3D Printed Projects: Various Updates

Left: Stationary Holder.   These prints have been attempted and completed before and a number have featured on this blog.   This student designed an original one using basic geometric shapes.  During this process when the printer was in operation and the print was being produced the print 'slipped' producing an effect which is shown left where the layers of the print instead of being smooth were layered.  The student concerned felt that the result (which still worked perfectly despite the appearance) was exceptional, so much so he was keen to try and replicate it (which is not been possible as it always been an accident when occurred and at times has wrecked the print.  This was a major print of significant time - twenty six hours by a ten year old who is developing his 3D Printing Skills.   No further changes needed.

Left: Name Tag/Badge/Key Ring.   These objects have been detailed significantly in the past on this site and can be located by the label menu on the left.    This one was particular pleasing as it was the students first ever 3D Print and there was really positive composition and layout to the print.   The print design was relatively straightforward with some peer mentoring and the student was thrilled with the result.   No further development required a two hour print with the regular settings (4mm nozzle/20% infill for).

Left: Signs for Market Day.   One of the recent significant projects is for a Market Day taking place this coming week.   One group of students are producing inspirational signs on stained wood, where the lettering on the signs has been 3D Printed.   The students are still experimenting with the font size and appearance but some of the developed signs are shown on the left.   This process has been previously detailed on the blog.    The lettering typically is 45mm high and 5mm thick with two hours a sign print time.

 Left: 3D Print Stamp results.   Previously on this blog students have identified and created a stamp by 3D Printing.   This prototype has undergone significant development as we have identified that we can Laser Cut the Rubber and order it online to produce a quality finish close or as good as a commerical stamp.   In this example shown a 3D Printed stamp, detailed here, has been used with regular poster paint (not ink) to produce this image.

3D Printed Stamp

Above: The finished design from the lettering side

Challenge: Students wanted to produce a working stamp using the 3D Printer to produce a template for a stamp.
Background: This was part of the students process of designing for a Market Day that we are having at the school, where students run a business.   The students in this group have formed a group with the initials 'FBT' they were selling items in a regular paper bag, and as part of the presentation for the bag they wanted to create a stamp that would allow them to mark their work consistently.   The students were a mix of ten and eleven year old students who had a mixture of experience with 3D Printing.   The process to produce a stamp was extremely easy - the lettering was produced with the main Tinkercad interface, the lettering was introduced into the stamp and then the students started to investigate the need to reverse the lettering.   As with a lot of options on Tinkercad there was already icon which allowed the students to flip/reverse/mirror image the print on screen - this was simply done with a two click process which took the students in the region of three minutes to design.  The last aspect was simply designing something that would work with regards to the size, which the students had been aware of from previous projects.
Level of Difficulty: Low - the only issue here was the identification and the selection of the flip/mirror image icon, which is in the main interface of Tinkercad the rest of the design aspect was simply about selection a concept or design idea, which the students were able to come to the teacher and identify. 
Size: The print measures 120mm wide/across is 80mm high and the base is 5mm thick.  The lettering that is featured as the print font is 10mm high, 80mm across and 50mm high.  This task is all about creating a working stamp that can mass produce some individualized lettering.  This print was completed with a 4mm nozzle and printed with a 20% infill.
Time frame: This print came in at two and a half hours.  This was all about the lettering and the size of the stamp that the students wanted to produce.
What we would do differently/Next steps for the students: Students need to look at producing a handle on the other side (reverse) of the stamp to allow them to stamp effectively - it currently has a block at the back which while it will allow the students to operate the stamp on a pad would be better suited for handling if one was produced.    This is potentially a very good idea as it would allow the students or others a very easy way to customize something that could then have a practical application.  Testing with the students will show how successful the print is with ink - and paper, then we will also look at potentially changing the PLA or the thickness of the print (which is at a default of 4mm).

