3D Printed Miniature Storage

 

Challenge: For an eight year old student with limited Tinkercad ability to produce something personalised and unique.

Background: As per the description this student has had some experience in using Tinkercad, in the class this year as part of the new cohort of classroom students.  The students prior to the School Holidays were given the option of producing something personalised and unique which they were tasked with designing in their own time.

This student wanted to make something as a gift for another member of their family.  They used their iPad and the Tinkercad app to project the image onto their desk in the classroom to check its viability.   Following this process the design was then submitted to the classroom teacher for printing.  The teacher responsibility was to insert the file for printing.

When it was printed the decision was made to use the silk eSun multi-coloured PLA to create something of an affect with the printing process.

Resources used to complete this print: iPad, Tinkercad App,, eSun Silk Multicoloured, Bambu H2D.

Level of Difficulty: Low - this is a basic design that the student was able to produce confidently by themselves.  This is a variation of a basic design that the student was able to manipulate to expand the design.  Design basics like making the name inserting it into the back of the design as a hole instead of extending out are design features that really add depth and finish to the students 3D designs.

Size: The print measures 80mm across and was 40mm wide and the print extends a further 30mm at the back.  The print in general has a width of 5mm.

Cost/Price: The print is miniature in scale.  It used 28g of PLA to complete the print.  This gave the print a price point of $0.70c to produce the item.

Timeframe: The print had a total completion time of 53 minutes in total.  This included 47 minutes of printing time for the project and six minutes of warm up time for the machine.

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students:   This unit was produced in miniature and could be potentially expanded larger to scale.  The front of the design currently is essentially blank but could have had another picture, image or writing included (as per the top picture0.   At this stage the student felt that this would be an excellent jewellery box.   We have a range of previous designs - an exemplar of note from 2017.  In addition you can search the blog with our eleven years of examples by using some keywords in the top right hand corner of this blog.  We have tried to tag prints as accurately as possible.

3D Printed SVG Figure

Challenge: For a student (eight year old) to identify and convert an SVG file into a 3D Print.

Background: As noted previously we had students who were challenged to locate a free SVG file, import it into Tinkercad and then convert it to a 3D Print.   Further challenge for the students was to ensure that the SVG file was selected had a purpose other than as a print.

The SVG  file was sourced from a prominent online free online source.   

Resources used to complete this print: SVG file, iPad, Tinkercad App, Bambu P1S, PLA.

Level of Difficulty: Low - as the rest of the prints that followed this format this was a straight forward process that the students were able to master quickly.   The challenge itself was the selection of a file that would translate to a physical print.

Size: The print measures 170mm across.   The print was 130mm high and had a width/depth of 10mm.  The student intended for it to be converted into a keyring although there were queries regarding the suitability of the print for this purpose.

Cost/Price: The print used 25g of PLA to complete the print.   This had a price point for the print of $0.68.

Timeframe: The print took one hour and three minutes to complete - as per the regular printing schedule this print included a six minute time to allow the printer time to warm up.

What we would do differently/Next Steps for the students: This print would lead itself to something related to heraldry based on its design - as a keyring it is potentially limited given that the connection between the snake and the leg of the bird is only a few mm wide.   If this was the intended purpose the student would need to reinforce this part of the print.

Using 3D Printer to Repair

 

A range of purchases have been made from our students during the course of the year.   Some are purchased locally at markets and events where there are typically someone selling 3D Prints.

We also have a number of students who have come to us with examples that they have purchased online.   In both cases we are really careful to ensure that we are respectful about the purchase but we typically see if we can locate the source of the original file and in particular a cost or price point of comparison.

We have also started to realise that we need to consider from time to time repairing prints that might end up worse for wear as not every print is a suitable toy or at times can be damaged by an accident or play.

Such was the case with this character from Roblox Cappuccino Assassin.   This figure had been purchased locally but as can be seen from the photo the legs and the arms do not have the strongest points of connection.  

While we couldn't repair the original foot (which had snapped at the connection point) we were able to have students source from the Bambu Labs online design forum the original print (in fact there were multiple versions of this character).

Included on this forum were the step by step printable parts for the character.   While we didn't have a point of origin with the shoes and were unsure of the printer that was used (other than the fact it was most likely a multi coloured Bambu) we were able to use our Bambu H2D machine with its colour matching to produce a copy of the shoes which in this case were two different colours, which just happened to be the filament that was available in the machine.  The student is now going to remove the other leg and then replace both of them with the new variation that we have printed.   The blue new shoes took twenty minutes to complete on the regular default settings.

Market Day 2027

 

There is no Market Day for 2026 - this is an event that we hold at Auroa Primary School every two years with the next event being scheduled in 2027.

In the meantime you can view our extensive highlights page here - which includes links to Mr Bloors amazing summary videos of the past two years.   

In the meantime we are still recording items that we find from time to time that are potential to turn into projects for next year.  This example shown left is a laser cut map of New Zealand.  It has been cut into different layers, which show in the background of the weather patterns and then the entire picture has been wood glued.

It was recently located as an art piece - although we could potentially make our own version and use 3D lettering around the base.  It would require us locating a template map of our country (or area which are easy to locate and should not take too long to print.  Obviously the colour scheme of the picture would require some painting, with either spray painting or different colour combinations and this is something that we would want to produce early, as the students could also modify this and produce their own versions.

