Ooshie Stand: Personalised Example

 

Challenge: To produce a personalised stand for Ooshies or Lego Mini Figures.

Background: This is the follow up from yesterdays post with the generation of ideas follow up.   We are continuing to explore further developments and ideas but to encourage the students with their designs we wanted to print a physical example that could then be used to review the ideas and consider what refinements might be required or considered.   As noted in the post yesterday this was intended for one of two things as a personalised display stand - the scale of which in theory would allow a range of the figures to be displayed.

The figures in the range were measured prior to the construction of the stand - however there is a subtle variation in the size of a lot of the figures and some have arms and other features that stick out from the base meaning that a universal stand needs to take thins into account.  In this example here the student made a slight design error that the last bay, the one with the second star is not the same dimensions of the other three and finding a character to fit in it is going to be one of the issues that the students will need to resolve.  In the example that was used with the run of twenty figures a peg has been introduced for each figure to be held in place.  In this student example the student opted to have a small division between the figures with the name of the person and the stars on either side.

This was done by applying simple fonts and also including the two 'stars' either side to ensure that there was balance and not blank sections of the design.

Finally we are always looking at considerations towards rafting or waste of plastic - there was the underneath of the design here.  A much better option for the student would have been to print the feet of the stand separately so they could glue them to the base post printing so that there would be no need for support - which essentially was nearly half the print.

Resources used to complete this print: Tinkercad App, student iPad, Bambu H2D, Blue PLA.

Level of Difficulty: Medium all of the skills that the student needed to complete the print they possessed and one would anticipate with the refinements and adjustments that they are going to make the print will be successful.

Size: The print currently measures 170mm long is 35mm wide and is currently on four feet that are 10mm high each.   The sections of the print are currently 35mm by 35mm - this will need to be revised, except for the last bay which is 25mm by 35mm and is too small for anything except for the smallest of the Ooshies.

Cost/Price: This print as it stands now uses 35g of PLA to complete the print which has a price point currently of $0.75.   As noted this could be reduced significantly by altering the underside of the print and printing the legs as seperate pieces as the weight of the objects being placed on them is minimal.

Timeframe: Two hours and ten minutes to complete (again as stated if we changed the base it would also halve the total print time.

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students - these have been more or less addressed in the additional information in the print which would affect the output.

Room Seven Auroa Primary School August 2026 Update

 

We're walking on spreading our students design and creation skills by having them mentor another junior school student at Auroa Primary School.   Our class which are the main designs featured on this page are eight and nine year olds, so the buddy students that we are working with are younger than that.    Obviously creating a simple name badge or tag is one of the basic fundamental tasks for our students and we have also been looking at ways to enhance that for the new students - such as producing prints involving 'Super-Glow-In-The-Dark' prints for this basic design shown left.  

In some examples its about the experience of something new, one of the best all time questions about this, from the student who designed it was the question that came the following day when they had a brief catch up about the print - "how long does the batteries last and when do you need to change them?"

We've continued to develop our 'Ooshie Stand/Lego Stand Ideas' to consider ways to display items as detailed here on the post.   We are yet to print out a full set of these for the students but one of the aspects of the project has been using Pic Collage to apply filters to their designs and consider what this design might look like.

This image shown left has an applied filter.   The storage was projected to the base of the slide on the school playground.  The image left shows the slide (blue bottom right hand corner).   The filter has then altered some of the poles and other playground equipment.   The scenery in the top left is the slope that leads down to a 'pump' track for our school.

We've been further exploring more about our 'movement' challenge using Tinkercad to create a 3D Print that has a movement theme.   We have not been able to print every print in these sequence however a number of students have already altered their designs to include a range of ideas, concepts.

This activity shown left involves creating a basic maze.  We've made examples of these before on a small scale in this instance the design is being refined as a virtual design rather than going through several prints first.

The students are considering obstacles that they might be able to include into the design - and a crucial element of this is the ball that will be used to challenge for the activity - while a ball is possible to 3D Print discussions about a rubber ball being more suitable is engaging the students and also involving them in some physical form.

We're also preparing for the NZAIMS Games and while this is a sport based activity which is a month away (and is not technology based) it is however a good opportunity to spread the words and the works of our school.

We regularly leave prints that have been featured on this blog in different locations (around the country) when attending various events (we gift them to schools we visit, when meeting other educators or leave them in public locations) and are going to do this again during the Girls Basketball Tournament.

Ooshie Stand: Generating Ideas

 

One of the areas of excitement at the moment is a group of collectible toys that are available from a local supermarket.   They are collectables aimed at 'encouraging' the purchase at the franchise which then gifts the buyer a range of the toys.  They range in height from 30-40mm and generally 30mm wide.

In this example shown left one of the teachers from our school used Chat GPT to create a model stand for their classroom collection.   The stand was connected via interlocking pieces (and is not glued together).   In this instance the print was completed using glow-in-the-dark filament. 

This inspired our classroom to consider how they might be able to create and design their own version of these and consider how they might be personalised or developed further.   The size of the objects that need to be displayed meant that a small print would be completed for the project.

As we do typically with this kind of design project the first stage is for the students to build a virtual design and then test its viability by using the Tinkercad App to project an image of their own versions into different locations around the school to look at its presentation, scope and scale.  

In this example shown left the student has advanced the teachers design by adding a name on the top of the highest shelf.   The students were then able to share the designs back to each other to consider how they could develop, expand and then further adapt their designs.    Once this has been completed the process of printing out several of the designs will be completed to again use as examples and review them, consider them and help guide and refine their designs.

Update Non-Printed 3D Printed Projects

 This slideshow has been updated with additional activities to focus on 3D Printing activities that don't involve 3D Printing as the final output.   All of the activities that are listed are described in full on this blog at some point.

