3D Printed Adapted Fidget Toy

 

Challenge: Student have been present at a local craft market and had seen a stall where one of the products was a 3D Printed Octopus.   The student felt that they recognised the form and the shape from our school Market Day in 2026 and they wanted to produce their own version, with some additional personalisation.  The design was priced at $10.00 for the market.

Background: The student was indeed correct as observant and regular visitors to the site will recognise one of the Market Day Business from 2025 which was Ollie the Octopus.

When the student discussed it with the teacher while the file itself was easily able to be located as a publicly available .stl file the teacher spoke to the student about providing some individual change to the figure or the design to personalise it.

That came in the form of the student using the main Tinkercad interface to introduce both a crown and also their name in large lettering on the back of the design.

Size: Each of the legs are 50mm long.  The main body of the octopus was 60mm high and 50mm across.  The crown was an additional 10mm high at the top of the design.

Cost/Price: The print used 46g of regular PLA to complete the print.  There was a small amount of rafting between each of the joins of the linking on the legs of the design, which allows it to shimmer.

This gave the unit a price point of $0.93c to complete.  As noted in the introduction the price point for this item at the market was $10.00.

Timeframe: To complete this print the design took two hours and forty five minutes.   

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students: The name of the student in the form of the lettering came out from the design (as shown left).  Normally we encourage students to sink the lettering into the design so there is no chance, particularly on rounded sides of the design for any of the lettering to break off.

The student was extremely happy with the outcome so there is no further adaptions required or intended for this project.

Official School Lamb and Calf Day Video 2026

 

A special thank you to the amazing Mr Bloor for this epic piece of work detailing our Pet Day at Auroa School for 2026.  You can visit his amazing Youtube page here.

3D Printed Original Butterfly

 

Challenge: For a nine year old student to use Tinkercad to create an original 3D Designed (and then printed) insect, in this case a butterfly.

Background: The student involved in this followed the detailed process involved in the insect creation and development that we have mentioned and posted about a significant number of times on this blog, including using the ChatGPT generated resource sheet.

The student involved in the process did so independently and submitted this print for a final printing at which point the teacher was able to view it and provide some feedback - given the dimensions and the details (including the print time, the PLA used) it was felt that there was value in producing the print in a physical form to provide feedback to students.  In terms of the chronological order this print actually was one of the first that we completed.

Resources used to complete this print: Tinkercad App, iPad, Bambu P1S Printer, Bambu Blue PLA.  The Tinkercad app was important as the wings featured are from the main interface and they were the starting point for the design which then came from that with the remainder of the shapes and body parts.

Size: This was one of the reasons for the quick turn around for the print.  From wing tip to wing tip the print measured 70mm and was 60mm long.  The print body had a diameter of 20mm and including the thorax and the abdomen was 50mm long with the antenna being a further 10mm high.   The intention was for the piece to complement one of the art pieces of the Pet and Calf Day Art Display.

Cost: To complete the print the print used 17g of PLA.  There was minimal rafting (although as shown below even this could have been improved with the legs).  This gave the print a price point of $0.30c.

As shown on the undersize of the print, shown left, the student wanted to make sure the design had the typical six legs that were present in an insect.   By introducing them in the form that they did (six cylinders which were 2mm across and 5mm wide or long).  If the option had been to either adapt these such as making them smaller or printing them separately and then perhaps gluing them in place this would have removed the need for support at the bottom of the print which would have further reduced the cost and the printing time.

Timeframe: The print took one hour and six minutes to complete.  This was significantly contributed to by the rafting or support material that was created by the legs.   In theory we would suspect that it would be reduced by at least a quarter, and if you compare it other prints in the series (such as the stick insect or the ants) which took about half the time, however the balance to that is literally with the feet it sits quite well on the students desk, although it was intended to be placed onto a stick.

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students: This project when we revisited and reviewed it with the student involved checking off the list of items from the ChatGPT generated worksheet.  While the items on this list were covered the symmetry that is present in butterflies was addressed and discussed and the student, they acknowledged that they needed to adapt the wings and the designs on one side and on the reverse the legs were not attached to the thorax/abdomen area and instead were in the middle of the wings.