School Holidays New Zealand: July 2026

 

Thanks you for your visit.  It is currently the first week of the school holidays in New Zealand between the second and third terms.   This coming term we have lots of exciting learning planned using a range of technology.

The view shown left is taken by our teacher outside of our school in South Taranaki.   It is the Mountain (Maunga) that dominates our landscape.  We are extremely respectful of such an iconic and important local landmark that has huge significance to our area.  Earlier this year we started the year with our 3D Printed copy of a map that we located online from Thingiverse.

We wanted our students to be able to increase their knowledge of this landmark and also make sure that they recognised details about its importance and dimensions.

By bringing this 3D Model and importing the file into Tinkercad it allowed us to rotate the model look at some of the physical spaces - such as the smaller peak that is primarily visible only from our side of the mountain.

We also had discussions about the source of rivers for the area, its height and the fact it has such a unique peak.   The 3D modelling aspect also meant that we have a physical copy in the classroom so when we are experimenting or looking into views of the mountain and where they are taken from.  An example was when we were recently using AR/VR prompts with our Puanga and Matariki work the view of the maunga typically was not viewed from our direction so our images of the mountain 'didn't look right'.

The AR/VR tool aspect of Tinkercad is in our opinion vastly underrated and it is surprising the number of educators who are not familiar with it.

As an app on the iPad Tinkercads AR/VR ability allows any design in Tinkercad to be projected without the need for green screening etc with a single push of a button.   Rotation and manipulation of the design either a premade design or a student created design can then be projected onto nearly any surface of any size.

If you want to see a huge range of the ways this app is used by our students with their iPad then please use the search bar in the top right hand corner of this blog.  We have been regularly using the feature for several years now and tend to use it more in some ways than actual 3D Printing.  We use it with our class of seven and eight year olds but have also used it as mentors in a Y1 (five year old class).

3D Printed Novelty Stationary Holder

Challenge: To produce a unique item for stationary

Background: This design was completed independently by an eight year old student who is part of cohort one.   The student was able to work independently to complete the project and presented it to the teacher for printing.

The central figure of the design is the elephant.  This figure has appeared in posts on this blog before - notably in 2024.  It is available from the main Tinkercad interface search bar.  While this is an original design (in that the student didn't see the 2024 version) when the two are compared there are clear similarities between the print.

In this design the student worked with the elephant shape and then started to look for additional features that they could add.  They made the decision to modify the design in a number of ways.

Firstly they added the top hat to the head of the elephant (again this has been used before in various projects as the hat or top hat is easily located and work with a variety of prints0.   Secondly they wanted to modify the print by creating something additional with the feet.  In this instance they decided to add flippers from a wetsuit.

Finally at the back of the design the student opted to insert a hole, to shift the purpose of the design to storage.

Once this has been completed the student took their iPad accessed the Tinkercad App and then started the (simple) process of AR/VR the design in a number of locations around the school as shown in the photo.  This allowed the print to be checked for any obvious flaws prior to the printing process.

Resources to complete this project: Tinkercad, Tinkercad App, iPad, PLA, Bambu H2D,.

Level of Difficulty: Low/Medium.  The student didn't design this print they modified an existing print and added to it and put their own spin on it.  The print was still viable however the basis for the design came from the Tinkecad interface.

Size  The print as it stands measures 120mm across and is 80mm wide.  The print was 80mm high.  As it stands these dimensions work fine but additional storage requirements would need to an upscale in the model.

Cost/Price:   The print completed used 73g of PLA plastic to complete the print.  This has a price point of $1.72 using a regular PLA to complete the print.  

Timeframe: This print two hours and fifty minutes to complete on the regular default settings.  This print although larger in 2024 took twenty hours with dimensions of 150mm and 100mm which is a reflection of the improving of the printers in the meantime.   The 2024 version also had a considerable amount of rafting under the legs and body in particular.  In 2026 this was minimal as the printer didn't print any under the legs or the body of the elephant but instead printed from the base up.

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students: The student has indicated that they want to look at the spray painting possibilities for the design.  Reshaping and remaking the design would lead to a revision in its dimensions.

Laser Cut Talent Quest Props: Bus

 

Recently Auroa Primary School held it school Talent Quest.   You can visit Mr Bloors Youtube page for the links and media from our school here.

We had a special event and part of it was presented to our local community Mr Bloor our amazing AV technician, creator and broadcaster and decided to use the same technology that we used to livestream our recent 2026 Virtual Pinball Competition.

Words cannot express how important to our school - if you haven't seen his amazing page you should and visit it or look at some of his creative highlights including the full movie productions that he has been involved in.

This bus shown here in profile and side view was created by one of our amazing teachers, Mr Spice.  This bus was used for one of our acts for the talent quest. 

It was created by using our large scale laser cutter.   The bus outline was cut from a silhouette that was found online.   It was then cut out from corrugated cardboard, the kind used for real estate signs.

You can view the video of the school talent quest live streaming below.  If you have any questions regarding any of Mr Bloor's amazing work ranging from his Pinball, his full scale movies his dance machine amazing spectacular events and the list goes on.

As we speak Mr Bloor is preparing for his next amazing school event - more details of which are to come at a later point, but it is a sequel to his amazing 'Fast and the Furious' movie.