3D Printed Personalised Magnetic Memo Holder

Challenge: To use a common stationary item (in this case a magnet) and combine this with a 3D Print.
Background: Looking for students to be introduced to 3D Printing by starting with something straightforward and basic the students could easily produce.   The student was ten years old and was producing for thier first time.   The object that they were given were two pin-magnets.   The student decided that she wanted to create a 3D Print linking her name with space for the magnets.   The basic design is familiar to everyone who has seen the main Tinkercad Interface.  The name of the student and then the production of the holes inside the design follow a very similar format to the design of the name badge and key rings.  The total design time for this student took five minutes (for her first print) and this was the complete successful print.
Level of Difficulty: Low this student was able to work this out with minimum input (ie none) from others and worked to complete the finished product independently.
Size: 110mm long, 30mm high and 5mm deep.   This was perfect for the design.
Timeframe: One hours and twenty minutes - given the design the idea was to get someone to produce something in a short timeframe that was going to be successful.
What we would do differently: This student was wanting to produce something in a short time frame.  the hole where the magnets went could have been more precise but worked with the intent.  The student is going to move onto more complex and difficult projects.

Project Update: Art Letter for Market Day

Project Update: As detailed previously on this blog the students from this classroom have an upcoming Market Day project where they have to run a small scale business.  The students were keen to adapt the 3D Printer to provide a means for producing word art of phrases that they could then mount on wood.   They wanted to use the 3D Printer to produce the lettering.    In various testing and trialing the students attempted to print various phrases and lettering as detailed in the previous print.   After deciding to use pallet wood as their backing wood, the students then used sandpaper to take away the rough edges of the wood and then used a commercial staining wood stain that was available to produce a finished affect on the wood.   The last stage was then to determine which colour PLA worked with the stained wood and the size of the font and lettering used.    The students made the decision to focus on the "Dream & Achieve" phrase.   The font Dream measured 130mm across and was 60mm high as well as being 5mm thick.   The ampersand in the middle was by far the smallest of the three

measuring 30mm by 30mm.   The final part of the design was the "Achieve" this was also 130mm across but in contrast to the 'Dream' was only 30mm wide but also 5mm high.     This lettering was designed to sit on wood that was 450mm long and was 50mm high.   Originally it was thought the 'dream' would be in a different colour, such as the purple PLA.   However as is shown in the test print on the left the 'Dream' part of the print has a dark stain created on the wood and while the 'achieve' stands out the 'dream' part of the project is hard to identify at distance.  The next step for the student is to work through different colours contrasting to the dark background to see what stands out and is effective at making the print be more of a display piece.   The students have already identified Glow-In-the-Dark Filament as important to this project.   The teacher has given feedback to the students related to the print and how best to attach the lettering to the wood (currently experimenting with wood glue).   The teacher has also spoken to the students about the mounting of the 3D Printed lettering.  In the last prototype shown above the students have not spaced the lettering evenly, and although it is not obvious from the photograph they have not removed the excess PLA from the lettering meaning that some of the lettering is not sitting flat on the wood.

3D Printed Part for a Composite Bow and Arrow

Above: Final draft with the 3D Printed end point visible.

Challenge: Student had a composite hunting bow.  He wanted to produce a replica for a tip of an arrow so he could use it to shoot his bow and arrow.
Background: This came about as the student who is ten years old had purchased a bow and arrow.  As part of this the arrow heads had a plastic attachment and covering.   The student wanted to 3D Print this to allow him to modify it to improve his aim with his bow and arrow.   He had the design in mind when he first had the bow and arrow and thought that by 3D Printing the top of the arrow it would allow him to customize it for his own use.    He experimented with the size of the top of the arrow and by measuring and adjusting it was able to quickly produce a piece that fitted extremely well with the arrow.   The second step was to consider changing the variables.   In nearly every post on this site we've used three consistent - regular PLA and a infill for the print of 20% as well as a 8mm nozzle.  This has been reflected in the need to produce a class (thirty student) set of prints.   This targeted print needs to see these things addressed as we are dealing with something that potentially would benefit from having the variables

Above: The design shown separated.

changed.  Given the print times the student is able to produce a variety of prints quickly that he is then going to test to determine the best fit that produces the best result. 
Level of Difficulty: High - this student while producing a small print is creating something that has a very specific target and he is doing so with a high degree of accuracy needed.   This also needs to be adapted to improve his accuracy and work to improve the use of his hunting bow.
Size: The component pieces for this as shown are relatively small, but need to work in conjunction with the arrow itself - it was relatively small 5mm across by 20mm long.  This is entirely dependant on the length and width of the arrow relative to being able to use it to fire.   The student is going to experiment this with differing length and design.   His key task to identify the best and most accurate way to fire the bow.

