Magic Camera, Silent Night 2 Filter.  The results of this can be seen left.  

The entire process from creation, design to AR/VR and then filtering took a single block of school time (which was forty minutes).

Level of Difficulty: Medium - This student has shown several times during the year that they have creativity and excellent awareness.  They have used their iPad and Tinkercad to produce a number of outstanding projects such as the 'cyclops' series of prints.  They were also a key designer who has been responsible for a series of iPad and iPhone stands.

Size: The print in its original form measures 40mm across is 50mm long and the main part of the shape is 50mm high.  As a whimsical design to amuse and be hung from a tree these dimensions are correct.  

Cost/Price: The unit cost essentially $0.80c to make based on the now standard $30.00 NZD per 1kg roll of PLA filament.

Timeframe: This print took seventy minutes to print and was completed using the schools Bambu H2D printer for precision and speed to complete the project.

What we would do differently/Next steps for the student: The colour matching with a four nozzle H2D meant that the student could potentially have four different colours on the print and that is something that they could look into.   The design was amusing but could have had additional features, either for the student to go compltely lego themed or move in a different direction.  

Tinkercad Design Challenge: Spinning Top

 

We have spoken at length on this blog on the technology that the students use (iPads as we are a 1:1 iPad School and an Apple Distinguished School) and that on our iPads we primarily use Tinkercad for creation of 3D designs.

We also enjoy looking at the resourcing that is available on Tinkercad and one particular challenge at the moment has the attention and the imagination of the students.     

Under the resources tab on the Tinkercad website there is a range of challenges and activities for creation.   The 'spinning top' challenge is currently live, and will be until next month.  The template is available online which allows the students to build a design extremely effectively.   

Our students have spent time using the prototype and experimenting with different designs - the initial print is extremely reasonable timeframe which has meant that prototyping has been relatively easy.

The latest version designed by our students shown left took just over forty minutes to print.   It was completed using the Bambu H2D printer.   It measures 60mm in total length and is 30mm across.  The handle for the spinning is 20mm from the top.  

This design has taken an idea that the students like using motion to something practical that they are enjoying playing with as they discuss engineering ideas and we have tried to start conversations about the concepts of force, balance and personalisation and how this might affect how it works.   We are already talking about having some kind of competition to see how long the best designed and engineered spinning top is going to spin for (which of course will lead to discussions based around time and recording this accurately).

All things being equal during the coming week we will be able to print either a full set or very close to a full set of the student creations of these before we begin a testing process.   

Tinkercad Vs. Pic Collage

 

One of the parts of Tinkercad that our students find to be fantastic is its ability to be combined with other iPads on the students iPads to help with their projects and learning.

As we noted we recently began the process of putting together some worked themed around festive season (which is primarily based around Christmas as it is the major celebration in New Zealand).   

Our students first step in this process was to use Tinkercad to design a festive themed design.  We deliberately left this open at the start, although we asked the students to remember our focus from Market Day of creativity, innovation and personalisation.   This allowed the class the freedom to create a range of designs.   Some students opted for figures, some for 'scenes' by concentrating on buildings or other features such as trees.    We did allow students to use freely available material that they could download by finding the .stl files however we have made it clear in this instance the students need to acknowledge where it is from and also adapt or modify it to ensure that they are involved in some form of creative process (as we do not allow students as a general rule to print stuff they find online).

This figure on the left was created using that rule.   The student made a number of changes before this was completed - the initial version had two hands that were up in the air, which gave the impression of the figure putting their hands up, so that was modified.

The student used the main Tinkercad interface for the details and the different aspects of the print.    We explored the possibility of the print being able to be processed as it stood - however we received a warning from Bambu studio that the print had non conformed edges and therefore was a potential issue when printing.    We have started the process of printing some of the prints in this series, and updating our master slideshow but as we constantly state on this site we are essentially running one Bambu printer for our school of 200 students and three Snapmakers so printing everything can be problematic.

Hence we have a slideshow (above in the guide/special projects tab) that details using Tinkercad but not printing in 3D.

This version shown left is the student using their iPad to project the Tinkercad design and VR/AR into the classroom setting.   The student was able to take their iPad and take it to a variety of locations around school where the figure looked like it might work and then project it into different locations.

You can project it to interact with others around school (such as in the library or outside the office, by a sign or drinking fountain etc.   You can also supersize your design so that it appears to be gigantic- bigger than a building for instance, or small and miniature so that students have to spend time searching for it - as we did with our #tinkercadhunt activity.

The students also use this opportunity to rotate their design and look for ways that they might be able to subtly improve it.   When it is projected on a larger scale details that would appear to be insignificant can take on more of a focus.

The final version of this print is shown left when it has been put through a filter on the iPad using the Pic collage app.   This has taken the original Tinkercad design and applied another AR/VR feature in this example the 'magic camera' and 'silent night 2' filter.   This has taken the image in the classroom and added detail to the figure in the form of Christmas decorations.  If you look at the background in the new image it has taken the various classroom background items and shapes and converted them into other features on display.   For instance the whiteboard has been transformed in a frosty Christmas window.   

