3D Printed: Ten Minute student challenge

 

Challenge: Y3 and Y4 classroom students using Tinkercad are given ten minutes using their classroom student account and their iPads to create a pair of ear rings that would be suitable for someone to wear.

Background: We have created these before, using the same process with the idea that the print time varies between fifteen minutes and half an hour.  Students in this instance had to develop them independently from the teacher, the teachers role was simply to arrange printing of the designs when they were complete.

The students needed to asses their designs in terms of suitability for hanging/wearing and needs to ensure that it is robust particularly the connection or join point between the ring or the loop and the design itself.

While each of the designs are somewhat unique and their size and print time varies in most cases it was under thirty minutes and the length of the prints in total and including the loop was no more than 60mm.

Each of the students was able to put their own spin and design on the ear rings.

We are also mindful of a significant event that is taking place later this year, that is our school market-day.

This event is significant for Auroa Primary School we have an expectations that our students are creating, innovating and designing and making something that would have value in the community.

We have had businesses run by students who have to look at something that they could potentially sell.   One of the things that make this activity ideal is that the printer can produce something that is unique and student created and can be produced for a minimal cost, as we have with the laser cut ear rings.

With such a relative short print time the entire class can realistically have their designs completed over the space of several days (that is a class of twenty six students). and then printed out.

This allows the students to check their design, check their viability, run tests and then finally make adjustments.

There are several pairs that will be printed later and there will be a second run of prints which will be posted for additional ideas.

3D Prints: Will it Float? Applying it to Boat Designs

 

We took all of the first wave of 3D Printed boats and placed them inside a container in the classroom that was filled with water.    We had tested the viability of the designs via the motion part of the Tinkercad program, which suggested that there was some issues with the design.

A clear example is the first version of the 'Titanic' which when floated by the students, as shown left, clearly showed that the design was not balanced and tipped to one side.

The more recent update of the Titanic, shown left, successfully floated.  It included four life boats (the original had twenty) and the typical four funnel stacks.

The decks and the top of the boat were balanced and as a result the ship floated comfortably in the water.  The student concerned wants to add additional feature to the ship, in doing so they want to ensure balance, so if they add something to one side then they indeed doing something on the other side to match.

This was the design which featured the name 'Emily' on the first page of first wave of designs.   It included four funnels and two decks, but no additional features.   The student wanted it to be used as a basic boat that floated and was able to achieve this with the design.  As with the others that are in series the student is currently working on adding additional features that she can include with the design to make it more realistic.  Again with the other prints and designs in the series the student wants to base the design on the template of the Titanic.

One design that strictly speaking did not work was the design shown left.   It did float - however the design is top heavy in that the weight of the design cause it to topple over, and while the student felt that it met the brief, that it floated it did not float as desired.

Which then started another discussion with the students would a regular print float or sink?

We looked for some designs that we had from our example box and selected several items - and posted the question to our students, literally, will this float? Most of the students thought that the tree would sink to the bottom of the container, but it didn't like the others, it maintained its floating ability and stayed on the surface.   An attempt to cause it to sink by placing a light amount of force on the design, and pushing it to the bottom simply caused the design to remain on the bottom until it was released, as noted by the students this is similar to the fluter boards that we have recently used for swimming and water safety.

The original junior Christmas tree print was located here.

The final stage of the testing was to find a range of designs and prints, many of which have featured on this blog.  

Without exception all of the prints floated - one or two of them floated at the top of the waterline but all of them remained buoyant.   

The students by this point were able to determine that all of the prints were able to float as a result.

3D Printed Boats: First Wave of Designs

 

We have detailed in a previous post how the class of students are currently working on several challenges.  One is to produce a range of boats - we have experienced success in creating these previously as is detailed in our this post.

Follow the success of the first design students have been working on a range of designs, and creating and bouncing ideas off each other.  The Titanic is a 3D Print that is available in various guises on a range of sites, and we have printed it in full in the past.

Hence the design shown above has four funnels (our students loved locating fact that only three of these were legitimate and the fourth funnel was in fact a prop!)

The first design measures 180mm long was 55mm wide at the mid point and 70mm high.   The funnels were part of this, being 20mm high.  The ship in this case took four hours to print.

The second design (shown left) had slightly different dimensions - and took slightly longer to print.   This was four and a half hours.   It measured 160mm long was 60mm wide and featured two distinct decks - the student wanted to add details to this design so attempted to look at ways to have windows or cabin windows on the side of the boat.   The student wanted the funnels to stand out significantly, so in this incident had the four (again inspired by the Titanic) at the top of the design. 

There is another important lesson in this boat, which is called 'will it float' and the answer is no! The student in this case has built the funnels too tall and the weight of them causes the boat to tip, when it is placed in water.   This is a vital engineering lesson to the students - which can be illustrated by placing the boat in water.    The student is going to be given the opportunity to address and redesign this, which should take place easily using Tinkercad.

Its one of those things were the fact that the design is completed but it only with printing that the student can identify a fault - and also we will go back to the 'motion' animation to look if it is sustainable.

The final design that we would like to show is the boat shown left.  The student has again opted for the four funnels, has included an oversized flag (we have discussed the idea of using decals for the boats, potentially created using our sticker making machine) and there was a clear using of a personalisation - this student had used the idea of sinking the lettering into a design as we had been working on with the lesson to upgrade the display of the badges of the name plates.

In this case the design measured 150mm long was 60mm wide and 55mm high.   This design was suitable size wise and the student was thrilled with it - it also was very balanced relative to floating.