Using AR/VR in a Variety of Ways

 

We've spoken about our Pet Day 2026 created senior Fairy Village.  Each of the students had a section of the diorama that was put together to form a large display.   It wasn't our junior students display however we were wanted to use it as a backdrop and background for our students to use their iPads and the Tinkercad App and its ability to project images using the AR/VR button.

There's so many examples of this process and how we've used this with our students with a variety of environments.   There is no green screening or additional resources required for the students to complete the work - the students simply project the design, either an original creation from themselves or something that the have found online or part of the Tinkercad resource library.

You can click here to see how we've used it with our Puanga Art Project earlier this year working on 'Pumpkin' celebrations this year or even our 2025 designed Christmas Tree's.

This example shown left features a Polar Bear from the main Tinkercad interface.   The students did not design the bear it was simply located from the search bar and then imported into the Tinkercad App.   From there the student was able to simply click on the AR/VR button and using their iPad projected the image onto the scene.   The Polar Bear image was then taken as an iPad screenshot.   The screenshot was saved to the students camera roll.   This image was then altered by being run through a range of filters.   For this process we gave the students the option of using the editing process for the photograph or using another app - which in this case was Pic Collage.

This image shown left is the 'Starry Night' filter with the Pic Collage App.   It has been used in conjunction with Tinkercad.   In the middle of the bridge, which was set up between the two classrooms work - a car has been projected onto the bridge.   At the same time there were other students in the background - these are the figures that you can see standing int the background although their image, features and ages have all been significantly altered.   The teacher themselves was in the middle of the photograph and has been removed and replaced as a cape or a sheet - which has been a discussion and talking point all in itself with the students.   The process to complete has taken under one minute to apply the generic filter.

The process was also completed with other filters such as shown left.   This design was created by a student - its first stage was the designing of the Angel like figure which is on the bridge (this is the same bridge with the 'Starry Night' filter above).   The figure was then projected into the middle of the bridge.    When that was completed the student decided that they wanted to use a filter to complete the design and this was the same filter that was used with the other recent post detailing this process the B/W Pencil option.

We have been using Pic Collage as an option for AR/VR purposes.   Recently with the development of more individualised AR/VR with programs such as Chat GPT.   Pic Collage not to be outdone have introduced an open option for the purpose of filters - in the case of the example on the left the student took a photograph of the Fairy Village, and focussed on the pond part of one of the sections.   They then made the decision to create a AR/VR input of make the filter like the 1400's - which then transformed it into the market scene that is shown left.

This is another example of focussing on one element of the fairy village - the pond.    This was created by students, the AR/VR component of it was the duck that was projected into the middle of the pond (this is the same pond that was featured in the photograph above and had the 1400's filter applied to it).

Once this had been screenshot by the student the process of selecting a range of filters was then carried out.   The selected filter was the Pic Collage - Japanese Cherry Blossom that then added the different layers to the final image.   

It goes without saying that the goal of each of the projects is to produce a digital image and not a 3D Print of a physical nature.  

Using PicCollage And Tinkercad - AR/VR Development

 

For Pet Day 2026 our students across the school developed a range of ideas.   For our students in Room Two and Room Three, the senior classrooms with Year 7 and Year 8 students there was an overall theme of a 'Fairy Village' of recycled designs and fantastical village designs.

Our students took the opportunity to use these backgrounds for some creativity involving the use of Tinkercad (for its ability to design and create) and specifically the Tinkercad App and their iPads (which have the ability to project an image onto another location or place).   There are many examples of this process shown here on this blog  which you can click on the link here or use the search bar top right and  use the rag AR/VR.

Our students were given a tour of the displays and then asked to select something suitable that wouldn't look completely out of place in the display.   We then took our technology to the classrooms display and completed the projection process.  This took a few minutes as we had pre-prepared the designs or selected designs that we felt would work well.

One example was the process using the frog from the main Tinkercad interface.   This design has appeared on our blog in the past, as its one of our giant sized AR/VR figures that we showed off in February of this year.

