3D Printed Projects in Action: Weekly Summary

 

Five and six year olds at Auroa Primary School are 3D Printing, well they are with the assistance of the experts in our classroom.   We are continuing to buddy up with a range of younger students and start the CAD design and creation process with these 'new' students.    Our students are taking on a mentoring role and starting with the basics.   The students are of course using Tinkercad combined with the Tinkercad App and either our Bambu H2D or P1S to complete a range of short term original projects such as the one shown above - with a thirty minute print time and a $0.35c price point using regular PLA.

We've also starting exposing students to using AI in a positive way as a filter - by taking the Tinkercad design of students, AR/VR the design and then posing with a photo, of the design before the final touches are applied using a filter, in this case Pic Collage however of course Chat GPT is also a viable alternative.

In the example shown left the 'hearts' featured in the design is the 3D CAD Design via Tinkercad.  It has then been projected into the arms of the student who is on the slide in the playground.  Of the playground the only part of the image that has remained is the slide and the poles either side of it.  This is the same slide that was featured in another range of AR/VR work that featured the Ooshie stand although in this example the background was completely different.

We also have set our students another design concept or challenge one that involves the school laser cutter.  Our senior students (Year 7/Year 8) have their Design Education Production (DPE) and as part of it produce this Monster Box.   the print has space for an insert and so the challenge for our students is to use their 3D Design skills to create something that can form storage or an inside of a box.  It needs to be obviously measured accurately and carefully.

It could potentially used to store smaller objects and items (currently thinking is based around jewellery, Ooshies or earrings).

Our students have the MDF chest and will be again using Tinkercad, the Tinkercad App and their iPads for the design.

Finally we're always encouraging the students to bring in objects that we might be able to personalise or adapt not just because they make interesting projects but we also have in mind our upcoming School Market Day (which will be held next in 2027)

One such project under consideration is the moment in replicating this rugby kicking tee - as it is plastic it is close in composition to PLA however the students of course have realised that they can produce their own kicking tee with their individual players name - designed into the side of it.  Further updates for all of these projects will follow.

Physical Trophy Repair: Junior 3D Print

 

Challenge: To repair a thirty year old school trophy. 

Background: This print project was detailed on this blog last week - you can click on the link to the post about the planning and the virtual creation of variations here.  

As we stated we were making it possible for all of the students to have input into the design but the printing of physical trophy tops was going to be limited to prints that would be extremely close as we needed essentially just one.

The first print to meet this criteria is detailed in this post here.  The student used the Netball that they were able to find online as a key element as well a generic star and hoop.   The final part was the 'Netball' heading although this is going to be refined.

Resources used to complete this print: The student used their iPad, the Tinkercad App, the Bambu H2D and regular Blue PLA.

Level of Difficulty: Medium - this in some ways is one of those simple projects that needs to be done really, really well which increases its difficulty.  Its about a thirty year old trophy and it needs to be fitting with the style, purpose and quality of the original.   No easy feat.

Size: This print is currently coming in with dimensions of  60mm across the font a width of 60mm and a height of 80mm.  This will need adjustment for the final print (see the photograph below) the mounting is currently two big for the base that it needs to be mounted on.

Cost/Price: The print at the moment has a usage of 28g of PLA and this has a price point of $0.57c.   This print is being reimagined (see below) so this is going to be adjusted.

Timeframe: The print as it stands took one hour and thirty five minutes to complete.  (see below).

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students: When the 3D Print is applied to the existing trophy it is clear that adjustments need to be made.   The base of the print needs to be adjusted so that it meets the contours of the existing trophy (instead of overlapping).   

The print itself is currently using a default infill (of twenty percent) for the final version of the print this is going to be increased to give the print more weight but also crucially make it more robust.   

The inscription at the moment is currently too generic.  It needs to be specific for the trophy.

The colour of the print needs to be located as a spray paint.   The pieces that are broken despite the appearance is plastic.

Finally the entire process needs to be checked and approved by the senior management of the school as this is something that we are intending to last for as long as possible.

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.