3D Printed Oversized Key Ring

Challenge: Student wanted to create an oversized key ring as a gift, which then became an attempt to create something to solve an ongoing issue with a high use key in the school.
Background: Student wanted to design an oversized key-ring that would allow a family friend to not loose a significant key.  This then led our students to identify another issue that was ongoing here at our school.  We have an extremely high use student key, which we have previoulsy produced a key holder wall mount for.  The key ring has been used extensively (it is used everyday by students).   As a encouragement to return the key to the place that it needs to go, it had been laser cut into MDF piece of wood and labelled 'Student PE Shed'.   What we found was that while this worked perfectly well the high use of the key meant that the MDF became stained and also broke during repeated use.  The solution was to look to our 3D Printer to ensure that we produced a more robust version of this

key ring.  We used the 'tractor' key-ring as the inspiration and produced a 'Students PE Shed Key' as a response, to solve that issue at the school.  The student who produced the 'Tractor' key ring was
Level of Difficulty: Medium.   This is a straightforward print dominated by the basic Tinkercard interface features.   The students in both examples have followed a format with the design, the width and the shape are the same, the interchangeable features are the hole, which is slightly modified, the font for the heading identifying the keys and the image.
Timeframe: Four hours.  Both key rings came in within ten minutes of each other.   There are a series of designs along a similar theme planned particularly for the extremely high use keys that belong to the school which students or teachers are using on an extremely regular basis.  There is going to be a change in PLA filament to ensure that the key rings are colour coded.   These are already significantly oversized at present to mean that the people who are using them are unable to put them in thier pocket.
Size: While there are two distinct prints in this set, they have the same essential dimensions, which is delibrate as they are working from the same base.   The base measures 100mm across, 90mm high and having a width of 8mm.      The lettering in both designs was 2mm above the base, and the football was sunk very slightly into the design (1mm).  At the end of the day these keys are being used by mutliple students everyday to access common areas and therefore they need to be robust.
What we would do differently: By creating this project we believe that we have solved a problem or an issue that has arisen in the school.  This is taking the practical use of the 3D Printer to improve something, and hence we would only make minor adjustments to the letter of the PE Shed Key. 
Next Steps for Students: Looking for other projects to complete that will solve a problem using the 3D Printer.

3D Prtinted Badge on stand

Above: Design shown from above

Challenge: For student to produce a unit and personalized badge of themselves, their first 3D Print which they had worked on individually.

Background: Student has been wanting for a considerable time to complete his first significant print.   He had seen projects and designs from other members of the classroom and wanted to experiment with the use of feet as a stand.  He was using standard Tinkercad settings and creation options.   He wanted to involve the 'chicken feet' option for the base of the design.  He also was interested in using the new 'Dinosaur' design that has recently been made available to create.   The design of the name itself was basic and the holes that the student had potentially available were made redundant by the fact that the student decided to mount it on the chicken feet.  These feet proved to be slightly problematic.  The feet themselves are thin when printed and removal of rafting around the base of them can lead to them breaking.  In this case a block need to be attached to the top of the leg, super glued to the base and then held in place until it had set. 

Level of Difficulty: Medium.  The issue was with the feet of the design, and the dinosaurs claws that were on the far side of the design.
Time frame: Four hours for the base of the design (this also included the claws that can be seen in the photograph).   The feet were printed in forty five minutes and the blocks that were used to mount them to the base took forty five minutes.
Size: The main base is 120mm by 60mm.  It had a width of 20mm.   The feet are shown to scale.
What we would do differently: The project was more of an attempt for a student to try his hand at 3D Printing for the first time that produce a completely coherent print.   The student was very positive about the experience and enjoyed the final product.   He thought that the chicken legs were unique.  The base with his name raised into it was basic and could have had the students name with a capital letter.  There was no need for the hole in the base of the design, this was created to hang the design from the wall. 
Next steps for the student: This student has taken his first steps with 3D Printing and has made considerable steps and plans already with more complex projects.