Once the image had been snapped we weren't quite finished, the AR/VR process produces some creative designs but we have also for a number of years now then used additional apps to further enhance or alter the image that has been created.  Pic Collage has been a firm favourite with the ability to take the students image and use a variety of filters and now AR tools to change the image.   In the example shown left you can see the screenshot taken by the student in the process of then applying a filter which in this case was the B/W Pencil filter.   The student has then selected the frog and re-generated this part of the image so its stands out.   From here the final part of the process would be to crop the picture, although as it has been shown here you can see the design page from the Pic Collage app.

This image is another version of the same process - the student has open up the relatively new feature of the AI powered editing process whereby using prompts and writing the picture can undergo further developments and changes.

In this example shown left the frog is visible to the top right of the small pond, which is in a different location to the original as the student was experimenting with the best way to hide or place the frog striking a balance between placing it somewhere were it could be located to having it somewhere which look natural.  

The entire process for this was completed in a single block of time which from start to finish was twenty five minutes by a nine year old working under classroom supervision with the teacher.   There was no input into the creation or design process as the student was capable and able to complete it themselves.

In the image shown left the student used their creativity with a number of factors - they took a phot of their hand holding a bug, which they then regenerated and used the fairy village as the background.

Again this is a screenshot from the Pic Collage app so you can see how the students have applied the idea and the creativity and how it could be used in the classroom.   Obviously this is another example of using the design process that is provided by Tinkercad and applying it in a sense where a 3D Printed project is not the object - in this case it is the image which can then be used for a variety of purposes such as a display (or a colouring in page that is unique and specific to the students).

Minecraft Vs. Tinkercad: Review

 

Challenge: To replicate the Minecraft Bee in Tinkercad as an original creation with recognition factor and details that relate to the original from the game.

Background: There has been an entire series of posts in this series, the majority of which were published last year.  We've spoken in detail how the shapes of the Minecraft game have a relation to the design features that can be created in Tinkercad.   We have linked this to an entire slideshow of projects below.

Printing this design came about as we were looking for other examples to add to the insect project that we were working on.  In this instance however there was a clear difference between the Minecraft version of the insect and the actual characteristics that the students researched that a insect should have as its features.

Resources used to complete this print: iPad, Tinkercad App, Minecraft Education (for screenshots to compare the final design with).   

Size: The print of the bee was somewhat oversized being 85mm wide from tip to tip at the front and 110mm long.   The bee had a height of 30mm.   

Cost: The bee in its present size used 28g of regular PLA to complete and this had a price point of $0.56c.  The bee itself looked oversized and obviously was not able to be used in conjunction with the Pet Day Art as intended so the design would be made significantly smaller with the next print.

Timeframe: To complete the print as it stands at present the printer had a operational time of 57 minutes.   As noted if we would significantly reduce the size of the print then this would be reduced to scale.

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students:  This print would benefit from a double colour print and a different base coat, also resizing as noted would improve its viability.

The Day Before Pet Day

 

Its our single biggest day of the year! (Well tomorrow it is) its our 2026 Auroa Primary School Pet Day.   On this day our students are going to be super busy showing their animal and their art displays.  As the displays were set up this afternoon we were able to get a sneak peak at some of the amazing work going on around our school.   Our senior school students (Year Seven and Year Eight) have used our school laser cutter to produce the frames for their digital photography as shown left.

The images have been taken by students using technology and then mounted within the custom made frames which have been printed out via MDF.

Some of the students have opted to print out pre-made designs while others have taken features like our local mountain, Mount Taranaki and included this in the design for the frame.

Although the laser cutting time for the frame has varied depending on the details and the additions to the frame.

The other creation that relates to our technology was the use of the laser cutter to produce additional material for the recycled dioramas.

Our senior students other big activity has been there amazing dioramas.   These scenes have had a number of details or features incorporated into their creation - but again students have used the laser cutter for additional details and features.

In the example shown left the idea of a path has been further refined by the arches that mark the path.   Other students have created and detailed doors and furniture which has then been mounted within the scene.

Our amazing AV teacher Mr Bloor is producing another one of his outstanding videos and we will make sure that we share that with you as soon as it is completed following tomorrows activities.