3D Printed Maze: Challenge Engineering

 

Challenge: To plan a 3D Maze with an entry, exit and a number of challenges that need to be solved.

Background: This series of prints have been detailed a number of times, starting with the a basic design which progressed to revision and reworking.  The challenge then put to the students was to develop an engineering 'block' or problem that needed a way to solve it.  In this instance shown left the start of the maze in the top right leads to the centre.  Here the ball must be flipped over the jump, however it needs to avoid landing or falling down either hole and also the dead end the goes to the right.

Once this obstacle is completed the maze is essentially solved so the student was considering a ledge or something similar to increase the difficulty of the challenge.

Resources to complete this print: iPad, Tinkercad App, Bambu H2D, Bambu Green/Lime PLA.

Level of Difficulty: Medium/High.  This was completed by one of the top design students in the classroom who wants to expand the challenge and have more 'engineering' challenges for the task.

Size: The print measures 140mm long at the front and was 120mm long/deep.    The print had a floor that was 5mm thick and the highest walls shown in the picture (left) were 20mm.

Cost/Price: To complete the print the printer used 90g of PLA to finish.  This had a price point of $1.90 to complete the print for this.

Timeframe: To complete the print the printer was running for two hours and twenty eight minutes.  As a flat printed project there was no waste PLA.

What we would do different/y/Next steps for the students: The area of the maze high lighted left was an example that we could use to allow other students to consider what they might have included in their own designs.  You can see the jump clearly left with the two holes that are just the other side of jump.

This has led to some creative discussions in the class about the different ways in which students could create traps, problems or ways in which the maze could be manipulated to move the ball past this point.

Again as we have stated we are not going to print the entire run of designs in the classroom we are looking for examples that we can AR/VR and then progress forwards with limiting 3D Printing of selective prints.