3D Print School: Christmas 2022 Decorations

Challenge: For a student to create an original Christmas themed decoration

Background: A student who has had limited input and creations with 3D printing was very keen to produce something with a Christmas theme.   They had experience before prior with Tinkercad but in a passing way rather than being someone who had made epic or complicated prints.

By using Tinkercads main interface and the 3D objects that are readily available and visible the student was quickly about to produce this design and print.   When it was originally shown to the teacher the name was not present so after a brief conversation it was added to the final result.

The student produced this independently within a time frame of ten minutes and sized everything successfully.  The student was thrilled with the result and is looking at options to spray paint and further decorate the design.

Level of Difficulty: Low - this is a basic design with basic shapes.

Size: The print measured 90mm in height was 45mm across and was only 8mm thick.   For the purpose of an introductory print, where we wanted the student to experiment before we look at trying to extend them or have them create a more detailed print 

Time: This is an hour and a half print - given the dimensions etc and the purpose of the print it wouldn't really be feasible to print this any bigger, there could have perhaps been some additional lettering.

What we would do differently/next step for students: Nil - print designed (independently) by student, created within a reasonable size and goal, handed for the teacher to print and no adjustment required.

We have a range of prints from previous years which were listed in this post from a few days ago.

The design left, was created using the basic designs - a series of circles/spheres were created for the main part of the design, the scribble part of the design was used for the foliage, and a circle was used to link the design so it could be hung on a tree.   The total design time was less than ten minutes and the design took two hours to print.   The next step with it is to look at the spray painting of the design to look at appropriate colour.

3D Printer Digger - Replacement Part

Challenge: Student has a model digger (a JCB) which is an important part of his collection.  The front end loader part of the model is plastic and is broken - can he 3D print a replacement piece?

Background: As indicated the front end of the loader was manufactured in plastic.  A replacement piece cannot be purchased without a purchase of the entire model, so the solution which initially seemed a bit daunting for the student was to see if the 3D Printer could be used to recreate the missing piece.    One of the other aspects of this was including the name of the company that the digger was for on the scoop part of the machine - as shown in the photograph above.   This made the print unique to this student and their family which are involved in the business.

Producing a replacement part that integrates perfectly with an existing piece or item is an exact process and as such it proves very challenging.   There have already been numerous challenges that have been created by designing the print.  The dimensions of the print are dictated by the dimensions of the design as seen in the photograph on the left, with the test print mounted on the toy,  with the intention that it should fit perfectly.  This was identified early however the key element would be the clipping of the front of the loader to the bar that connects it, allowing it to be stable when lifting an object.

This proved to be exactly the sort of challenge that we were looking for to extend this student with his designs.  He was able to create the shape easily from the basic Tinkercad interface and worked out the length successfully by interacting with the original design that it needed to attach too.

Level of Difficulty: High if you include the ability of the front of the tractor/JCB to interact in a way that allows lifting.  

Size: The print measured 90mm across and was 60mm wide.  It had a height of 30mm.     These measurements were dictated to by the size of the original toy that this has been created as a replacement part for.

Timeframe: Just over four hours at present which includes some rafting to protect the integrity of the print.

What we would do differently/Next steps for students: The student has not been satisfied by the locking mechanism to attach the scoop to the front of the JCB.  The original model/toy it has a specific lifting role of various farm items and the student who owns the model wants to be able to replicate this perfectly.   

There is the design that is going to go into the displays that are potentially on the front of the digger - using the 3D Printer brings in the potential to make something unique that has a direct reference to a particular local business which would be impossible without 3D printing.

There is further work to be completed on this project however it is already at the stage that it is ticking a huge number of boxes as a worthwhile student directed project involving creativity and real life problem solving.

3D Printed Skeleton - How do we extend this?

Challenge: Students want to print a skeleton - how can they use this 3D Printed skeleton for some kind of learning opportunity.   How can it be combined with another original aspect of 3D Printing.

Background: We are constantly trying to encourage the students at our school to think outside the box with their 3D printing and focus on being original and producing something that somehow adds to a design or hacks away at the way it might be used.   

A good example of this is the original flexi-animals and how they developed for our school market day.   Originally the students locating these via Thingiverse were able to print them, however they were not an original piece of work.   The solution in that case came via the ability to make packaging and secondary items to tie in with the design.   While these were the initial steps they eventually evolved into a student taking responsibility for cracking the code and producing an entire range of prints based around flexi-animals.   

