Sensory Fidget Stars - Unpacking the Design

 

Designs shown left include a 3D Printed design, made on one of our schools Snapmaker machines.   The second toy, shown on the right is a commercial available from a stationary supplier company.

While the two objects are identical we have seen the larger 3D Printed star start to appear as a fidget toy which is available online from online retailers.  We have seen considerable variation in the price - some price points have the object on sale for $16.00 (NZD).  

We were able to locate the plans, the .stl code for this print from Thingiverse and found the code freely available.    This then allowed the students to print the design.  As a fractal star as shown, the design was printed as a single piece with no waste PLA that is created as a result of completing print.

We have posted about this topic in the past and identified that we are looking for students to be able to understand the design process, understand the making an production process (such as working out exactly a price point for an object like this) and look to encourage and inspire students to create their own projects an items such as this.   Realistically they would also be something we could produce as a fundraiser for our school or for a potential school market day or event.

3D Printing Interrupted

 

This issue relates to the use of the Snapmaker 3D Printers that we currently use.  We are very fortunate that we have three that we are running at our school, which are being run virtually non-stop.   We started using these machines in 2022 after many years of using Ultimaker Machines.

One of the aspects of the machines that are particularly pleasing is that there is an ability from the machines to stop the print at mid point, and then restart the print at the exact same point.

An example is shown left, this print which was considerable and featured a large figurine of Stitch from the Lilo and Stitch Disney Movie.

This print completed three quarters of the print prior to the PLA that was being used to print running out.   A second roll was then inserted into the machine and the print was restarted, at exactly the same point that the print had stopped.

During the process where the new roll (marble) look which is shown clearly left was used to complete the print.  No red was available, however hence the use of another colour, but the intention is to spray paint the entire design purple/blue to match the design of the character.

What actually occurred was that twice during the new roll of filament being used the roll fouled or became twisted when it was printing, in both instances the teacher then cut the PLA so that it continued to print, and when it reached the point when the PLA on the shorted roll was exhausted the print then stopped, and additional PLA was loaded.

Our experience prior to this with machines that were not as robust was that every instance of a power cut, a print stopping due to PLA running out etc would result in a blocking of the machine which at times would take someone coming and fixing the problem a considerable amount of time.

 

3D Printed Bookmark - Tinkercad Design Challenge

 

Tinkercad have a series of design challenges that are built into the main website.  These are suitable for students and we have started to use them as a challenge for students who are showing clear design ideas.

Some of the them revisit themes and examples that we are able to provide that have featured previously on this blog as a general challenge for students.  As there is a template button however the challenge and its design focus is something that is easily approachable and allows students to develop their design skills.

The current challenge, which closes tomorrow is a design challenge around producing a bookmark for use with reading.   Our students have designed various bookmarks previously and examples of which can be seen on this blog here or you can use the search function on the right hand side of this blog to look at a range of examples.

In this example shown left a student wanted to use the design features of Tinkercad to design a 'cat' themed bookmark.  The student concerned has shown a clear level of design ability during her time in the classroom and is now a Y4 student that is someone who is eight years old who has been designing and creating using Tinkercad for two years, many of the designs that she has been involved in have been featured on this blog.

Level of Difficulty: Medium - this design is deceptively simple for this student to create and while she was able to complete it in a very short timeframe, with the composition that she used, it is not something that every student could create.

Size: This was designed to book in conjunction with a regular bookmark.   There was the potential to complete a different dimension for the print, however it would have limited the viability to print a class set.   The print 

Timeframe: One hour, fifteen minutes.  The design included a degree of rafting that could have avoided if the back had been flat, instead of slightly raised however this would have affected the design, which would have meant that the head did not slide between the pages.

What we would do differently/next steps for students: This is a design that is one of a series.   By undertaking it the template, the lesson plan and the information the lesson could be supplied to students by a single click and they were then able to engage with the lesson and complete the task.  

Again we have a challenge and task which has required minimal input to allow us to complete a class based activity where the students have been able to design, create and then print.

Unpacking the Production Process - Spiral Toys

 

Recently at our school and amongst our students there has been a wave of interest created by students who have purchased toys that are labelled as 'fidget toys' or 'impossible shapes' or some similar variation.   

In each case they are some geometric shape which can be combined into a solid or which twists together to form some kind of visual illusion.

When the first of these appeared they came in the form of objects that were bought online, which the students brought into the classroom.   Much like the plethora of 3D Printed Dragons, which we have identified and then been able to replicate ourselves and then sell for our school market day, the first task in identifying and unpacking these objects was to locate them online in a way that we could identify how they were produced.

A reminder that this process is being undertaken by students in the classroom who are juniors at our school that is students aged seven and eight years old, most printing and designing for the first time.

For this we ventured to Thingiverse - where here we were able to identify the .stl code for the 'spiral code fidget toy'

This allowed us to duplicate the original purchased design, and although we did not have the exact PLA which matched with the base of the triangle the students then set about looking for it online so the school could order it through our suppliers.  This took four and a half hours to print on regular default settings.    There was of course no design from students as they were able to find the .stl and once it was imported into Tinkercad they were able to manipulate it and adjust the design.

This then led to a search on online selling sites for objects that were similar or designed in a similar way.  This led the students to discover the following designs from a place called Temu.

Obviously the spiral has already been identified and printed successfully, but there are clearly a range of other designs and shapes, which follow a similar format, that are now potentially available to students.

Our students are also experimenting with the 'rainbow' and 'sheen filaments' which will meant these designs will not require spray painting (and as the spray painting adds a layer to the print there is the question about whether or not this will make it slightly more difficult for the designs to come together).