Time frame: This print is currently coming in at twenty minutes.   We are expecting this to be considerably altered when the final design has been determined by testing.   This also needs to again address the issue of the variables that are regularly
What we would do differently: Most of the issues that have been addressed with this project have already been mentioned in the other details of the print.   Those things will be working on conjunction with extensive testing and creating of this print.

3D Printed Art Lettering for Market Day Project

Above: the 20mm 'STAY' lettering

Challenge: A student project team are working on running a classroom business for a market day want to utilise the 3D Printer to produce lettering for words and phrases that could be then combined with wooden blocks/lettering to produce a finished piece of art.
Background: The students of the school have a project this term for them to run a business.  A number of the students groups are producing art based projects.   One group was interested in looking at producing signage on wooden blocks of themes or sayings.   To produce the lettering part of the art project the students wanted to utilise the 3D Printer to produce the lettering and then mount it onto the wood.    This involved the students selecting a design that they were happy with and producing a font that reflected a design and style and that could be combined with the wood.  For the wood the students selected a wood pallet and used the school Woodwork room to cut the wood into blocks.    The students were dealing with a block that was

Above: Live featured as 30mm design

50mm high and 500mm across.    They had the potential to shorten the length of the block dependant of the length of the words or phrase.    The students were able to trial print the lettering and then work out the dimensions of the wood that they wanted to use.   The students started with a basic design and font, worked out the dimensions and then develop an idea of concepts related to that.  They also identified key areas to move forward successfully with the product - that they would need a Wood Glue to mount the lettering onto the wood and also for the wood to be stained to help enhance the look of the lettering.   The colour of the PLA will be contrasted with the staining of the wood.   Once completed the price of the design was minimum - the PLA for the plastic for the 3D Printing and the Wood Glue and stain were the only expenses that the group needed to account for.   The students also are keen to experiment with different PLA relative to the stained wood and look into using different filaments with the potential for the use of glow-in-the-dark PLA.

#3DPrintEdu - 120mm x 60mm

Level of Difficulty: Low - the single challenge for the production of the art block and combination with the 3D Printing.    The font selection from Tinkercad is significant the only aspect that the students needed to determine was the size of the font that they were printing.
Size: As shown in the photograph the 'Stay' font measured 20mm high and was grouped (clustered) as 60mm across.   This font was designed to be 5mm deep.   The 'Live' font shown in photograph was 30mm high, 70mm across and 10mm deep.    The #3DPrintEDU chat font was 120mm across groupd and 60mm high.   The depth of the print was 5mm.    The largest print that was run in this run was the 'LAUGH' print and font - this font was larger that the block of wood that it was intended for.    This measured 130mm wide and 70mm high.  It had a depth of 10mm.

Above: the final trial design

Timeframe: As this was a series of prints the lettering itself varied significantly.   In the four featured prints here the 'Stay' print took thirty minutes.   The 'Live' print was forty five minutes.   The '#3DPrintEDU' print took one hour.    'Laugh' was the biggest print of the series (as noted it is essentially oversized) which took two and half hours.     This would vary depending on the size of the block that the students would anticipate using - that had a measurement of 50mm high (but again could be cut to size). 
What we would do differently: The students have a lot of potential development to come relative to the size of the wood that they had produced and cut.    The colour of the wood that is produced from the staining will influence the final design and PLA choices by the students.   The students are also looking for a 'wow' factor and want to experiment with different PLA options and choices including Glow-In-the-Dark filament.