The skeleton on the left was located by a student keen to print it.   The student was posed the question - how could you use this to show learning and what would that learning look like? When they initially couldn't articulate this to a level that the teacher was happy with they were asked to go back and think again - how could you use this when it was made? What else could you add or create that would be original that would go with this?

The answer came from the students looks to develop some additional resources to go with the print.  The students are looking at designing some very basic organs such as a heart, liver and kidneys and then making a way that the print can be combined with them to identify their location on the body.    While this is a little bit of stretch particularly as its a comedy skeleton it felt it could be a potential explanation for its use.

Level of Difficulty: Low.   The design of course was open sourced from Thingiverse.  TheThe additional human organs were designed and are being designed using the basic Tinkercad interface.

Size: The default print size was used for this printing.  It was 210mm from the top of the skull to the toes and was 60mm across at its widest point.   It was 8mm thick.   These were dictated by the design when it was downloaded and the student was happy with the dimensions.

What we would do differently/next step for the students: It has got a student who has been reluctant to use the technology in the past to engage with the technology, which we are hopeful will lead onto other proects.

3D Printing - Christmas Themed Activities: Past Projects

Using the 3D Printer to produce some seasonal projects is a positive way to make something unique that has a theme that is easily identifiable by students - the scale of the objects as well means that they by design can be produced relatively quickly.    As this blog has been running for several years now as well as having some new work coming this year we are also having a look back at some earlier designs and themes that were featured on this blog.     

CHRISTMAS SLEIGH COOKIE CUTTERS

In 2016 we started our Christmas/festive themed prints.  You can click on the link to some of the ideas and projects here.

We looked at creating sleighs cookie cutters as a way to minimise the amount of PLA that we were using at the time, although we discovered that some of the students once the prints were completed added them to trees and buntings as general decorations.

We also had glow-in-the-dark versions of these which gave out a level of illumination to the prints at night.  The PLA specific material for this is still available for 3D Printing although we did move away from using it as we found with our older Ultimaker 2 machines and subsequently our Ultimaker 2+ machines we were using could be blocked or fouled by using the material to print.

We also had a range of smaller decorations that we produced such as the ones that were featured in this post with a minimal print time.

INDIVIDUALISED CHRISTMAS PRINTS

In 2018 we produced a class set of individualised ornaments to hang on the Christmas Tree.  These items were designed by each student individually using Tinkercad while the group of students who did this are Year Five and Year Six (ten and eleven years old) it has also been completed by students who are eight and nine.

We completed four sets of prints - each being an individual design that was unique to the person who created it.   You can see the additional designs in the series here, and here.   A fourth and final run of prints was created here.

In total using a single printer we operated for two weeks to complete the run and most of the prints were in the two hour range.

In 2021 we had a group of students who worked a similar process to produce a range of prints in an almost identical manner to the previous versions.   Examples of their work from last year including models of gifts, Christmas Tress and other decorations can be seen via the link here.

In 2016 we also further developed our use of glow-in-the-dark 3D filament which resulted in designs such as this.

We have a video tutorial to explain the process how these designs are made and detailing the construction or the way it is made using Tinkercad.   While the model concerned and created is the basic name badge/plate design this template can be used to print any of the prints that have been created as part of this series of design.  

CHRISTMAS TREE DESIGN CHALLENGE

If you would want to opportunity to challenge your students with their designs then perhaps consider one of our creations that occurred in 2018.   A student using Tinkercad working step by step was able to create a 3D model of a sleigh by using the basic Tinkercad interface.     

While the print turned out fantastically and looked complicated it was produced in a step by step process and there was plenty of scope for additional features and details that could have been included (such as models to add to the print etc).   Details of the Sleigh can be located here.

Junior Printing Resource: Original Design

Challenge: To produce a design to assist juniors (five year olds) with their counting.

Background: This process has been detailed on this blog in a series of post, but was finished today and hence the update.

