Using Tinkercad AR Feature to Add Depth to Prints

 One of the challenges to consider is ways to continue to motivate students using 3D Printing, particuarly when they have worked with the material and design features before.   We also have had considerable experience using Tinkercad to design the prints that we are making.   Last year we had students who started to experiment with using the AR feature that is available via the Tinkercad APP (this feature is not available with the desktop).

This allows us to look at designs prior to printing them to get a feel for their dimensions and to consider where they might be placed, and if there are any potential faults with the design with the design is enlarged.

A design from scratch, from an eight year old in the classroom, shown left when enlarged and then AR into the students hand in the classroom showed a clear issue with the front left leg (which is here on the right hand side).   The student prior to printing was able to use this feature of Tinkercad to determine that the leg needed to be better attached to the design and also the placement of the leg would suggest that it would need to be strengthened to ensure that it was robust, as once the rafting was removed there was a good chance that the design would really struggle.    By using the feature at this stage it meant that a print would be redesigned and therefore would occur when the print had more chance of success.

Other examples can be shown left - in this example a student designing for the first time using Tinkercad, this is the badge design, which is a typical first step for students to create.

There are tutorials including step by step videos on this site created by students from our school.

This design typically can be completed in a short time frame even by a student that could be described as a novice student.

In the design shown left, while aspects of it look comparable to the design above the student (who is an eight year old student) needed to look at the hole in the top left hand corner, the aspects of the design which is the soccer ball - comparing the difference that it was anticipated to look like, and how it could be redesigned.

The print took two hours to complete and the dimensions of the print measured 100mm across, was 75mm high and 20mm wide.   The student is intending to look at making changes to the design to streamline this.