Ultima Ration September 14th-21st 2026

Thank you for your visit - this site is currently taking a break for unforeseen circumstances and there will be no material published in the week coming up from the 14th of September until September 2st.

During that time we will be publishing some 'end of year material' but there will be no new material which should start again in the following week.

Chat GPT - Tinkercad/3D Printing

 

While working remotely at present setting challenges specific to the students at 'home' can be somewhat of a challenge.   In this time of being somewhat time-poor an advantage is to use tools such as Chat-GPT to create general resourcing but we have already had a number of instances when we have been able to use it for 3D Printing and specific design tasks using our favourite app Tinkercad.

In this instance the task is to create some authentic storage for a Kaibot Robot, which we intend to print using our H2D Bambu Printer.

This has allowed us to produce a task that the students can use as a guide in a short space of time.    When we discuss with the students we can then refine their designs, assess their AR/VR creations and look at potential revisions before we begin the printing process once this has been completed.

We are completing this work for our friends at The Gardens School in Auckland - you can visit their school page by clicking on the link here.  We have also completed some projects for them in the past, a summary of which you can access by clicking on the link here.

3D Print School: Regular Service Returning Soon

   

We are completing our obligations in Tauranga for the 2026 NZAIMS Games Tournament. Although it has had but a parting mention on this site (which has a small link in via the 3D Printing we've done for other schools as gifts) and we don't usually post about non related tech matters our little school (that is a school with 50 Y7/8 students) has managed this week to defeat St Mary's College (Auckland), Pinehurst College.   

In addition that that we had a close pool game against the amazing Koromatua School before a run of three legendary results defeating Murrays Bay Intermediate, Kura te Koutu and Northcross Intermediate.   We also lost to amazing schools like Baradene College and Northcross Intermediate at the time of writing the 3rd/4th playoff game awaits against Murrry's Bay Intermediate, but regardless of that result a small rural school from South Taranaki has outperformed students/schools with 1500 Y7/8 students and been playing and competing against some of the top schools in New Zealand for an entire week.

What it means for this site is that shortly we will again be posting new projects and students work.  Thank you for attention to this matter and see you round.

3D Print: Coaster Exemplar Fathers Day

 

Challenge: To produce a unique Fathers Day Gift - a coaster that could hold a drink or mug and is personalised.

Background:   This process has been detailed on numerous prints on this blog.   However in this case this example can be highlighted as a great example of what is possible from an independent design perspective from a junior student.   This is somewhat of a contrast to yesterdays post which was probably featuring too much detail where this tended to have a positive balance.   The student also made sure to sink the design font into the base of the design which gave the print a more polished look than if it had been above the print.

This is the students Seesaw post about the project when it was completed.   Although normally we would encourage them not to have a blue object on a blue table you can see the lettering details (which are inserted 5mm into the base) this print has really stood out in terms of quality and presentation.

Resources that we used to complete this print:   iPad, Tinkercad App, Bambu H2D, Bambu blue PLA

Level of Difficulty: Medium.  This student did not use the template that was provided they created their own from scratch by combing two different sphere shapes from the main Tinkercad design page.

Size: As can be seen from the design page screenshot (above) the design had a diameter of 110mm which made it a decent size to be able to positively hold a range of mugs and glasses.

Cost/Price: To produce this print the project used 44g of PLA to (regular) to complete the print.   This gave the project a price point of $0.90c.

Timeframe:   The printer was operating on the regular default settings for one hour and forty minutes to complete the print.

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students: This project has been identified as an exemplar from our students - there is no more design alterations required or needed the only difference could be that the print could have been slightly sprayed or printed in some multi-coloured or special variant.

3D Printing: Extending the Coaster Design

 

Challenge: To produce a unique and personalised gift suitable for an event such as Fathers Day.

Background: This has been a theme that has been running through this blog for the last week or so.  'Coasters' was the theme for students to avoid a repetition based around badges (although we do acknowledge that they are very similar).   The PLA is well suited for use as a coaster (although it can slide so at times we have produce anti slip stickers underneath.    The process of using Tinkercad with the template allowed students to personalise it to a significant level.   

In this example the student concerned also went overboard with this and added int too much, which had the affect of effecting the quality of the print.   The student began with the supplied template from the second lesson, having been shown examples from the first. 

The student then went through the process of adding the additional features onto the coaster.  They added all the hearts around the rim, and the stars on the edges (each one was duplicated and then added or copied into place). 

They then added a name to the rim - on the front of the design, visible in the immediate foreground the students found a map of Australia and included this on the design to reflect heritage.

Finally the slogan on the coaster 'Coffee and Beer' gave it somewhat of a purpose (as you can see however the words 'Happy Fathers' Day' were missing from the print.

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

Level of Difficulty: Medium - this project could benefit from the 'less is more' design thought.   The template was of course supplied to the students and the students were responsible for adding all the details which is a simple way to produce design by cutting an pasting it into place.

Size: The coaster has the same dimensions of the original being 100mm across, the idea being that it is the correct size to have a regular cup placed on top of it.

Cost/Price: As with the original the dimensions are similar.   In that instance it was using 31g of Bambu regulation PLA to complete the print and this had a price point of $0.61c.   

Timeframe:   The goal was to produce an entire classroom project run of twenty five units using two machines during a three day timeframe of regular school.    This was achieved as the coasters themselves took one hour and fourteen minutes to complete - slightly longer than the average for most of them.

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students:  The students were able to complete this task independently (cohort two, nine years old) using the tools at their disposal in one forty five minute session but as noted the biggest challenge would be ensuring that the students used a 'less is more' approach.   By adding so much detail into the design, so close together, as you can see from the design the finer detail is missing from a couple of locations on the print.

Auroa School Drive in Movie - 2020 Review

 Thank you for your visit - we are currently 'offsite' at the NZAIMS Sporting Tournament in Tauranga, New Zealand competing in the Girls Basketball Tournament - and now playing in the Top Eight Competition (which as we have two classes of Y7/8 students is some achievement).  You can view the Auroa School Website here.

We are a school that is lucky to have some amazing teachers and our students have fantastic access to technology! An example of how we combine the two is our famous Drive in Move Nights, where the community comes and sees Mr Bloor, our amazing technicians creative masterpieces.

As we speak Mr Bloor is working on a sequel with the students and staff to his epic movie - 'The Fast and the Furious - Undercover Student.  We can't reveal too much, except to say the hero/villain from the original has managed to escape from confinement and is seeking to right a wrong from the first movie! This musical is going to be an amazing event and is scheduled for a 2027 release! We can't wait to share updates and a sneak peak with you, in the meantime you can view the original masterpiece below:

Auroa Primary - Apple Distinguished School Renewal

 

The work of the students (and sometimes the staff) from our wonderful rural Primary School in Auroa, South Taranaki, New Zealand are very lucky to be a 1:1 iPad School (with Mac Books for the older students).   

We've also an Apple Distinguished School - and we were very excited to recently have our status renewed for another three years.    This is a huge deal for our school as it allows us to share our learning within that community and network with our schools.    You can see our application video below - thank you to Mr Bloor and Sonic Vision Studios again for this outstanding visionary work, it is as always so much appreciated.

A reminder that we are also running a Facebook Page - the purpose of this page is to post additional media related to this site that sometimes doesn't fit the format (it is mainly additional photographs) you can click on the link to this page (which is #NZ