3D Printing Stencil: Developing Ideas Further

Challenge: For student to take one of the basic fundamental ideas or printing project and develop it further into something individually directed.

Background: When students start with a basic task one of the introductory tasks that we use and engage the students with is some form of name badge or plate.  These generally start off very basic and then can be developed further with additional features and designs to advance the students skills, although this can typically be done in a very short timeframe.

One student who has recently completed this task was then asked to look to develop it further.  His idea evolved into the creation of a stencil.   In this example the student deliberately used the name to hollow out the inside of the print, and then applied the design to a piece of wood.   Spray paint was applied (the print was held in place by masking tape) and then the print itself was removed leaving the affect of the design in place.   The student then is intending to look at combining this idea in different ways and formats to continue to refine the design.  The student has been asked to consider the font, the layout, how this has translated to the stencil and what might work differently.

Level of Difficulty: Low.  The 3D Part of the design is very straight forward and has been completed by nearly every student in the classroom independently (with the classroom being the home to seven and eight year olds).  This project requires a specific level of refinement to make it successful (see below).

Size: The print measures 85mm high and is 175mm across.   The print was 5mm thick.   For the purpose of this project these dimensions were correct, although they could be targeted for a specific size depending on the purpose of the pencil.

Timeframe: Two and a half hours on the standard default settings for this print.  The student was using the purpose of the print to convert the badge, hence its current dimensions and the final product.

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students: This projects emerged out of another area, so the stencil, in its first versions needs some refinements.  The student is intended to use a permanent marker pen to enhance the print and the way it stands.  Because of the position of the masking tape, the bottom line has not responded well to being removed.

The students intend to reflect on the wood that has been used and experiment with the colour, the student wants to change the font to see how it responds to the spray painting.   The student wants to consider a picture that might be possible to link to the design (which has in turn lead to a discussion about stencil art and the work of a particular street artist).   This is one of the projects that shows a considerable level of interest and potential and we will be updating it with further prints of ideas.

We have alerted the art teacher at school to the potential of this, who will also be looking at the potential to complete art projects using this technique and resourcing.