3D Printed Student Stationary Organiser

Above: Completed project in overview

Challenge: Student wanted to produce a stationary organiser for her sister to use in the classroom to organise her classroom equipment.  Background: This student had produced a number of prints and designs in the classroom both this year and last year.  In this task she was looking for a gift to give to her sister that would have a purpose and a use.    There were a number of examples of this type of design many of which were featured on this blog both last year and this year.   The student who created this project is ten years old.
Level of Difficulty: Medium - this project had a number of aspects to it, all of which that needed to work to ensure that it was successful.  The design as created and shown in photographs had been somewhat inspired by other class projects.   The unicorn shown above the students name and to the left was the same design as featured in the 'recycled' project from two posts ago.  The cylinder designs shown in the photograph and the box are all from the basic Tinkercad interface.   The idea between the 'l' shape design shown in the back left hand corner was to allow a ruler to be slide into place.

Timeframe: Sixteen hours was the total for the project, while this may seem to be quite considerable some of the other projects in this series have approached or been over the twenty hour mark, the key difference is the width or the thickness of the cylinders.  In previous versions these have been as thick as 20mm.   These cylinders are no more than 5mm thick.
Size: Square base of the design is 120mm by 120mm.   The width of the base plate was 5mm.   The cylinders height varied from 50mm to 100mm to 120mm.  The height of the unicorn was 40mm.
What we would do differently: Minimal - the project intentions, given the brief and what the student wanted to achieve were completed.   There was a slight issue with some 'banding' with a slight lip created which can be seen in the photograph above right.  This has appeared from time to time with our prints when a layer is produced that is off slightly.  We believe this is caused by the feeding of the PLA filament into the back of the machine, which occassionally can be tight due to the roll of filament not unravelling correctly.  There were some basic and small amounts of filament that were missing from the name of the student.
Next Steps for Student: This project has been completed and the student needs to move onto other projects, and there is nothing else required to complete this.  Having said this there could have been component parts printed or completed that could have been assembled post printing.

3D Printed iPad Stand - Short Term

Challenge: For student to create an iPad stand that was able to be printed in the realistic shortest possible time.   Student had seen a number of classroom examples, many of which have been featured as posts shown on this blog.
Background: The student was interested in producing this to allow her to have her iPad on a stand.  She had seen various versions around our classroom and was looking at a way to minimise the size.   She was asked to personalise the design and she choose to put her name on the top (as shown) and an apple design on the back of the stand.   The naming aspect was produced from the basic Tinkercad design 'typing' feature.  The 'Apple' design on the reverse of the design was sourced from Tinkercad, using a generic search.  The student involved in the production of this 3D Print was a nine year old student who was creating her first major 3D project, and has been working with printers for the first time.
Level of Difficulty: Medium - this student was able to produce this successfully with her first version of the design.   The emphasis on producing as smaller iPad stand as possible directed the design in part.

Timeframe - Eight hours.  While this may seem considerable if you reference the print times of the other iPad stands, which were generally in the twelve hour range.  Given all aspects of the print it would not be practical to reduce the print design in size further, to still be able to have an iPad sit safely on it.
Size: The design was 100mm across, 120mm long and 20mm thick.   The design block at the rear of the design was 100mm high.  The lettering with the name of the student was 20mm high raising from the top of the block. 
What we would do differently: Minimal - the student created this design and was extremely pleased with the results, the design and the use of the iPad stand.   The student had a specific goal in mind with this process and was able to achieve this.  We have been mixing PLA with projects to produce different effects from the design.   The student choose not to use this technique and instead printed this as a single block, however on the balance of things this would be a minor consideration.
Next Steps for student: Given the success of the process the student needs to challenge herself to move onto other projects.

3D Printed Stand - Recycling Projects

Above: Project shown from above

Challenge: Student was challenged to use a previous print, that had not be successful and create something individualised, that had a purpose.   The student choose initially to select the base of the 3D Printed Glow-In-the-Dark base.   Student then choose to mount two unicorns on the base.  Student is nine years old.
Background: One of this students first print was the Glow-In-the-Dark horse, featured on this site, which was a single print.   The  student had been extremely pleased with this, however there were some issues with the strengths of the legs, which were particularly thin.   The student lost the model as the result of an accident and as a consequence wanted to do something proactive with the base.  Given that it was glow in the dark filamaent, the student decided to mount regular PLA printed objects or designs on the base, with the intention that the base would create a glow, which would be then reflected by the objects on top, hence white was choosen for the design.  The unicorns were sourced from Tinkercad and were not designed by the student involved.   They were choosen by the student