The duration to complete the transformation was in the region of thirty seconds.   There are a wide range of filers available for different themes, a mix of freely available filters and ones that have an additional charge for their use.    

We are now going to take the final image and use it as part of a students design for a Christmas card with this scene being the front cover.  The entire process from start to finish was completed by a student over two afternoon blocks including refining and improving the design a total of ninety minutes completed by a eight year old independently.

You can view additional projects following this process by clicking on this link here or by using 'pic collage' as the search topic in the search bar.

Christmas 2025 - 3D Printing Challenges

 

Its approaching the end of the school year here in New Zealand where we are breaking from mid December until February.

As we move towards the end of the school year we also approach the festive season.   One of the most enduring series of prints that we have been producing on this blog has been based around this theme.

As we have been posting projects for over ten years we have built up a bank of resources, teaching examples and Tinkercad created projects that could be used as a discussion point inspiration.

Today we did just that, encouraging students to design something original and something festive.  We also stressed to students the importance of using the key themes from our 2025 Market Day - innovation, creativity and personalisation

You can view our 2024 Slideshow with a summary of the projects below.

3D Printing: Student Engineering Solutions P2

Challenge: To engineer a solution to the problem of invasive nesting birds above a classroom.

Background: In the previous print on this blog we detailed the identification of a problem and how the students had been brainstorming ideas and solutions based around using Tinkercad to create parts to obstruct or cover the entrance to prevent birds from using it as a nesting site (and then fouling the area including the deck directly below it as shown in the picture).   

The first range of designs that the students focussed on was the set of three prints, the arrow wedge and the two rectangular prisms.   The prints measured Currently these early examples are 45mm by 20mm by 20mm and the wedge is 40mm long and 40mm high.   As with the other designs the width is 20mm.   As shown bottom left.

When applied to the location the students considered the angles, the coverage and how  the different designs would work in conjunction with the target location.    It was obvious from this that a second larger print would be required

The second print to target this area was 90mm long, 90mm wide and 20mm high.   This was then applied

to the location, after printing for 36 minutes on the Bambu H2D.    The print was then applied to the location and the right angle that was created fitted snugly, however the second part of the wedge created a small square in the corner.   The students discussed this and decided that they would complete the print again focussing on reducing the space again.

Two of the larger arrow wedges were printed, as shown left.  This item is being used by the students to determine the angles that are required from the different locations along the deck.   The students also realised very quickly that the two shapes when pushed together lock together forming a block, this then led the students to a discussion about a 'shape game' where you take the pieces and put them together and make different shapes.   

This appears to have been a Tamgram Puzzle - something that we have looking into before but may now attempt to print.

The final part of the task was to complete the adjusted arrowhead shape from the left.   This had the extended section which was then put in place over the potential bird entrance.

The final version of the print was then put into place and checked for its suitability.   While it did not fit perfectly it was extremely

 close and when being secured in place (by a bonding agent) we feel confident that the issue will be addressed.   The final stage is that painting of the roof area and the new adjustments (the 3D Printed insert detailed in this print) will then be printed.   

As we have noted we are confident based on the prints that we have featured on this site that the print will remain in place and complete the expected goal.

Level of Difficulty: Low - this has been a very basic task that is focussed on using a simple shape to solve a basic practical problem.  

Size: The basic wedge that we are describing as an arrow head is 40mm by 40mm and is 20mm thick.  The larger second version is 80mm by 80mm this is the wedge that we are going to use to identify the right angles to complete the rest of the prints required.  We will adjust from here.

Cost: This is a small scale print that would come in at under $0.50c NZD.  This will be adjusted depending on the angle and the size of the hole that the students need to cover.

Timeframe: For the smaller main print 35 minutes for the larger guide print the time was sixty minutes.  This was completed on the Bambu H2D - this is half of the time that would be expected from the Snapmaker printer.

What we would do differently/Next step for the students: This has been a short term basic print task that has a practical application that the students could use the technology to solve an ongoing issue,.   The challenge will be working on applying this design and idea to a variety of locations that are all unique as a result the way that the deck has been built.   However at the end of the project we believe that the students will have used Tinkercad, their iPads and the Bambu H2D prints to solve a real engineering problem.

3D Printing: Student Engineering Soultions

 

We are always looking for practical engineering tasks which we can pose a problem to our students with and then look at how they might apply the technology available to the students at Auroa Primary School to solve it.

One of these tasks recently involved a process attempting to limit or prevent bird nesting.   In New Zealand it is currently nearing the end of spring.  One of the issues that we have at the moment is that there are a number of birds, that are common house sparrows attempting to nest in areas around the school.  As our buildings have awnings and shelter as part of them the birds like to nest in these small confined spaces by gaining access to them and building their nests.   Not only does this pose a potential fire risk the birds droppings can be problematic not only for how they look but how that relates to a student use area of the school.

