Fifteen 3D Printed Cows: Lore #6 You Don't Need Every PLA

This is a follow up from a previous print listed on this blog detailing the preparation for a community event associated with our school and the way that we are producing a point of interest.

It also ties in very well with another 'Lore' to think about when considering 3D Printing int the classroom or educational setting.  These are are all ideas and we don't expect you to agree with everything and this very. much applies to our own mindset - it is very much acknowledged that every school and environment is different.

To recap on what we've looked at previously:

#1 - You don't beed more than a single printer to print in a school environment.

#2 - You don't need to 3D Print all of your students 3D Printing projects.

#3 - 3D Printing using glow-in-the-dark filament is easy

#4 - Juniors can 3D Print just as well as seniors

#5 - The teacher needs to be aware (but not an expert). 

The point of this post is to show the group of five of the distinct cows that are going to act as the centre piece for each of the tables for the community dinner.   Rather than have 'regular' cows we decided to go for novelty cows that are designed to stand out because of their decoration.   Once we had decided to look at the base set of PLA available we talked to the students about other options.    One of the students knew that we had used spray paint in the past to change the colour of prints that had been made so we started the discussion about this.   The students started looking at options for how they might alter the colour when the prints were spray painted.   In the group that is shown above the cow that is located at the front right is a regular PLA print that has been sprayed florescent pink.   This has also led to discussions about using masking tape to create stripes etc.   which we still doing shortly and greatly expand the opportunity for the production of 'individual' cows and more 'unique' prints.

Junior Cohort Challenge - Bottle

 

We are encouraging students as much as possible to come up with original designs and creations, thinking about objects and shapes that students can create and detail using programs - in this case Tinkercad is our design tool.

Students are using Tinkercad with their iPad to create designs such as this.   This was created by a cohort two student, that is student who has used Tinkercad previously last year and this year we are looking at projects to extend their design skills.

While there is a range of objects that can be selected to design one of the best items for honing the design skills of the students (again as we have pointed out numerous times are seven and eight year olds).   

The concept of the design and the production process are some of the most important process.

The original Tinkecad main interface item is the bottle shown left of the pair, the original being shown above.   The main difference between the two designs at this early stage (as the student has had precisely one block of time in class being able to design this) is that the student has not hollowed out their design by using the 'hole' tool accessible from the main page.

This is something that the student will have the skill to complete independently and should be able to succeed with shortly.

The student also was able to look at using the final stage of the testing, which was to use the AR/VR function that is present in Tinkercad to project both of the bottles into different locations in the classroom.

In the example shown left the project virtually of the objects allows the students to compare how they look in a real settings, what they might need to do to adapt the design and how the could compare to each other.   The student also put a 'real' bottle into the mix as well but decided against the photograph as they had labels and stickers on them which meant it was very visual to see what was the 'real' bottle.

The students next step is to refine the design again so that both of the designs are closer to each other with their dimensions so the two are identical.

AR/VR Supreme Tinkercad Exemplar

 

The example shown left is a original student design created by a cohort two (more experienced student in the use of Tinkercad, having spent one year in the classroom previously).   

The student used the various shapes from the main interface and included the paws/claws which can be located with a quick search.   The body, mane and details were all created quickly.    The student then used the AR/VR Tinkercad app to project the image into a location which would demonstrate its scale - in this instance it was in the middle of our school field in summer, which provided an excellent backdrop.  While this looked fantastic and the student was thrilled with the result - pic collage took it to the next stage.

With the 'festive winter' themed pic collage filter the design really comes into its own - the expression in the face provides the detail that was previously absent.   The background and foreground also really suited the  composition of the picture - which again when shown left looks particularly striking.

The student wanted to use the image as a creation (art) based however it would obviously make an amazing writing prompt or potential card etc.  The entire process took under half an hour to complete (independently) with the student working with the app and their iPad.

This is the students summary on Seesaw which is draft combining all of the elements that the student put into it from the original Tinkercad design and then into two additional versions 

The student is going to refine the post to ensure that it is grammatically correct and then post it to be shared with the classroom and their family.

 

Six Year Old 3D Printing Project: Day One

 

Six Year old student, using Tinkercad having been introduced to it by the students from the other classroom who are working on it as of four weeks ago.

Student used their iPad and the Tinkercad App.  Teacher used Bambu studios to convert the file.

Converted from the Tinkercad app into an .stl file Then taken to our Bambu H2D printer (the one printing every school project this year) and printed.

The project measures 70mm by 50mm and is 5mm wide.   The project used 10g of PLA plastic had a projected cost of $0.23 and took twenty four minutes to print.   The last potential addition would be if the senior students spray painted the design.

Refining our AR/VR Tinkercad Designs

 

Yesterday we started experimenting with our iPads and the #Tinkercad App putting together a raft of original designs and then combing it with the #piccollage 

Yesterdays emphasis was on explaining the process and giving the students a short space of time to complete a design and then project it, and cross app it.   

