3D Printed Themed Ongoing Projects

As our class of students who are Y3/4 continue to prepare for the upcoming School Market Day we are continuing to produce original, from scratch flexible made animals. 

As it our students first attempts at printing these some are taking some more refinements than others - this sea turtle shown left requires refinement in its linking to ensure that they are even and the joints move when manipulated - the design looks 'fine' but is not at a stage where it would meet the 'sale' criteria for the Market Day.

We are continuing to look at existing prints that have been produced by others to act as inspiration for the students in the classroom.

In the design left, we were able to source it from Thingiverse as a free design download.   The Giraffe theme is a plant holder.   The current print has a two hour print time - but the concept is something that this group of students has yet to encounter hence we see value in printing out some examples and sharing them with the classroom to inspire students to consider creating their own version of this - and also consider what plants potentially could be placed inside this.

Recently one of our students attended a commercial show in New Zealand.   At this event there was a booth/temporary shop selling '3D Printed Dragons'.   The student wanted to purchase one, although they did recognise that that was something that had been produced in the classroom.   The dragon shown left w was priced at the event at $30.00 NZD.  

We have been able to produce a dragon that is three times the size which has been also made available online for free - which is currently taking eighteen hours to produce.   

The paint colour is proving to be slightly more challenging to overcome however the students concerned are looking into various media and suggestions so they can identify and then complete their own version (three times the size) with a similar paint scheme.

2023 - School Market Day: Y4 Business.

Y4 Students Market Day Project: Articulated Toy Dogs

Previously as noted on this blog we have a school market day upcoming where we are inviting members of the community to come to our school and purchase innovative products made by our students using the technology that they have available.

We shared a number of prints and the process last year which were featured on this blog (and have the label 'market day'.   For this year we have a junior classroom that is the focus - so the products that are created have been made by a nine year old.

Challenge: To create an innovative Market Day Business.

Background: As detailed above.  Articulated animals have proven to be extremely popular as the size can be controlled and the student can potentially have an interest in them.   While there are a number of freely available downloads of a range of animals the innovative part of the process has moved onto the students being able to design, create and manufacture these animals themselves rather then relying on available designs of others.

The student in this case was able to receive guidance from a Y8 student at our school who has created media including a full presentation showing the entire process from a flipped perspective (including video creations and a step by step guide how to produce any animal by following the process.

This Y4 student wanted to create a unique flexible animal for her business.  She used Tinkercad as a design CAD software and used her iPad for the manipulation.   She was able to source a SVG file for the silhouette - and the linking for the animal came via a ball and socket join that she had created on Tinkercad.

The learning process was not initially successful - the first designs didn't feature linking to the entire shape, as shown left, when the parts of the animal were removed from the printing plate and they fell apart.  This briefly had the student contemplating creating a jigsaw puzzle based on the parts that she was making, however she was redirected as she had set herself a goal.

She also researched her favourite dog and learnt how to QR Code for her packaging.   This dog was then redesigned to ensure that the linking was correct.   The student then started to produce a variety of them and investigated the spray painting of them to complete the presentation.  We also were able to identify the animal as being able to be produced in a reasonable timeframe - which allowed the student to start testing the design in terms of manipulating and playing with it.

The dogs (completed, as shown left) consist of the four main linked parts.   They are currently measuring 70mm long and 50mm tall.   They are 10mm thick which allows for a reasonable strength to them.

Currently on the Snapmaker default settings we have the print coming in at just over two hours (each, although we can of course load multiple dogs onto a print run) and the student has set a price of $2.00 per dog to cover the cost and make a small profit.   (This money is being raised for the school and is reflective of the cost and the student not looking to make a huge profit with the process and item).

The student is being extended by developing and refining their CAD design skills (using Tinkercad) and the Snapmaker 3D Printer.  They are using Pic Collage to design packaging and QRstuff.com to manufacture the QR Code.   Given how successful this process and project has been there is no more refining it or creation of it as it has been extremely successful.

ESports - Virtual Pinball Competition 2023 Livestream

This is the link to Auroa Primary Schools 2023 Virtual Pinball Competition which will be livestreamed as detailed.

ESports: School Virtual Pinball Competition

We have mentioned this competition in the past, and the link between this event and the making of a virtual pinball table which includes using the 3D Printer, Laser Cutter, Printing (Poster) Machine and Printing (Sticker) Machine to help make the resources we use to create it.   This year we have 64 students competing in our virtual Pinball Competition and this is the link to the video that shows the picking for the competition this year.

Market Day 2023

This year again we are holding a school market/innovation event at our school when our students are running businesses to sell a product that is developed for sale for the community.   This was previously held at our school where the 3D Printers were used extensively - to first produce material that was located online via Thingiverse - although the students were required to have an original component or part of their design.   The original Market Day Animal Stalls from 2022 had to include additional information about their animal, accessories that were custom made for the animals (such as a food bowl or toy depending on the nature of the animal).   

The led directly to the unpacking of the design ideas and code for the animals - a student used tutorial videos on Youtube to 'unpack' the process and has been able to manufacture a range of animals as a result.    This is culminating with the student running her own market stall selling the products that she has specifically designed to the local community.   

The designs for the start of this cycle have centred around having casing or packaging - in this new example shown left.  The group are investigating making and marketing lip balm.   The balm case that is shown left.   It measures 80mm across and was 40mm high in places.  The inside of the container was hollowed out on one side (the student didn't want the container to hold too much lip balm.

This print took eight hours to print and would require some modification at present there is no hinge that is developed to hold the two sides of the containers together.   There are further examples of market day printing using the 3D Printer here.