The area shown left has the student lunch eating area immediately beneath it.   As a solution to this initially bird spikes and bird netting was used to deter the birds.  Neither of these were successful as the birds nested in the bird spikes and also forced their way into the netting.   Other options such as foam etc can be worked away by the birds overtime, which then leads to them causing further mess.

The schools solution has been to engage with some parents to produce plywood wedges to deter the birds at the main location where they were gathering.   However the final part of the puzzle is the last part of the awning where the cover connects to the building.  At this point in a join or a connection that while small is large enough for the birds to access.

In this small area here (shown left) you can see the birds entrance points above the plywood wedge.  The area is relatively small but still needs to be restricted to stop the birds using it as an entrance point.

The solution is for the students to use their iPads and technology to produce a 3D Printed wedge to seal the remaining entrance point.   The students have been shown the problem and asked - how can they measure accurately the entrance point.

The first challenge to the students is how can they measure accurately and safely the size of the wedge that they need to construct to fill the gap?

The answer is by students using the measure app to do so.  Our students frequently use this tool with their iPads to measure a range of objects and in this case it is ideally suited to do so, so they don't require access to the location.

Once they were able to identify the correct dimensions of the wedge they need the design was the next follow up activity.   As per their use of Tinkercad this was a very straight forward task.

We know from experience that the PLA using in 3D Printing is robust and can last over ten years in exposed circumstances as demonstrated by some of our long term project reviews.

In this location we believe that the birds will be unable to damage or remove the prints and that they will be sheltered and there will be longevity with the designs.    The first step after the measuring was students considering basic design ideas and how they might apply them to this problem.   Once a basic shape had been created students needed to consider the design size of what they had created and attempt to AR/VR it into place.

This allowed the students to apply the design to the location where it is needed to be deployed.   Using the AR/VR function in this location took a considerable amount of care and precision to get it into the correct place where it needed to be, by doing this, such as the example shown left,   This AR/VR function is built into the Tinkecad App so students who are operating via their iPad only need this as the equipment to complete the virtual application of their CAD design.

The challenge for this activity was that the work area was something the students could not easily access - so the first students response was to produce a range of shapes that they felt would meet the brief and then print them out.   Once these have been size up the students will have a practical example that they will be able to work with that will allow them to successfully complete the task - we will detail the final print design from the students once it has been completed.

Currently these early examples are 45mm by 20mm by 20mm and the wedge is 40mm long and 40mm high.   As with the other designs the width is 20mm.

As a friendly reminder for everyone we are working with students from New Zealand who are seven and eight year old students (in New Zealand that is Y3/4).   The younger students are designing and creating for the first year, the older students have completed one year of using Tinkercad and their iPads for design tasks.

3D Printing Student Project:: 2014 Revised Edition

 

Over four thousand days ago, in 2015 one of the very first prints or project details on this blog featured this print, which is shown left.   While the print was shared in January 2015 the actual project dates back to the following year - 2014.

The print was designed in 2014 using an iPad 2 and Tinkercad, as part of a senior school student (twelve and thirteen) year olds design portfolio.  At the time students were required to create a range of prints, note the creation process and detail improvements and changes that were made.  

This print formed part of the students digital design portfolio and original student portfolio is shown below.   The prints in the process were completed with the 3D Printers that we had at the time which were the original Ultimaker 2 Machine.    This print at the time was also printed using a basic white PLA that also glowed in the dark.

When the project was completed the student was given a copy of all of their work and additional copy was kept.  This copy was then placed outside where it has been for the past ten years.    It was recently located, identified and examined.   It has been in an exposed position with no protection for the past ten years.

The front of the print has sustained no additional damage as two marks occurred during printing.  There is some evidence of mould growth although there is no actual obvious signs of any wear or damage to the main print, it is more or less as it was when it was produced ten years ago.

The reverse of the print shows more clearly evidence of growth inside the print.  This has occurred as a result of the clips at the top of the print, they were used to attach the print to the wall - as it was a holder for a whiteboard duster.

When these were removed following the printing process (in 2014)  it created three small gaps at the top of the design.   Prints are almost always run using a default twenty percent infill.   This allowed water to enter the print at the top which then would have created the conditions for the growth of mould.  As the print has been outside, exposed to the elements it has spent ten winters outside in New Zealand and would have spent an extended time wet.

The print was printed using glow-in-the-dark filament and when testing was conducted it is still glowing as expected.   

Overall the print has maintained its structure and its integrity, with some small evidence of weathering but is essentially still able to function as was intended.

We are now going to spend some time drying the print out to see if the change in circumstances contributes to an improvement in its condition.

This continues the trend that we have established of demonstrating that 3D Prints can last an extremely long length of time whether they are numbers on display on a wall at school or a keyring that is used by students everyday.