Originally we were looking at using pre-existing prints to create this animal or object.   The criteria was that it needed to be a flexi-animal so it could be manipulated and have the numbers sequenced so that a student could use it as a number line counting tool.   In doing so having used various existing prints caused a challenge - having exactly the right combination of numbers and segments meant we dismissed a number of options.    It was eventually decided to custom make the entire design with a simple theme or idea.   This would allow us to create a number line of any desired length, in addition to using our own design we could target skip counting - that is we could include number sequences that we wanted the students to learn that might not be available on another counting design.   We also wanted it to be robust enough to be constantly handled and moved and manipulated by the students who are extremely young and enthusiastic.

Level of Difficulty: Medium-High, this is another print that involves a level of linking of the print.   This concept while it can be learnt and designed from video is a somewhat challenge for some students (although it has been mastered as noted on this blog by an eleven year old).   

Size: We are currently looking at a design at that is 230mm long is 30mm high and is 5mm in width.   This is looking like it will be the basis for a ten group of numbers.    Further attempts will be made to print to twenty and using doubles to include larger numbers and digits.   This is very much a work in progress which will be subject to the students using and testing the design until it is considered right.

Timeframe: Two and a half hours at present.   This maybe modified to increase the space/size depending on the digits being used but will be used as a base.   

What we would do differently/next steps for the students: Its over to students in our junior school to work out where to next with this design and to ensure that it works.   We will be 'road testing' it in our junior school, getting feedback from the students and teachers and modifying it as a result.

3D Printed Junior Counting Resource: Nearly there....

 

We have replaced the scales that were part of the top of the crocodile scales as this meant the numbers were less than visible, the solution was to remove the scales to allow the numbers to stand out.

The design has otherwise gone through only a small level of change.   The idea is for rote counting to five and ten, starting with the crocodile.

The numbers have also been enlarged with a bigger font and one that goes to the edge of the print.

This was the original attempt without the removal of the scales.

A key issue is looking at how robust the print will be with the numbers so close to edges.  Our solution to this is have the target audience (which in this case is five year old children) to test and test this print to ensure that it works, that they enjoy using it and it can last.

We are currently unsure about using spray paint to change the colour of the print.  As it is going to be something that is frequently handled it is anticipated that this is not necessary.

The print is still coming in at around the two hour mark.

The linking has already been recreated from an original design that we located on the Thingiverse website.

It is our anticipation that this range of counting material will be successfully printed within the coming days.

Further Ongoing End of Year Printing Projects - 2022

As we move towards our end of school year in New Zealand we have a group of students who have been working on 3D Printing related projects during the year.   These projects include:

3D Printed Flexi-Animal: Raptor

We have featured a huge array of prints from one student this year who is continuing to drive themselves to complete a range of complex and detailed task.   Their latest flexi-animal design (completely original) is this mini raptor.

This print took two hours to complete and will be featured in a seperate post at later date.   There is no additional details required for this print as it is fully finished the linking is correctly and working as intended.   The print time has come in at two hours perfect for this size of project/animal.

3D Printed Pig: Piggy Wiggy

The student has redesigned this again wanting to experiment and establish successful linking between the sections of the pig so that the animal can be posed or adjusted.   The previous larger version of this was sixteen hours - this newer version is a quarter of the size hence the four hour print time.   The student has designed the features of the face by themselves and used Tinkercad to do so - so it is a completely original design as we have stated of the highest standard. 

3D Printed Bottle Cap Launcher

A student has continued to work on the launching mechanism associated with a design found on Thingiverse.   The original is based around using a US coin to provide the counterweight - the student was challenged to match this to a New Zealand coin of similar size.   The student has also engineered the launching mechanism by introducing a magnet to hold the battle cap in place and used a hot glue gun to modify the inside of the gun.   The student wanted to create additional space in the inside of the gun and thus used a hot glue gun which reached the required temperature to melt the existing PLA so he was able to complete a considerable modification.   There has been no additional printing since this was first detailed on this blog however the student is intending to print additional material for the launcher once he has completed the internal engineering.

3D Printed Animal Contact Tags

In another classroom in the school with Year 3/4 students the teacher has just started the students on 3D Printing and 3D Printed projects.   Their very first foray into 3D Printing is to look at producing a dog tag or animal tag, suitable to hang on the collar of a domestic animal.  The students are producing and individual print which is taking 15 to thirty minutes to print.    A basic example is shown left the print being 70mm across 40mm high and 5mm thick.

Using 3D Printers to Make Targeted Counting Resources: Counting

Challenge: To produce an active manipulated 3D Print that juniors in the school could use to help with their counting.

