3D Print: Juniors Using 'Scribble'

Challenge: Make something 'unique' using the scribble tool in Tinkercad.

Background: This activity came about when I was wanting the students who are Y3 and Y4 (some of whom who have just turned seven) to get involved with and be successful with 3D Printing.

Rather than using a template or something that had already been influenced by a design I wanted to have the students experiment with making something unique and new.   

The students used the 'scribble icon' to come up with a. series of designs - and for the sake of an example I printed the cat shown in green above.    There was no linking with the cat - the eyes and ears not being attached to the body meant when it was removed from the printer the print (which was only a small small which took just over half an hour).   While the students were disappointed that the outcome was not successful it took them a new design that was going to include having every aspect of the 'scribble' linked.

An alternative design to that is shown left- although the lettering is slightly hard to read it has a simple message but crucially to the success of the print all of the letters are linked in via the border around the outside of the print.    The print time is still very short well under an hour.   The border around the outside of the lettering gives the lettering itself balance.   While it is not obvious from the photograph shown left it  has a border that is 10mm thick which allows the print to sit comfortably.   We have considered having a series of small prints like this, potentially a different colour that can be placed in order or in sequence to display or have a message.

3D Printed Beginners Task: Locket

Challenge: For students to personalise a locket.

Background: We have mentioned over many years now that the students from our school are essentially using Tinkercad for nearly all of our 3D Printed design.   We have looked in the past at switching to other programs etc but in terms of free design CAD software that will work with our iPads.  We also have a very young class of students - although the design process is still exceptional - one of our youngest students is proving the most adept at creation and she has just turned seven.

One thing that needs to be produced and considered is how you can use the printers to produce projects quickly that might be positive for a class of students.   This is where the range of talents of students need to be taken into account, and this was a quick example that utilised the Tinkercad creative library.   The locket shown left is a pre created design which the student concerned wanted to personalise, so with the design already made they then needed to include their name with it - with this complete and the design printed in a very short time the next thinking point, the next challenge was 'what could we do next?' what would be a use for something like this.   This started a variety of discussion relating to the size of the box and how it could be modified to store additional items.

Size: This measures 40mm across and 40mm high with a depth of 10mm for the entire print - the idea being it is something that could be massed produced easily with a minimum of student input.

Timeframe: One hour on standard settings.   The purpose of this print is to produce something that will get the students thinking about design and about making things that would be a step forward from this.

Level of Difficulty: Low - the key components of the design have already been completed, the student in terms of personalising it only needed to introduce the text of their name to the print, which was incredibly simple.   This was a single step process which then allowed the student to focus on the next steps.

Next Steps for the Student/What we would do Differently:

The mechanism for the locket to open and close fascinated some of the students and ideally we would like one or two to undertake to try and replicate it or reproduce it at some point in the future.   The entire process is designed to ensure that the student is successful easily and then starts thinking about the next steps that they might take with their production and working.

3D Printed Cake Topper - Student Designed.

Challenge: A staff member is getting married shortly and had looked at having a commercial cake topper made.

Background: The teacher realised that the online version of the cake topper that she was about to purchase for her wedding had been in fact created using a laser cutter.  As such she recognised that the students of our school would be able to produce something very similar without the need for the cost that was associated with the object.

The student who was responsible for designing this was able to do so in under five minutes once she had the brief for the size.   She was able to create this by using the basic font design, insuring that all of the lettering was linked and then produced the print.    There is a small technical issue that there is a strip of black filament (PLA) visible on the back of the yellow print, this is residue from a previous print as this was a test.

One of the advantages of the Snapmaker machines is that it is possible to create and print projects that are extremely thin, which can be done successfully which was not necessarily the case with the prints that were completed before this with prior (older) machines.

It is not the intention of the students at school to out-do a commercial hobby operation but in this case it was something that came about because the opportunity was there and the students at our school were lucky enough to have the resourcing.

We also were able to make something that was extremely quick here - this was not the intention, the purpose was not to make something small on purpose, however it would be possible to produce a class set of these prints in a relatively short space of time.

Size: The print measured 150mm across and was 120mm high at the pin point.   The thickness width of the print was 1mm - this ensured that the print was extremely flexible however the intention with the finished version is to make it slightly more robust to double its thickness to 2mm.

Timeframe: Twelve minutes - it would anticipated to be double that was the increase in the length of the print time along similar lines.