Motion: VR/AR + Chat GPT

Tinkercad  and its design platform is constantly evolving and changing and during that time the students are constantly finding ways to develop the skills and ideas.   One of the best activities that we have found has been the process by which we've taken images created using Tinkercad and found ways to display or develop them other than the traditional way in which we would present the creation.

The digital image that is available from a Tinkercad screenshot is something that we've already taken the image with and applied it in different context.  One of the best ways that we've done this has been the application of filters to the image.

It will also be possible to use Chat GPT to alter the image as well.

In the example shown left the Tinkercad design has been uploaded into Chat GPT.  With it we have used the screenshot above.  The prompt to that was with the description was to explain how the design work and also how the design might be improved.  The language that has come with the design is something that the student will investigate to see how it compares to the language they might use.

The explanation of how the design works likewise could be compared to its intended purpose.  There is range of generic information that has been created by the process which is included at the base of the design - but it does have a range of suggestions for the student on how they might improve the design.

Again the purpose of this is to consider how we might create a virtual image, how we might test it and develop it to ensure that it is workable and then ultimately what we might consider for the purposes of publishing.

As we have demonstrated in the past visual apps such as Pic Collage have the ability to take the image and manipulate it in a range of settings and motions.   This image shown left is the same basic Tinkercad image which has then had a 'starry night' filter applied to it.

There are a significant number of examples of this process which are featured on this blog - you can view the examples by using the search bar or clicking on some of the links such as this summary post here.

3D Printed Prize Giving Trophy Repair

 

Challenge: To repair a thirty year old school trophy.

Background: We are always looking for opportunities to have our students solve problems or involve themselves in practical related activities - such in this instance this trophy.

The trophy is awarded in the sport of Netball - the trophy has an engagement plate on the back which has been awarded for thirty years.   Despite its sheen and appearance the figure that is on the top of the trophy is plastic - which has had a coating applied to it to make it appear different.   When examined in detail it has been repaired at the base of the players feet already several times.

Netball in itself produces a challenge - Netball is something of a niche sport.   We have been searching for a Netball figure that is available as an .stl file and are currently unable to locate one.   This has meant that the students have experimented with using other figures or concentrating on really generic figures.   We are specifically looking at mounting something on the top of the trophy in the middle, at the highest point.   As a classroom challenge this is something the whole class could easily get involved with.   While the output of the project is a single print.

The montage left shows a design that has then been AR/VR into place using the Tinkercad App (this feature is available to iPad users, not browser users of the Tinkercad online page.

The design left was created by a pair of nine year olds from our classroom in one ten minutes session.  Once they had completed the basic design they then took the original trophy and experimented with background so they could successfully AR/VR the design.

The filers from Pic Collage were then applied to a screenshot from the Tinkercad AR/VR to show the different affects that might be possible with the design.   Not all of the filters were successful as some have a tendency to overwhelm the designs.   The next step with the process for the entire class is to refine their original designs.

The audience for this task is exceedingly important.  We have created a range of trophies in the past.  This year we have already created various trophies and awards and we also have last years exemplar masterclass project which is available to be viewed here.

In the design left students worked on something that looked like it might fit based on size and then once this proved viable or not were intending to expand the process to include more detail.   

The person who commissioned the project is going to review all of the designs and from there select three or four of the designs that they feel meets the brief of the project the best.  Once these have been identified they are going to be printed and then the physical designs will be evaluated and looking at selecting one or two as final projects.  An important aspect of the success of this project is the colour matching - that will be finding a spray painting colour that matches the shine and the appearance of the original design.   

3D Printed Junior Movement Challenge: Early Versions

 

Challenge: Students to design a print that has moveable parts.

Background: This task is one that the classroom is working on at the moment - with the challenge to ensure that their print has at least part that allows motion or movement.  This has been something of an open challenge in that we've given the students the brief and then asked them to create something as a response to the design.   

There were a variety of designs that were created by the students - one of the important aspects of this task was to ensure that students shared their ideas and creations so that they could encourage each other and bounce ideas from one another.   Another important aspect is the testing process - this is usually not done with physical printing of the objects by projecting and using the Tinkercad Apps iPad ability.

An example of this process is shown left.  This print has been projected  oversized and then rotated by the student to see if the print was viable.   The student chose to project it onto the concrete area of our school.   

This as we have mentioned many times before is a technique to allow the students to produce an output from a lesson without the need to have a physical 3D Print that would be challenging to complete for every student.

Resources Used to complete this print: iPad, Tinkercad App, Bambu H2D, Silver PLA, Bambu P1S, Orange PLA (for the internal cogs).

Level of Difficulty: Medium - however this is potentially going to become more advanced (see below).  This was a completed independently by a nine year old student working with six months experience the teacher did not have any input into the process at any point.

Size: The print came in a number of sections.  The boxing for the main container for the print was a square that was 130mm wide.  It was 50mm high.  The print had a width of 5mm on the outside.  The inside of print had the main column that was 80mm tall and 20mm wide.  The cogs had a diameter of 80mm.   The intention was always to have a variety of cogs that were in the middle of the design.   

Cost/Price: The print was significant.  It used 150g of PLA to complete the print.   It had a price point (cost) of $3.00 to complete this print.

Timeframe:  To complete the print the printer ran for five and a half hours.   This was completed on the H2D Printer.   This was completed with standard settings and regular infill (which is twenty percent).

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students: This print is intended as a gateway print.  By printing this print early it is intended to consider for the class what else might be developed.  An obvious feature of this print would be what could be placed onto the main column and some variation of different objects and shapes.

There is some discussion need around the purpose of this print relative to its size.  Students have already considered a version that potentially by its design could be suitable for a cat toy or a small child.   However the students need to investigate the PLA and consider what might happen based on the potential outcome of the print.