Above: Unicorn shown with foot of horse visable,

because they had a squat flat base, which the student felt would prove more stable than the previous design. 
Level of Difficutly: Low - the student was not directly involved in the creation of specific parts of the design.  The base was a simple rectangle expanded, the Unicorns were sourced from freely available Tinkercad projects.  The student was challenged by the front of the design, in the earlier 'Horse' print the student had attempted to sink her name into the design of the plate.   Her solution to this was to produce a white filament plate to cover the space were the name had attempted to be placed.   The glow-in-the-dark filament is striking and effective however we have had issues withs detailing and finer points of design.  Because the details for the name was sunk into the plate the PLA could not really be removed to have a strong effect from the lettering.  Finally the hooves of the horse could not be removed completly from the base, we attempted to use sandpaper to remove them, however this proved to less than satisfactory and was not completed, the hooves were considered to be a minor issue as they are 1mm-2mm.

Timeframe: The total print time for this project was seventeen hours.   The two unicorns that were mounted on the base took five hours to print each.  The base was seven hours.  While the name plate has not been added to the project, the time for this is expected to be no more than one hour.
Size: The size of hte base of the plate for this print is a rectangle.   It has a width of 20mm.  It was 200mm long and 120mm wide.  The unicorns were 50mm by 50mm and 80mm high.
What we would do differently: The student was the driver behind this print, hence her desire to use the Unicorn prints and designs.  Ideally the student could have designed something original herself but she was intent on using the pre-designed Unicorns for the print.   We have had a number of prints this year that have not worked and are looking to use them in some way, another example of this has been the draws that were not size appropirate for meaning that new storage is created.
Next Steps for Students: To look to in ways to use prints that have not worked.   The student who is working on this is having the first year in the classroom using a 3D Printer,       

3D Printed Storage Stand w/Drawer

Challenge:  Produce a stand, with drawer storage that is personalized.
Background: Student wanted to produce a personalized, individualized storage stand, with a working drawer.  The drawer in this print came as an 'off print' from the 'horse head' drawer.   Wanting to use this draw for another project it was given to a student who was tasked with producing a storage container that fitted with the original draw.   The student was able to produce the storage part of the design (shown clearly in black) that matched perfectly with the drawer at the first attempt.  Following this, the student designed a Alvin and the Chipmunks design (sourced from online on Tinkercad) to mount on top of the design.   The student concerned with this design is nine years old, using a 3D Printer for the first time in the classroom (since in New Zealand starts school in February we are looking at a four month time frame.
Level of Difficulty: Medium-High.  This print is involving a series of prints, with the drawer and the base working in conjunction with each other.   If the draw was not perfectly working in unison with the storage box then the entire design would not work.

Time frame:   There are a number of component parts to this print. 
The black back storage base took sixteen hours to print.   The drawer that is grey, inserted in to the base took three hours to print.   The 'Alvin and the Chipmunks' design to be mounted on the front of the design took three hours to print.  On this basis for the entire print from start to finish was twenty two hours.   Some adjustment would need to be made to the design (see below) to replace the
lettering and the design on the back of the storage box.

Size: The base of the design (black PLA) was 145mm long, 100mm wide and 20mm high.  At the back of the design the base was 80mm high.   The drawer (grey PLA) 85mm wide, 115mm long, 17mm high and between 10mm and 25mm thick.   The Alvin and the Chipmunk part of the design was essentially 70mm across and 50mm high. 
What we would do differently: Part of the design did not work.  We had discussed with the student not putting words on the rear of the design, below the unicorn design (see left).   The removal of the rafting on the design was not possible without removing some of the lettering.    The lettering should have been printed separately (almost certainly it would have been with a different PLA) and then super-glued onto the design.   The student has also considered to put her name on the top of the design in front of the Chipmunks.
Next Steps for the Student: The student has essentially mastered this design, with the exception of the lettering on the base of the design.   The student could look for additional ways to open the drawer. 