Today the emphasis was on thinking about locations where the object looks like it might fit - and students had the experience from yesterday.   An early example as shown left was the orange, the student from the day before had noted that there was a kitchen play area set up in a junior classroom.   The student felt that if they created food then they would be able to place it in the location and it would fit in well with what was intended.   

The last step was to take the design and turn it into something of an art project - in this example the free (limited to three per day with the standard app) was applied via Pic Collage in this case a 'Japanese Cherry Blossom' filter.   In this instance the students were able to compare the original photograph with its altered AR/VR variation.   The process took about thirty to forty seconds to complete.

The student was then able to look at the design and think about how they might adapt it, how they might stage it and how different that it could look.

One of the tasks that we have completed in the past has been summarised via a series of posts in October in 2025.    We choose s series of objects to hide in a stage setting or creation.

In this example shown left the student used the 'donut creation' from earlier in our class   The student had been familiar with this print and decided to include it in a staging by putting it into a lunchbox situation.

This task was created at speed - the student in theory could spend additional time refining her design and considering the 'decorations' and making it look more real (and for instance could have altered the picture to reduce the glare, if for instance it was in black and white spotting it would be challenging) however the student was extremely pleased with the result.

We have a large numbers of photographs in this series of prints - which have been posted in more detail on our 3DPrintSchoolNZ Facebook pagae.

Using Tinkercad as an AR/VR Tool And Pic Collage

 

The title of the post is hopefully somewhat self explanitory.  Our students have the ability to use their iPads for a range of tasks - and of course for CAD design and creation we are looking at Tinkercad as our App of choice.

One of the things that we fell into by accident in recent years has been crossing the apps over into different design techniques.   We have done this by creating original designs in Tinkercad, such as the truck shown left.

It was created by a student using the basic geometric shapes, and adding details like the mud guards by using the scribble tool.  Once this has been completed the student used the colour palette on Tinkercad to create the colour variation.   An eight year old student spent time minutes (we had a timer on in the classroom with a countdown clock) the student then took his iPad outside and used the app function to AR/VR the design into place, in the case of the photograph outside of a classroom.

Once this was completed and the student then applied a Pic Collage AR/VR filter to the picture.  In this instance the student used one of the currently 'free' VR filters (festive).   Pic Collage have a range of filters and while a number of them are pay-walled for further access they also have several which are 'free' for basic app use.

The entire process was completed independently by the student in a shortened afternoon block.   Its purpose was to have the student considering the options in the future.   By combining the two apps together they added creativity and detail to the original design.

You can see many further examples of this process and output by clicking on the search bar to your right and using the keyword 'Pic Collage'.   We have completed a number of these projects and will continue to build on them over the coming days.

Independent Junior Creations 3D Prints

 

Challenge: For a 'new' design student to create something unique.

Background: We've mentioned a little about our set up previously and how we are operating with our digital technology.  Essentially we are a 'normal' state school in a rural area with 'regular' students.   

Our design time is part of one of our key themes of innovation as is the fact that we are a Apple Distinguished School (ADS) and we also have a 1:1 iPad environment (from when the students are five years old and enter our school).  

Design usually takes place in the afternoon block, depending on other commitments - and can be as short as ten minutes or sometimes the better part of an hour.   One of the things that we have experienced in the past and has started happening again this year is students designing and creating in their own time and then bringing a potential project into school for printing.   This is something that we tend to encourage where possible and make sure that we can print files or designs that have potential or promise that can be advanced further.

This project is an example of this process.  The seven year old student who has started designing at the start of this year is currently experimenting with a range of original designs - the donut being a previous one that she was responsible for.  In this example here she has explored the basic designs and shapes template and started experimenting with making various shapes - and done so in her own time.

This will hopefully lead onto further designs - once the first prototype was completed and printed we started asking questions about it, such as what would it purpose be, what it might be used for, how could it be changed and what modifications might be needed.

One the potential uses that came out of this discussions was that it might be able to be used as a pair of ear-rings or other item (counting toy to help with number bonds).   The student also put their name across the design (which is upside down in the photographs).

Level of Difficulty: This is an introductory task completed by a seven year old working with CAD design, their iPad and Tinkercad for two weeks.

Size: The larger of the two designs measured 100mm by 70mm and was 20mm wide.   The smaller design was 50mm by 40mm and was likewise 20mm wide.

Cost Price: Printed on the Bambu H2D the larger design used 22g of PLA and cost $0.54 to produce according to the Bambu Labs summary.   The smaller version used half of the PLA.

Timeframe: The larger of the figures took just over one hour, the smaller figures were two thirds of that time.   This would be modified depending on the purpose of the projects.

What we would do differently/next steps for the students: Technically there is very little that we would change from the project.  We want to encourage the students to be completing the work, in this case the student went to the extent of completing the design independently and in their own time.