Puanga - 3D Printing Art Prototpye

 

We have talked about the process of our students using Tinkercad to create an AR/VR image of the Puanga constellation which is visible in our region (instead of Matariki which is our nation wide holiday) 

We have started the process of early physical prototype of this with the intention of creating some form of a mixed media work.   The intention is for the students to paint a background and then have the 3D Printing attached to the background.   In early testing (shown left) some of the lettering stood out however while the lettering was solid the smaller stars had some difficulty being glued into place.   The students need to refine their design and ensure that the star had a flat back to it.   The lettering were sized large enough in this example to be glued directly to the background.

In an example like the one shown left (when the picture was taken prior to the print being removed from the plate).    Some of the stars shown left which worked in a context of the AR/VR work - but when converted to a physical 3D Print the size of the print the stars did not prove to be robust enough.

The stars will need to converted to physical print and then checked by the students.  It may well be that the AR/VR design should be increased in dimension to ensure that that it remains viable for the art.   

Finally the check that needs to be made to ensure that the glue can maintained and not have the pieces of the printing falling off at a later point.  We have used PVA glue in a first attempt and will be checking this over the coming days to ensure that it allows the design to remain in place.

Revisiting Our 2018 Numbers

 

The image taken left is from 2018.   This was the year that we decided to replace the wrought iron numbering system that was on the wire fence with some custom made numbers.

It is the area where we have our evacuation assemblies and where we need to have clearly visible signage so students need to know where to line us.  This led us to putting a series of 3D Printed numbers up in place of the originals and documenting their time exposed and out in the elements - the original numbers are mostly intact and are exposed to the elements throughout the year.   You can click on the original 2018 project print here.  We have followed this initial post with a series of updates over the years tracking the change in the PLA of the numbers (which is essentially none) and also what has happened to the prints over the years.

In essence two things have occurred.  The first is while the PLA itself has remained intact the colour that was part of the initial print (orange) faded over time.   We have taken down the prints twice (in eight years) and had them resprayed.

The second issue has been that students like to play ball games (particularly soccer/football) on the field next to where the netting and the numbers are.   Although they are not targeting the numbers directly they have received several direct hits from students kicking a ball.   The original prints were 10mm thick.

This week we made the decision to replace two of the revised prints that have been consistently hit by kicked balls from the field.  

Of note as a reflection of how the technology that we are using has changed over the past eight years the original numbers when printed took four hours to complete.   The same sized objects now, twice as wide are taking one quarter the time - ie just over one hour to complete.

Resources Used: Tinkercad App, iPad, Bambu P1S, Cotton Candy PLA (this may be resprayed later).

Level of Difficulty: Low - this is a seven year old student operating independently to produce something with a purpose the teacher didn't need any direction and the task took three minutes.

Size: The focused with these revised numbers has been on the need to ensure they are more robust than the originals.   They are 120mm wide 130mm long and importantly 20mm thick which is double the width of the originals.

Cost/Price: The print used 54g of PLA to complete and this had a price point of $1.37.

Timeframe: This took one hour to complete (as noted the 2018 original, half the width took four hours).

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students: Nil.   This was a task required to resolve a specific problem and it did so there is nothing further required.

3D Printed: Using Tinkercad Creations

 

Challenge: Using the pre-made characters or designs from the main Tinkercad interface in a creative way.

Background: This print came as a very brief activity from one of the students who was using some of the pre-generated designs in Tinkercad to create a potential project.   The student felt the dog that they were able to locate bore more than a passing resemblance to their dog and wanted to produce a print associated with it.   As the dimensions for the print were quite limited it was felt that this would be a worthwhile project and could lead to further development.

The student was easily able to use their own design skills to mount the animal on a base (that was made by importing one of the basic shapes0 and then they completed the quick design by introducing a name into the base of the plate.   This process was completed by a cohort one student in under five minutes independently.  

The print shown gives an example of the kind of detail possible from the Bambu P1S Printer - which is more-or-less as effective as the Bambu H2D.   The sole rafting that was produced with the print was a tree that came under the muzzle of the dog - the rest of the detail such as the legs and other features had none.

Resources used to complete this project: iPad, Tinkercad App, Bambu P1S Printer, Cotton Candy PLA.

Level of Difficulty: Low.   The student used the pre-generated design and adapted it - the level of skill was in recognising this could make a viable print rather than a focus on the design.

Size: The print measured 55mm across at the base and was 55mm long and 20mm high.   The dog was 70mm high and 40mm wide.

Cost/Price: The project used 33g of PLA to complete which included 10g of rafting.    The price point for this was $0.82.

Timeframe: As a relatively small print this print took fifty seven minutes to complete and had the standard six minute warm up time for. combined print time of just over one hour.

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students: The student in question is going to put additional details into the design, re-centre the lettering and has thought about what else can be put around the base.   These changes are additions and would not significantly affect any of the major details of this print.

3D Printed Mini Pencil Sharpener

Challenge: To take a physical object, in this case a pencil sharpener and include it with a 3D Print.  Various versions of this has been produced however this version was a micro scale and attempt to complete the project using the smallest amount of PLA.

Background: As above - a deluxe edition was detailed on this blog as was another early prototype from this years version of this task.

The challenge concerned the students inserting a space internally into their design and making sure they had an understanding of measuring in millimetres and refining their design - too small and obviously the pencil sharpener couldn't fit and too large that the pencil sharpener would have too much space.    The sharpener itself is inexpensive.

They were able to be purchased from a local dollar store for a small charge which allowed the purchase of twelve of them.   Students did need to be aware that they could not have too much pressure applied as it tended to crack.