Background: As mentioned our students recently ran a business day/marketing day and as a result there was considerable exposure to some of our students 3D Printing throughout the community and our school.  One of the unexpected off shoots of the flexi-animals is that there appeared to be an obvious direction to go in using them to assist with rote counting for junior students (that is students who were as young as five.

Our starting point on this project was using a range of animals that we had previous experience in where we knew the prints would be linked and robust and allow repeated handling.   The challenge was to combine this and something that the junior school teacher would then be happy to use - and wonderfully the teacher concerned has so far asked the students to refine their designs repeatedly.    The teacher is looking for a base ten and five animal but has stressed the importance of the uniformity of the segments of the animal, thus in the example shown left the slug, which had previously worked as an animal only had four segments that were equal size.  The students applied the fifth segment as the tail but it was smaller than the others and the teacher asked for a redesign.

A quick redesign of the slug saw the number five dropped further into the base design.   The students have quickly identified that the numbers will need to be sunk into the design as if they are raised above the design that will be susceptible to being knocked off over time.    A reprint saw the 'five' clearly visible however the teacher strongly felt that the print needed equal segments and asked for a redesign.  A similar fault was found with the bat shown above.   The design was received positively by the test group (ie a group of five year old students at our school) however the teacher who is ultimately going to use the design felt that the body of the bat and the subsequent gap that it presented would prove to be a barrier for the students using the number line to count.   Putting a number in this location meant the number was not suitable either.   The students are moving in the direction of creating a specific item or animal to meet the teachers brief and using the assistance of the student whose work we have featured extensively on this blog.

While the 'counting crocodile design, featured left had the students showing some promise the teacher, while happy with the amounts of segments that were presented (five) was not happy with the texture that was produced by the scales of the crocodile.   They felt that by having the numbers combined with them that they were less visible that if the back was plain and therefore it was not suitable as the counting tool.

Again we cannot say enough positive things about the fact that this teacher is challenging the students to refine and problem solve their design and look at making directed improvements.   It is an excellent learning experience and one that is making the students think critically and redesign their work.

Level of Difficulty: Medium - High.   This project is making something that has a specific purpose requiring specific dimensions and details.   While the prototypes shown in these examples are generic (ie designed from Thingiverse that are freely available) the students are almost certainly going to need to design their own range of linking animals.   The teacher would also like specific skip counting designs such as counting in twos.   This will require a group to make design challenges to meet the brief.

Size:   While there is various current designs in this process, this has been prior to testing to ensure they are printed at a size that suits the (junior) students.  The current slug (which has been enlarged for the numbers) is 150mm long and 20mm across.   The counting crocodile is currently 140mm long, 20mm wide and 15mm high.   The counting bat is currently the largest of the units, being 160mm long, 100 mm high and is 5mm thick.   Again all these sizes are based around getting the numbers correct with a view to counting in blocks of five or ten - once the teacher who is checking is happy with the product.

Timeframe: The slug being the smallest is coming in with a print time of just over one hour.   The crocodile currently is two hours while the bat being the largest is currently just over four.

What we would do differently/next steps for students:   Until the teacher who wants the manipulative created is happy this project will be ongoing.   As mentioned the best aspect is that the teacher has not been happy and has been constantly wanting refinement and improvement.

Ongoing 3D Projects: General Items for the End of 2022

As we are working towards the end of the school year in New Zealand we have a group of students who are working on several different projects at once.   This is a brief roundup of what some of the students in our classroom are currently working on.

Once again we have had a look at working within our local community to produce items that are specific to local businesses or local groups.   We've done this extensively in the past and some of our creations have been used for several years by local businesses/organisations as the PLA has maintained its shape despite three or four years of being handled and used.   This is part of a design for a local tractor contracting business which will be eventually turned into a key ring with the business logo slightly refined and a hole included with the design.   There is some thought to the colour combination and refining the design but this is proving to be a positive experience for everyone involved.  The projected print time will be in the three hour mark for the fully finished product.

Regular followers of this blog will be aware that we are usually reluctant to print freely available models unless there are special circumstances or we can see it leading into other projects.  In this case the dragon was located via Thingiverse.  In its current form it came out as a single print, which took an eight hour job on the regular settings.   The student who printed this wanted to increase its presentation by looking at its decoration.  It has been spray painted and small little details have been added to the eyes.   The student was to increase the colour combinations with the print, including putting gold detail.  There is the potential for other related prints to tie into this project.