We are going to give our juniors a choice to look at testing this boats, seeing which ones that they like and also which ones they are able to float or race against each other.

3D Printed Boats: 2025 Junior Designs

 

Challenge: To build a realistic boat

Background: We have given the students an opportunity to have some design time in the classroom.   The students have been working on a variety of projects one of which is the boat that was shown left.

When the student was working with the main Tinkercad interface a boat hull is one of the items that can be produced.   The student had also seen on of the previous designs from the inspiration box - which had further developed his idea.   As a student who liked history he thought that he might like to attempt something inspired by the Titanic, which has been another significant recent project with the 3D Printer.

We have printed a range of boats in the past - the IRB inflatables for a local Surf Life Saving Clubs special event, a rowing boat, with the intention to power it by a Sphero robot, a complicated and detailed Catamaran from last year or an earlier version that was created detailed from scratch.

This is the first example from the students - one that we were able to print, place inside a water container and then post some questions about - would it float? The answer to that is yes: we have confirmed this in the past, thanks to a lucky accident during swimming where we were floating 3D Designs in our school pool, starting with this butterfly.   This led to the creation of a series of 'pool' or 'bath' toys including a range designed for our previous market day.

Size: The boat current design is currently 140mm long from bow to stern.   The decks are currently 30mm high, the stacks 20mm high and the hull is 20mm high.     At this stage these dimensions are suitable for the print, although as details are added to the ship, as the student undertakes more research, and therefore changes are experienced.

Timeframe: Three and a half hours on the default settings.   In this instance the default is perfect as it ensures that the hull is able to float, a more dense hull would prevent it from floating freely.

What we would do differently/Next Steps for the Students: There is something of an art to ensure that the design is balanced.  In the example shown at the start of this post the decks are off centre, this is clearly shown when the design is placed in water, it lists considerably and the students are clearly able to determine what was required to have more balance.  The other aspect of this was the students were able to use the motion feature, that we have previously detailed to run motion tests on the boats to see if they weren't viable to print - designs for instance that hadn't been linked would fall apart or designs that were lop sided would tilt or collapse on one side.

This is evolving into a classroom challenge or series of prints that will be developed and reported over time.   An example of the evolving print is the final design shown bottom left.   The student has used the main Tinkercad interface design to create a boat design that was influenced by a themed ride at an amusement park.  Their intention is continue to refine and improve the design.

3D Printed: Junior Challenge - Tank

 

Challenge: Based on an idea from a student earlier in the month can students use Tinkercad and its interface to create a realistic tank.   

Background: We are always looking for ideas for students to develop, that could be unique to our students and use Tinkercad.  In this case the idea came from one of our students designing for the first time.   The original prototype gained the attention of the students in the classroom, who thought that the idea was creative and interesting.   Some students discussed how we might be able to make it more realistic and also considered some basic articulation - the turning of the turret is something that a number of students have already considered and have considered how they might be able to produce it.

The main shapes have all come as basic geometric ones, the challenge will now be, with a range of designs coming for the students to share their development to determine and encourage each other.

Size: The model that is shown above (the first version) was 90mm across and 90mm long at the tracks.   The design was only 20mm high.  The new version shown left has a base that is 60mm wide, and is 80mm long, with a barrel that extends a further 60mm from the top of the base.   The exaggerated tyres also need adjusting.

Timeframe: The initial print took one and a half hours, the second more detailed version (shown above) took three and a half hours to print, on the regular default settings using the Snapmaker 3.5.

As shown left the student who had been working on developing his 'cuts' for name design choose to have his name featured on the base of the tank at the back.

The student as mentioned is now going to redefine, redevelop and adapt this design.   There has been a number of designs on this blog that have featured students placing incredible details into their design by using the main interface, such as. the Christmas sleigh which was built in 2018.

What we would do differently/next steps for the students: The students are currently making their way through the design phase, they are looking to refine their ideas and see if they can adapt it to meet a copy of an existing military tank. 

3D Printed 'Rainbow' Badge Exemplar

 

Challenge: For a student to individually create and produce an individualised badge.

Background: This task is a foundation task for students in our classroom.   The students are able to complete the task by following a flipped learning task from this instructional video and able to work independently.   This student is a Y4 student who is eight years old, with their second year experience with Tinkercad and 3D Design.

Crucial to this design was the addition of a hole, the name design being sunk into the base of the design instead of on the outside and the addition of three additional features two stars and the heart.

Size: The design was 60mm high and 110mm long.  It was 10mm thick.   As this is intended to be a robust badge that is able to be used to name a bag or swimming bag.

Timeframe: One hour and forty minutes.   Given the dimension of the print the time would be about correct.   This was produced on a Snapmaker printer using the Tinkercad design on the regular settings, including typical infill for the design (twenty percent).

What we would do differently/Next steps for the student: Nil.   This is an exceptionally well balanced design which is robust and detailed.   The print was completed using 'rainbow' filament which meant that there was no need to spray paint the final design.

3D Printing: Design Ideas for Non Printing

 

We have previously published a slideshow detailing examples of work from this site - focussing on some ten years of creations of Christmas Themed 3D Prints.     In this slideshow here we have decided to focus on examples of how we might used Tinkercad to create 3D Printed projects, projects that either might not be ideal as 3D Printing projects or by their nature would make better virtual or other designs.

As with the other slideshows and resources from this site you are more than welcome to share and use them and we would really like some other examples and to hear about your own projects.