Combining Laser Cutter and 3D Printer: Earrings

Challenge: How to develop 3D Printed Earrings further to include further use of technology.

Background:   As detailed earlier on this blog, one of the students initially designed a key ring, featuring a cow.  Following a brain storming session the student decided to modify and resize the design creating instead of a larger key chain instead a pair of earrings (which significantly reduced the print time).  

Once the student had completed this and checked and rechecked her design she then focussed on creating additional animals (an early prototype is the dogs shown left) and looked at different hoop sizes that would allow some variation.    

We next challenged her to look at ways that she might be able to present the earrings at the School Market Day.    One of the ways the we investigated was looking at using another part of the technology at our school to produce a stand.    We have a large scale AEON Laser Cutter in a technology room at school.

This laser cutter has been used for various project including the producing a earrings stand.  The stand is cut from MDF and measures 170mm at the base, is 400mm high and has stands that come out from the main base that are 80mm in length.   

The students are able to print this in three seperate pieces, in MDF which then can be slotted together to form the stand.  The stand can then be spray painted to complete its presentation.

This allows the student to focus on the manufacturing of the earrings for the stand to complete the business.  As stated on the blog these have the advantage of taking a relatively small amount of time to print, around twenty minutes, and these can be produced extremely cheaply (approximately twenty cents worth of PLA).

This has allowed the student concerned to price the earrings accordingly at $2.00 a pair, meaning that the units are making a profit of just over $1.25 per pair.   As we have stated on this blog previously the focus of this event is innovation - the idea is for the students to use the technology to produce something unique and original and market it to the community, the intention is not to maximise profit for the items which are being offered to the community for sale.