Level of Difficulty: Low - it really is a case of being able to have a linked font and a pin dropping off the bottom.   Particularly as labels could be easily made for a range of food or items (for instance flavour of muffins etc) or if there was a celebratory or special meal this would be easily constructed and put together and would look effective).

What we would do differently, next steps for the students: As this is for a wedding the teacher has asked for, as noted, the design to be doubled in thickness so that it is more robust, and slightly alter the placement of the pin, so it is dead centre instead of being slightly to the side.  This is a simple adjustment that will take a few minor adjustments.

3D Printed Bangle: Oversized Design

Challenge: Students are seven years old - design something original in Tinkercad.

Background: In my class of junior students I have made time available for the students to create using Tinkercad.   Some of the designs have been creative to the point that they wouldn't work.   Some of the designs have needed refinement and assistance from other students - and have been extremely creative.  The younger students have manipulated and changed designs and made things that appeal to themselves.   

We have started to have our students move from these designs into targeting more specific prints that they can work on independently, the goal as always is for the teacher to be able to press 'print' rather than have to rework or have the student have to adjust something that they would like to create.

In this instance this student who is seven is looking at creating an original piece where she has been solely responsible for the creation the design and the production of the 3D Print.   This student has a liking for jewellery and in this example wanted to make a bangle for herself - which needed to be wearable but also wanted to make something that had her name on it.   She used the basic designs from the Tinkercad interface - and then by using her iPad to manipulate the shape, increase it depth, and spent time measuring her wrist to ensure that it would work successfully.

This is the first independent project for the student.

Size: The bangle measured 120mm across and was 90mm high.    This was designed by the student to fit the dimensions of her wrist (again as should be pointed out is seven years old).

Timeframe: Four hours.   This is reflected in the dimensions and the purpose of the project.   It was discussed with the student about potentially making it thinner however the student said that it was perfect as it was and didn't want to make any changes to the design.

Level of Difficulty: Low - there is essentially two component pieces to this design the basis of the shape being the circle which is then manipulated and the addition of the name of the person who designed the bracelet.

What we would do differently/next steps for the students: The student is intending to spray paint this design and look at adding features to it.  Those features that the student is going to be encouraged to look at it are small adhesive stickers and other ways to formally decorate it.  It is very much intended as a way to encourage this student to think about creative and individual designs moving forward.

3D Printed Money Box - Y3 student design

Challenge: For a seven year old student to create something that was interesting and challenging independently.

Background: After the first bunch of activities had been completed by the class I pushed out to them a challenge to create something that was functional, with a purpose or a use.    One of the youngest students in the classroom, who has already had some great design ideas produced this coin or money box and brought it for consideration for printing.   The thing that is perhaps most of note is that the student who has had only two or three weeks of Tinkercad work and tutorials which are student created and driven,  and working several sessions independently.   

Again this design is following a student creation via the Tinkercad Classroom design/set up.   The student has used their iPad to create this object, including creating the lettering, linking and inserts without any input from older students.   Older students did assist with the spray painting of the design - which originally was gold, however the student was able to pick some additional colours which they could have their item decorated with.

The student is being encouraged to continue to design and come up with ideas and it is our intention to ensure that these designs and actioned on so that the student can continue to make and create.

We have previously had a range of containers or boxes designed for the purpose of making money.  Some of these from 2016 include the ability to handle notes and other examples can be located by clicking here.

Size: The coin container measured 75mm across the top and was 60mm high.   The insert for the coin slit (see below) was 50mm deep from the top of the container. This was a first attempt and there is intended to be some discussion and testing before these dimensions would be examined.

Timeframe: Eight hours, although the robust nature of the container limited its ability to hold money and also meant that retrieval needs to be examined.  If these were identified and problem solved then the corresponding dimensions and print times would be greatly reduced.

Level of Difficulty: Medium - this as a basic design works extremely well however further refinement and development is required for the project to be considered successful.   This potentially is going to be a real challenge for this student, however they have already shown themselves to be really capable.

What we would do differently/next steps for students: The student concerned has already identified the next step with this design, that they did not hollow out the container on the inside for the purpose of storage, or as another student has suggested to her, she had not considered a way to successfully remove the money once that it has been put into the container.   Both of these aspects of the design will require a considerable amount of alteration of the design for it to be successful.

