3D Printed Cyclops Eye Detailed Version

 

Challenge: To create a design that integrated the use of craft 'eyes' and 3D Printing.

Background:  This print was originally  part of the cyclops 2026 print series - although it is going to be revised following the school holidays.  The very first use of the eyes took place in November 2025.

The student wanted to create a design with multiple eyes with various shapes and additions to create something that had a varied texture.

All of this design was created by a eight year old student who is part of the second cohort of classroom students.   They used their iPad and the Tinkercad app to complete the design independently using Tinkercad for the design.   The teacher then converted the .stl file into Bambu studio to complete the printing of the project.

With the design the student used the Tinkercad Apps AR/VR feature to test the design virtually.  They used the 'motion' feature to ensure that the design was solid and then removed any additional spikes that were not fully attached.

The design was projected to a range of locations inside and outside of the classroom and the students placed it in locations where potentially it could be placed.   We also stressed for the student the importance of the purpose of the design and where it was viable or not.

Level of Difficulty: Medium - there are a lot of elements that are going on for the student here and they have combined but also require some revision.

Size: The design was 90mm high and was 80mm wide.   Elements like the spikes extended 20mm from the base and the holes where the eyes were placed tended to be sunk 20mm into the base of the design.

Cost/Price: The print used 112g of PLA to complete and had a price point according to Bambu Studio Labs of $2.82.

Timeframe: The print took three and a half hours to complete on the regular settings for the Bambu H2D.

Next steps for the students/What would we do differently: The students design could benefit from further refinement.  The eyes are sunken in significantly with the design and therefore they are not obviously visible.   The print was completed in glow-in-the-dark filament - although this was perhaps something to be reconsidered if it was to repeated again.   The base of the design is a little uneven because of the weight of it and therefore it would be adjusted slightly in future prints.

3D Printing: Developing Skills and Design Techniques

 

Challenge: For a student to develop their design skills using Tinkercad and their iPad - in this case the student is using the Tinkercad App, however it would be also possible to complete using it as a web browsing program (without the need to download any software etc).  

Background: It has been explained that we use in the classroom the Tinkercad Classroom set up to manage the students and their designs.  Again this is something that we've done repeatedly over several years.  There is no charge to establish or run this and we have several years of classrooms on file, where the designs of the students have remained live after the class has closed or moved on.   Students are given an individual account, monitored and managed by the teacher, with essentially a limitless amount of design space.

In this instance the purpose behind this is the student wanted to develop their own design skills.  They have located an .stl file which is the cat on the right hand side.  The student felt that they would be able to replicate and copy the design using the main features on the Tinkercad design interface.

Level of Difficulty: Low - the idea is for the student to recreate the design as accurately as possible and as of yet they have been unable to do so accurately, by printing the design so the student has that to work off as opposed to using a virtual design in the workspace.   You can see from the screenshot that the process has started but needs significant completion.

Size: The print measures 90nn from the head to the tip of the tail.   The main body was 40mm high, 40mm wide and 60mm long.   The feet were 10mm square.   The head was 30mm square.

Cost/Price: The print used 28g of regular PLA which according to the Bambu Studio Labs software had a price point to complete the original design of $0.70c.  

Timeframe: This print took one hour and three minutes to complete using the regular settings on the Bambu H2D, with the regular infill.  In this example the detail is going to go into the students design rather than the pre-made/predesigned version.

What we would do differently/Next Steps for the students: The student need to refine their design so it closely matches the original in details, and features.   The intention is to say to the student once they have completed their copy and encourage them to develop their own design and consider what would be the purpose of the design.

3D Printed Design with craft Eyes

Challenge: To create a unique design that incorporates the use of craft 'eyes' as part of the print.  Student was eight years old and used their iPad and the Tinkercad iPad App.

Background: As explained previously this year we have revisited several different tasks from last year including our cyclops challenge, details of which you can read here.

We've always looking at ways to extend the students thinking and using craft items that can be incorporated into 3D Printing and students design.

In this instance the student opted to go with two eyes but to ensure it was not the traditional pair of eyes in this instance the student opted to have them on top of each other on the shape of a snowman with additional texture provided by the hair.

Level of Difficulty: Low - the fact that the design was a monster allowed for it not to have traditional measurements or features - which meant there was no right or wrong answers for the design that the students created.   

Size: This design was 70mm across and 70mm wide as well as being 60mm long.   These dimensions meant that it was capable of holding a single pen, or stylus pen, rather than a group of stationary.

Cost/Price: The print used 26g of filament and had a price point of $0.65c.   This information was supplied by Bambu Studios as part of their software when  the .stl Tinkercad file was imported across into the printer software.

Timeframe: Using the standard settings on the Bambu H2D this print took one hour to complete.   There was minimal rafting, mainly around the hair at the back.

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students: The location of the two eyes could be more refined.  There is a small gap for the eyes however the smallest eyes required a slightly larger gap.  The design does not have a solid base and this has meant that there is something of a 'wobble' present which upon testing of the print limits what can be stored in it.  If the print was to be expanded and store more stationary then the base would need to stabilised.

Minecraft vs Tinkercad - Project Summary

 

 

This is a summary of projects from this blog which have been completed by students from our school, and one local school, in 2025-6. 

 They have been generally created in Tinkercad as copies of creatures or characters from the Minecraft World. A series of them have then been 3D Printed although some have remained as virtual projects.