The designs in this project have come again from Thingiverse, however there is an exception - in this case the deign has been altered.  As part of our detailed market day project, where our students ran various businesses,  many featuring 3D printed designs, one of the junior school teachers identified the potential to have the animals modified to help as a resource with rote counting.

The addition of the numbers in the base of the slugs is a simple tasks, the intention is to use the slugs for junior students to help with their counting.   We are currently meeting with our junior teachers to ensure that the blocks or segments on the base of the slug fits the counting expectations of the classroom.   We are able to replicate the segments of the slugs to include larger numbers.

3D Printed Flexi Animals- Mini Giraffe

 

Challenge: To produce a mini version of a flexi-animal.

Background: We were looking at a combination of originality, having articulation built into the design and having the animal be easily recognisable.  The student responsible for this design is working on a range of designs that have come out now - she has produced nearly twenty with full articulation and linking.  Very shortly we are going to start putting these online on Thingiverse where the original inspiration for the prints came from.

The student has the capability to produce these kinds of prints and the drive and design skills to do so.  As we have stated many times there is no input what so ever coming from the teacher the student is working in Tinkercad to produce the designs and then bringing them across for printing.  It is at the stage now where there is no alterations required for the prints - they are being produced with an accuracy and balance that means that they can be relied upon to be completed and 'perfect' the first time.

Level of Difficulty: Medium - we have mentioned in the pat that this student (who is a Y7 student, a twelve year old) is making this look easy.  Its not necessarily the case.  However while some of the earlier prints in this series needed refinement, such as the Kiwi, these designs are now including detail that might not be obvious such as the linking in the neck, which is more detailed than the rest of the body.

Size: This mini version measures 60mm across the base of the body, is 130mm tall/high and is 5mm thick.  This was specifically designed for these dimensions to minimise the printing time and the amount of PLA that was used.  As has been mentioned before with the new Snapmaker printers the prints are being produced with near no rafting or additional waste plastic.

Timeframe: This was printing in just over an hour.   Given the specifications and the intention with the print there isn't much that would be changed relative to the size of the print.

What we would do differently/next steps for the student: Nothing - this is exactly what the student had in mind when they created this print and the dimensions and make-up of the print have worked perfectly.

3D Printed Flexi Animals - Cat

Challenge: The student responsible for designing the flexi-animals has been challenged to come up with more extensive projects, which she is currently working on.

Background: However she has also been completing additional work as a side project.  It is not an exaggeration to say that she has mastered the art of producing these prints.  She is sourcing a freely made silhouette and then converting it into an svg file.  Following this she is then editing the print in Tinkercad to include the linking of the sections that make up the flexi part of the design.  Once printed she involves herself in checking the flexibility of the animal - refining the design checking on its linking and making sure that it has the right 'feel' to it (such as adjusting the location of some of the links).

Level of Difficulty: Medium.  This student has mastered the art of the creating these designs and having them balanced and detailed.   They are something that she has shown a great deal of skill with.

Size and Print time: The print measured 120mm across, is 70mm high (excluding the tail) and is 10mm thick.   This has equated to a print on the Snapmaker for two and a half hours.   Given the dimensions and size of the print this would be correct for this project.

What we would do differently: Nothing - this is a student working to the highest level.   She is showing creativity and designs of the highest quality.    As a school we are creating a range of the students designs and looking at gifting to those who visit our school - you can see a range of the 'kiwi' flexi-design from the student featured previously on this blog in the photograph.

3D Devotional Item - Church Reunion Item

 

A local Church has an upcoming event - which in this case is a reunion associated with it.  As it is not a significant church, in terms of numbers of finances the church were looking into ways of using the 3D Printing to create something unique for this occasion, which was a project that was driven by one of the staff and students.  

The solution in this case potentially is to use the 3D Printer to create a devotional item, the cross shown, and then to laser cut a small plate for the front of the design (to mention the name and location of the church and the date for the event) and then use them as items for the event.

The 3D Print in this case here was originally produced in a blue filament but wanting to give the presentation piece a rustic look was then spray painted with a metallic bronze finish.   The cross was sourced from freely available material and printed with standard settings resulting in a six hour print.

This was an item that was made to support a small local community event.