Can Students Who are Y3/Y4 Create Using 3D Printers

This post is intended as a summary of some of the creations that have been made from within my classroom this year.  As I have noted on the blog the core classroom of students this year is Year 3 and Year 4 in New Zealand, that puts the age of students at seven and eight.   Having not had experience seeing students of this level work with a 3D Printer/Tinkercad on a regular basis (instead of special projects that were a one off or a class of older students 

To say that the creativity, designs are ideas have been amazing is something of an understatement.  We have currently three Snapmakers running at our rural School in South Taranaki.   Our students are designing their creations under the Tinkercad system and classroom program, when the designs are then being checked for viability and then printed for the students to experiment with.   Some of the students had experience when they were tutored by older students last year, while others are designing and creating for the first time.

The first day of design saw a student who is Y4 create this for a specific purpose - he literally wanted a 'Do Not Disturb' sign for his room and his door handle and wanted to be able to personalise it with his name.

He created it based upon dimensions from his memory, as he hadn't considered making a 3D print to solve this problem, and had to estimate the size of the door handle to which he wanted to attach this.

The print took under two hours, came in at 150mm long and 90mm wide.   When reviewing the piece the student considered the option of changing the font and the lettering (just for his personal taste) and looking at ways to decorate this (which was going to be spray painting when supervised in an area of our school with a senior student). 

The positive thing about this was the design was nearly instantly completed other than a quick tutorial about the concept of 'grouping' which was explained in this video which had been previously completed by students at our school and explained the 3D Printing process and creation.   

Following this a second student indicated that her sister whose name is not particularly common had a birthday coming up but wanted to have something with her name on it.   This lead to the creation of one of the tasks that I've tried successfully with the older students where a badge/name plate for bags etc is created.   This again used a video tutorial created by previous students and the Y4 student was able to produce a range of hearts (shown left) for the sister.  The student also wanted to decorate them in a unique why and so another student was responsible for the spraying she had input into the colour scheme and the design - another activity where the Y4 student was able to understand and create without the need to have interaction with the teacher and was able to deliver a finished product that just required printing.  

It is not only the 'older' students who have had some limited design experience two of the students who are showing some of the most pleasing originality have already created a range of design that we are struggling to keep up with (significantly which some are being made and refined in their own time).   These have ranged in size and print time from two or so hours such as one of the designs that featured left and include the 'scribble' design from the Tinkercad main interface that was turned into a working desk organiser.

In this situation we are going out of way to encourage this creativity because its clear this is the first step to developing the students ideas and making 'stuff'.   There have been some projects that have been printed that require adjustments but it is being stressed to the students that projects that don't work can be just as valuable as ones that are successful the first time.

This stationary holder, shown left was a four hour print that was intended to house the students items that they used for work in the classroom.  When the student designed it however the central part of the container, which was to house pencils and other material, was too short being only 50mm high.   The student has then looked at the creation and converted its intended use to jewellery container.  This has had a flow on affect because she has taken the responsibility to investigate and look at further projects and start checking their height using her design as the key.  As a direct consequence of this further prints such as the one show below are able to be more suited for the purpose.

This stationary container was conceived, created and printed and decorate in class in the last week by a student who had some experience but was keen to develop her skills further.  Despite being a 'Junior School Student' who is a Y4 student (eight years old turning nine) I would rank this design from start to finish up amongst some of the best ideas that could be compared to the older students who have experience when they are making and creating using 3D Printers.

3D Printed Tilt Table - The Springfield Town from the Simpsons

 Every year at our school the students are involved in a major project that incorporates some of the technology that is available for them to use.  In 2021/2 the students built from scratch a Pinball Machine, which then had a digitised game featuring our staff and students as the bonus and the playing field.

You can view the video recording  of the Live streamed 2022 finals for the Pinball competition here.

This year, wanting to try something different for the students we are looking at creating a marble maze, or a tilt table when the students are going to manipulate a ball through a maze, with the obstacles and the details of the maze created using our Lazer Cutter and 3D Printers.

As a test print one of our staff has worked in their independent time to create a model of the town of Springfield from the Simpsons, with 3D Printing of the major elements, landmarks and buildings that are located in the town.    These have been all produced using our schools Snapmaker machines with the individual buildings and landmarks varying slightly in print time.   We will of course, it goes without saying update you with the progress of the table as the year and work progresses.