The other biggest consideration for students to consider from an engineering perspective is the exit point for the shavings once it has been used.  Consistently students have either a exit point that lacks a clear route or requires some force for it to work.   Working at a small scale like this allows the students to create something where the print is not too long and realistically allows it to be completed as a working prototype.

Resources used to complete this project: iPad, Tinkercad App, Cotton candy PLA, Bambu P1S.

Level of Difficulty: Medium/High as we have spoken about on a number of posts this task appears simplistic but is not, there are a number of challenges that need to be resolved by the students.

Size: The current version of this is designed to be as small as possible.  This example is 40mm across and is 50mm long.   At the back of the design the part of the design that has the students name was 35mm high.

Cost/Price: At present the print uses 18g to complete and included 6g of filament as support rafting.  Using the cost price model of the Bambu support software the cost of the print is $0.45c.

Timeframe: The print had a total of 42 minutes to complete.  A six minute warm up for the printer and then a total print time of thirty six minutes.

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students: The final mounting of the pencil sharpener is the key element which in this case will involve the student completing testing to evaluate its effectiveness.

Room Seven Auroa Primary School: Week Nine

 

We've approaching the school holidays in New Zealand where we have our mid year break.   As it is a very busy time for our students we have a number of projects that are ongoing at the moment - and we wanted to share and highlight some of these.

In the print featured left the students working on the toy tractor accessories have reworked their original design which was featured on this blog here   It has been considerably resized however now works in conjunction with the tractor perfectly and the students are now looking at ways to refine the design and develop further accessories along the same lines.    

A seperate group of students are experimenting with the process of linking - starting with their names.   They are working with a former student who spent a considerable amount of time last year mastering the art.   You can see example of this students work here and here.   This is the link to the earlier post this month on the subject which you can see by clicking here.

Our students have been working in pairs on the 2026 version of the 'Pencil Sharpener Challenge.

In this challenge students have to take a small physical object (in this case a pencil sharpener, regular size to sharpen a regular HB pencil0 and build a 3D Print to house it.   This involves the students engineering a problem that needs to resolve the location and depth of a print, the exit of the sharpening once its been used and the overall look and composition of an original design.

It has proven to be something of a semi-regular challenge that involves a small outlay but allows the students to be engaged and consider size as well as the challenge of building something around an object.

There are a number of designs that feature on this blog that you can access by clicking on the link on the top right hand corner of this blog, as a search bar will allow you to locate everything tagged with this.

During the holidays we are celebrating our Matariki National Holiday - although we celebrate it slightly different in our region (Puanga).   This project is going to be a significant art project for the remainder of the term.    

Our students have been creating AR/VR images of both the constellation (for Matariki) and the star for Puanga which will be a physical display in our classroom.   You can click on the link to this work here or you can as always use the search bar.

Finally as an Apple Distinguished School we are sending a number of staff to the ANZ Apple Summit in July, please get in touch with our teachers (from Auroa School) if you see them there.

A Million Page Views for this site

 

Over the weekend this site will receive its 1,000,000 page view.  

It has been running as a blog since 2015 with the expressed purpose of sharing ideas and content related to initially 3D Printing, but also a range of tech since then, such as 3D Printers, sticker machines and of course the laser cutter.

You can view our very first post here.

As the students have continued to move through the school we have produced some wonderful projects, ideas and work which it has been fantastic to share with a wider audience from out little school in rural New Zealand, South Taranaki.

As the teacher behind the site I would just like to say a massive thank you to everyone who has contributed directly or indirectly to what we have been able to share from the staff to of course the wonderful students to everyone that has ever visited this page or shared this work.     

We have been promoting this site more this year and I don't think its a coincidence that the page views have increased significantly since the start of the year and are increasing exponentially.  It is exciting to consider where this page will be in another twelve months time.  In the meantime as always thank you so much for your visit and please get in touch (myles.webb@gmail.com/mwebb@auroa.school.nz) if you would like further information regarding any projects or work that we have featured.

Non progredi est regredi.    

3D Printer Pencil Sharpener - Deluxe Edition

 

Challenge: To create an original design that incorporates into the print a physical object with a purpose.

Background: We detailed this projects start earlier this month when we tasked students with the challenge of having a physical sharpener created to work in conjunction with a student engineered 3D Print.    The students for the process were able to work with a partner on the design.   The challenge first stage was the design then the students were to undergo testing to ensure the design was viable, balance and had a purpose.

Some of the challenges that the students came up against were aligning the sharpener correctly into the print, ensuring that they had a suitable 'exit' location for the pencil sharpening once it was used.

Once the inserting mechanisms had been devised the students then spent time working on the other aspects of the design, inserts for pencils, names and shapes.   The students wanted to use a multi coloured PLA for the affect that it would create - this is a PLA which is called 'Cotton Candy'.

Resources Used: iPad and Tinkercad App for the design, Cotton Candy Bambu PLA, Bambu P1S.

Level of Difficulty: Medium/Hard.   This is one of those tasks that appears simple but there are layers and elements to it, particularly when the students start to attempt to have multi entry and exit points and details that need to work in conjunction with each other.

Size: This version of the print measures 50mm across and was 55mm long and 40mm high.   

Cost/Price: This unit as it stands uses 42g of PLA filament to complete the print, including some 12g of rafting (for the lettering and the inside of the box).   This had a price point of $1.07c to complete.

Timeframe: To complete this project the printer took a (now standard) six minutes to warm up and one hour twenty four minutes to complete the print, for a combined total of one and a half hours.

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students: There is a gap in the side of the pencil sharpener holder as shown left.   This has been created because the internal storage on the other side of the wall is too close to the side of the print.  It needs to be moved slightly or reduced in size which will correct the error.   The final step is for the students to undergo testing to ensure that the item works as it is intended.  If it does not the students will then need to look at reworking and refining it.