3D Printed Panda - Minecraft

 

Challenge: To produce a 3D Printed Panda inspired by the Minecraft game using TInkercad as the interface and design tool along with the students iPad and the Tinkercad App.

Background: As previously noted in a series of posts on this blog there has been a recent Minecraft theme for the students to build utilising the use of Tinkercad.

In this design the student focussed on the Minecraft Panda.   Students had completed this design last year and one of students from cohort two who was present wanted to complete a different version of this design.   The thinking behind the design was that the colour of black and white would be easily created using the colour palette which would greatly increase the recognition factor of the design.   

Level of Difficulty: Medium.   This design was somewhat complicated and the student spent considerable time crafting the facial features, the student could have potentially spent more time working on the legs of the creature particularly when they are seem in profile.

Size:   One of the positives of the design was that 80mm high and 20mm wide and 40mm deep.   The legs extend slightly longer than this.   The storage hole for the design, in the head was 40mm deep which will be addressed in additional revisions.

Cost/Price: Using 25g of PLA for this print the print had a price point of $0.63 this made producing the print relatively easy.

Timeframe: The print was completed on the Bambu H2D.   This had a print time of 59 minutes.    It does to be noted that this machine is considered a 'high speed' printer and this affects in a positive way the print time for any projects completed.

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students:

The storage for the unit here is relatively small - it is able to hold a single whiteboard marker, pencil or pen and therefore it needs to be quite selective.   Upscaling the design to increase the storage would have a subsequent affect on the print time, cost and the use of PLA.  The student spent some time trying to work on the post for the Panda and in particular the legs as shown in the photo in profile.   The student could have look at some different techniques or poses to address this.   We have looked at options for spray painting to colour match the print or have looked into using the Versa Sign Maker to complete the project or activity.