If you wish to have a copy of this file as a Microsoft Power Point Presentation you can download one from the Facebook Page for this site - by clicking on the link here.

3D Printed Earrings - Cartoon Exemplar

 

Challenge: To create a pair of earrings that are original and related to a students design ideas.

Background: An eight year old using iPad and Tinkercad.   The student was completing the earring challenge and looking to create something that was recognisable.   They decided to challenge themselves by selection two cartoon characters with an extremely high recognition factor among students.   The student was able to colour match both characters and add details based on their knowledge of both characters.   The student created multiple versions or pairs using these as the base design.  There are versions involved both characters on the left and the right as a identical pair.

The first run of both prints is shown left.   The print has obviously been completed on a basic grey PLA and would benefit from potential use of the Bambu H2D ability to have multiple colour in the print.

Level of Difficulty: Medium/High.   The context of the challenge is relatively easy however the student chose to undertake a detailed print of a high profile character.   The print shown left is the first attempt from the student to do so and revision would be expected in this case.

Size:: As can be seen from the screenshot of the Tinkercad design screen in the top photo the figures are 45mm across and 50mm high.  The prints are 5mm wide.   For a pair of earrings these would be the most common size.   

Cost/Price: Two print both of the pair the printer used 7g of PLA to complete the print and this had a price point suggested by Bambu Studios Lab of $0.17c to complete.

Timeframe: The print took twenty two minutes to complete.   While the prints have a pleasing level of detail it can be seen that the finish on the top right hand side of the right figure looks a little rough.  When the print is revised the figure in this location would need some refining (perhaps to increase its width).

What we would do differently/Next Steps for the students: Refining of the top right hand corner of the print colour matching, ensuring that details like the legs on the left hand side are both equal.   This is something that could be repeatedly printed to ensure that it is completed to a high standard as the print itself is able to be completed easily and has a small amount of PLA ussed.

3D Printed Minecraft Character - Steve

 

Challenge: To create a Minecraft character - in this case 'Steve' who is one of the significant game characters.

Background: We have mentioned the process and the link between Minecraft and Tinkercad in a design sense.  You can see a range of posts on this blog recently of particular note was a recent post when a student completed a 'Masterclass' when a villager was created.   You can also view summary posts from last year here.

In this task the student completed a similar process - and were able to produce the figure shown left.   The student used the colour palette to create more detail - although we have noted that we intend to use the Versa Sign Maker to complete a sticker to show more detail for the character as the 3D Printing was going to lessen the details.   

Size: This figure was determined to be a novelty figure so the intention was to always keep the design simple, small but functional.   The design measured 20mm across at the base of the feet 40mm at the arms and 50mm at the arms and the design was 60mm high.   

Cost/Price: We have constantly used several of the features that are associated with Bambu Lab one of the most useful is the auto calculations.  In this instance we can determine that the print used 13g of PLA to complete and had a price point of $0.32.   

Timeframe: To complete this print the printer need to work for forty five minutes.   There was limited rafting on the print, essentially just under the arms.

What we would do different'y/Next steps for the students: This print as noted needs the support of either a range of PLA or the use of a third party tool, which we anticipate will be the Roland Versa Studios Sign maker

While the student from cohort one has only been designing for a short space of time this student completed this in their own time and could add additional finishing details to the figure.

School Holiday Challenge: Earrings 2026 Edition

 

Challenge: For students to use their iPad, Tinkercad (app or web browser) and a 3D Printer to produce an original pair of earrings.

Background: Due to the nature of the design, the simplicity that it is possible to complete the task with and also the printing time - this has evolved into a standard creation, production and printing task for the students.

As the term was coming to the end we used this as a challenge where we spoke to the students - we also wanted to make it clear to the students that if they continue to design, create and make in the School Holidays here in New Zealand we will be able to print their designs during the break so they will be ready for their collection after the break.

In this instance having being regularly posting on this site for many years this is one of the tasks that we have a wealth of examples from - from one off basic designs to students who have created entire micro-businesses with the concept and used it for previous school Market Days.   You can view the links to all of these posts on this blog or use the search bar top right and use the term 'earrings' to see pages and pages of potential examples.   You can click on this link to the 2023 project which started as a design task  and then evolved into this 2023 Market Day business.

We also had students switch to the laser cutter in 2024 or you can view the Pac-Man super slim examples from 2021 by clicking on this link here.  This summary slideshow created in 2025 contains all of the steps from start to finish in the process - aimed very much at a teacher carrying this out as an activity with an entire classroom.

Size: As shown from the design plate on Tinkercad is 80mm long and 30mm wide the print are also 10mm wide.

Cost/Price: Using the Bambu Lab studio software we are able to determine that to print both of the pair would take 14g and has a price point of $0.33.

Timeframe: To print both of these it took twenty three minutes to complete using the Bambu H2D.  This task would be ideal to print using a slower printer or a printer that was not able to create the detail that more complicated prints require.

What we would do differently/Next steps for the student: This is a very basic introductory task that the students in the classroom could complete easily and we have had student complete some basic designs after being shown the app and how to create basic designs.   This task also leads to more complicated designs from the students.    This is designed for the students to be successful in a short space of time.

We have a slideshow as described - on our Facebook Page we have included a copy of the slideshow as a downloadable slideshow in powerpoint format.  You can click on the link to that here.