3D Printed Mini Map of New Zealand

Challenge: Student was travelling overseas and wanted to create a tool to show family members about where he lived in New Zealand.  Having experience with 3D Printers he thought that it would be an excellent tool to showcase a creative map of New Zealand.
Background: Student has been involved in producing 3D Prints of a significant level over the last two years, some of which have been of significant detail (such as the drone iPad stand).  With this print the project the student had identified having produced this map he would then mount it on a wooden base.   This lent itself to the idea that if we were studying a particular country or area we could produce a map of that area and incorperate it as a learning aide (as it is 3D Printed for Juniors it could be particularly robust, and used repeatedly) or produce a 3D layered piece of art.   The student did not create the map of New Zealand himself, he simply sourced it from the free material online on Tinkercad, and adjusted the width of it to meet the needs of the project that he had in mind.
Level of Difficulty: Low - the student had the project in mind and sought the particular print that meet its needs.  Following this it was simply a matter of determining the width of the print, to meet the needs of the design that he had in mind (in this case mounting the print on wood, which is easily done by either wood glue or superglue). 
Timeframe: With the standard default settings provided by the Ultimaker2+ Printer and the width of the print, the total print time was three hours.   This produced a print that was thick enough for mounting, if it was intended as a jigsaw piece or something more robust then the print time that would be require would obviously fit that.
Size:  As clearly showin the the photograph the print had a length of 210mm and a width of 120mm.  The width of the print itself was 5mm.
What we would do differently: For this particular print and the aim of the project, it met the needs and requirements of the student, so minimal.
Next steps for students: Considering other ways the 3D Printer in this case could be used in conjunction with other tools to make an object, for instance in combination with a laser cutter we could back this map onto wood and make an excellent teaching aide, or conceivably a jigsaw.

3D Printed Storage Stand Delux V2.0

Above: Print project shown in profile.

Challenge: For student to produce a individualised storage stand, featuring a draw, personalised by 3D printing complete with multiple filament designs/segments.
Background: This print was first attempted as a basic draw with a combination of pink filament and blue filament and was detailed on this blog here.  The student, following the school holidays in New Zealand completed the processs and refined it significantly (so it has a passing resemblance to the previous project).   This student who is nine years old has been responsible for printing a number of projects on this site and is using a 3D Printer for the first time.   She initially was producing stands and storage areas and we wanted to challenge her to complete a project with additional challenges for her.  The storage draw in particular proved to be considerable problematic to get the sizing right.  Initial prints tended to be quite loose as she was

Above: Design shown with draw open

having some trouble creating a drawer to fit into the base of the design that could be accessed.   She also had to experiment with varying degrees of ways to open the draw at the base of the design.
 Level of Difficulty: Difficult.   This has been a long drawn out process which has required considerable reworking and redesign.  The print took place in multiple stages and required significant reworking.   The original design featured a horse that was built into the stand, this had particularly thin legs, which caused it to to be damaged when it was removed with the rafting.   The student then redesigned the print and featured the horse head, shown in the photograph.  The mane of the horse trailed below the print, this was solved by the student who printed a base for the horse head to be raised up allowed the mane to trail behind the horse.   Initially the name of the student was to have been sunk into the side of the design, into the base of the pink filament.   However, the student felt this was unsatisfactory and removed the lettering, and replaced it with the blue block lettering, as shown in the photograph.  The final design from the student featured a hole created in the edge of the internal drawer, as she felt this was the preferred option to open the draw. 
Timeframe: There are multi parts to this project.      The base was twelve hours in print length (this needs to be addressed as it featured a horse that was removed from the print base, so one would estimate this would be ten hours or so), the horse head was two hours (sourced from Tinkercad as a freely available print), the blue lettering featuring the students name was an hour, the internal draw was three hours.    The entire print time for a project such as this would be in the range of seventeen hours, and this is the minimum requirement for a multi-part project such as this.   

Above: Rear of the design

Size:   The project had a number of component parts.   The main base was 95mm wide, 140mm long and was hollowed out on the inside (to allow for the storage draw).   The base at the back rose 120mm.   The horse head was 80mm high and 40mm across,  the lettering was typically 20mm high, 20mm across and 10mm thick, although this varied slightly (the horseshoe was 5mm thick for instance).   The draw was 120mm deep, 80mm wide and 8mm thick.   There could be some variation with the design to meet other requirements (different sized feature on the stand etc).
What we would do differently: The print has been ongoing for several weeks for the student to get it to the point that she was happy with it.   Printing it in components or stages allowed the different PLA to contrast the colours and she was extremely pleased with that.   The initial design featured a pink horse, the student would not have included this had she seen the effect that was created by the blue filament.
Next steps for the student:  Given all the effort that went into the print the student has completed this to the highest possible level.   The draw is the very last stage of the post, that could have been redesigned but the student has spent several days getting the drawer to the stage that it has.