3D Printed Keyring - Extending students with challenges

Challenge: To develop and improve on a students original design 

Background: This student was previously in the classroom, she has been independently working during a 'genius hour' type program of working.  She decided that she wanted to revisit some of her 3D Printing ideas and projects from last year.   As part of this she looked at creating a key ring that had more detail to it than some of her previous efforts.   As a Y7 student who is eleven years old she was able to create and design the project herself and undertake the printing.

The teachers role in this situation was simply to give the student feedback on her design and look at ways that she might improve it.   The dimensions of the print where as such that the print time was just over half an house.

In the first version of the print, shown left, she had designed the guitar with only three strings, and the dimensions while charming were not as accurate as they could be.   It was unknown as to wether or not the strings themselves would be successfully printed as they were only 2mm or so wide.   There was no 'rafting' or waste plastic with this print it was able to be removed easily from the Snapmaker machine when it was completed.   

The student was then tasked with thinking about ways to make the print look more realistic and think about the design aspect of it, while still maintaining its ability to be workable as a key ring or similar item.

As shown left the progression with the design is clear to see.   This version featured five strings and further details like the ability for it to be tuned.   The student has been asked again to think about additional details to determine what else can be modified so that this print can be further worked on.

Details of the Project: It currently sits at being 80mm long, is 20mm high and only 5mm thick - the print time is coming in at under one hour (around forty minutes at present) and as mentioned this has been completed as a 'one and done' print, the teacher having no input at all into the process instead being simply guiding and checking with the student about any challenges or details moving forward.