The making process can be shown to the students, the price of the objects can also be discussed (as with most printers it is possible to determine exactly how much PLA is used in a print, the sphere uses 8.6m of PLA or 25.6g.    The spiral cone shown uses 13.4m or 39.9 grams of filament.   At current prices for our school a regular roll of PLA is $30.00 or $42.00 for the 'silk' version (which is how the metallic look is achieved).

By dividing the amount of PLA for a spiral cone into the roll of filament, we can determine that 25 spirals can be manufactured off a regular roll.   When we divide the cost of a regular roll of $30.00 we can determine a basic manufacturing cost of $1.20 per unit (although this assumes that the PLA is that price it can be obtained cheaper).    We have seen these priced for as high as $15.00 (excluding delivery).

Likewise with the 'silk' or 'rainbow' PLA (shown left) with a slightly higher price point the spirals can be produced for around $1.70 (again which has been priced online as high as $15.00).

For the smaller impossible spheres (as shown above) we can produce them at a price of seventy five cents on a regular roll of filament or just over a dollar each if involving 'silk'.

This has considerations for pricing if we wanted to sell them as part of a market day or at the office but also allows the students and children a window into the production process and setting a price for an item.

3D Printing: Projects Currently Operating

 

Print shown left: A thirty two hour significant print, this was a commercial designed and available version of the Britannic, sister ship of the Titanic.   We have a student at school who has a particular strong interest in this class of ship and wanted to do something special for him, to allow him to have more projects that would develop off it.   In this case it was locating a design of a ship in the series, and printing it.   The size really tested the limits of our Snapmaker Printer - it took thirty two hours to complete and during the process we were constantly checking to ensure there was no PLA issues and the print remained robust and the print worked.   While there were no design features that the students created with this we have already had significant and detailed discussions with the student about the boat, the painting scheme and what else we can add to the project.

While the integrity of the boat remained during printing there were some very subtle features that did not survive the removal of the rafting, chiefly a radio mast at the front of the print and a corresponding print at the back that would have been no more than 1mm across.   

We are continuing to experiment with our 'rainbow PLA' and range of others that have allowed us to print in a finished state without the students wanting to then spray paint the results, saving an additional step.

The examples shown left are student designed labels for multi-purpose items, the labels measure 60mm long and are 20mm wide as well as being 5mm thick.

The print time for these is thirty minutes.

Junior Classroom Challenge: Student Cubes

 

Challenge: Students were given a class wide challenge to take a 3D Object, which was a dice shape and then create six different shapes to this shape.  Students were instructed that the design aspects of the shape needed to be sunk into the design, not to have the details facing outwards.   This was a continuation of some of earlier classroom term design projects pencil sharpener holder, ear rings designs and a boat.

Background: This was a classroom challenge for the entire classroom.   The task was pushed out to the students for them to complete their design.    It was a short time frame for this design, but the emphasis was for students to design into the base of the shape - as typically the students add external details which can be effective, but by inverting the process it develops the students design abilities in this area.

We allowed the students the ability to create an individual project with a different size depending on what the students wanted to work with.    A range of the designs and shapes can be shown on the left.  In the series of prints students typically used the various shapes that were available and easily inserted from the main Tinkercad interface.  

Level of Difficulty: Easy for the students who have used Tinkercad for nearly a calendar year

Size: The smallest of the three shapes shown left is 20mm by 20mm.   The larger red shape was 35mm by 35mm.   The largest gold shape was 50mm wide and was 60mm long, it was 50mm high.   These designs were all 

Timeframe: The smallest of the shapes took under twenty minutes, the middle shape took ninety minutes and the largest of the shapes took four hours.   In retrospect for this design the smallest shape would have worked perfectly for this project and given that the intention is to transfer the skill of the designing into the base of the shape.

What we would do differently next steps for the students: We would like to see the students transferring this ability to other designs such as the badge or name plate.   This has proven to be a simple design task that was easily printed in a time frame that would mean it potentially could be a successful classroom project.

3D Printed Boats (Exemplar) Oars

Challenge: For a students to create a unique design for a boat.

Background: One of our classroom challenges for our students this term has been to design, create and then print a boat.   These have featured in combination with our Tinkercad/Pixton/Pic Collage combinations and we have started the process of printing selected boat designs - one that look correct.

The idea ultimately is for the students to design a boat that is feasible, that can be powered and have a Sphero Robot controlled in the boat to turn the oars.   There are a number of elements that need to work in conjunction with this.   Due to the time constraints and the feasibility of printing so many large designs we are selecting only certain students who designs show the most potential to go through the printing process.   We are AR/VR/Photo Filtering each of the designs, and intending to print multiple paddles and oars and printing a number of the accessories.  A detailed catamaran has already come out of this project.

The student concerned with creating and overseeing this project is a Y4 junior school student, that is a student who has just turned eight.  She has been designing in Tinkercad since the start of the year.

The inspiration for the boat came from the students use of technology to find what was likely to work.  When she applied her ideas to her design she also investigated the use of oars and paddles on a boat to ensure that the mechanism would be potentially powering the boat forward.

The hull design was used from the main Tinkercad interface.  She added bars on the boat for stability and then included robust rings for the potential of up to four oars or a double bar to have a paddle moving.   Again she used actual examples of these to increase the likelihood of success.  

Level of Difficulty: Overall this is a challenging project, although this mainly coming in the form of ensuring that the boat is powered successfully.   The boat itself is a medium level project - the ability of the 3D Print to float is something that we have recognised in several projects featured on this blog from a standard bath toy to a more complicated boat design.

Size: The boat measures 150mm long and is 90mm wide.  It is 30mm high.   These dimensions are perfect for a working boat, however there is a small issue with this size, which came as a result of testing.

The first major test that the boat passed with flying colours was the ability to float.  This was completed easily with the boat showing no intake of water what-so-ever despite an extended time in the water.  

The boat balanced perfectly and was quite happy inside its container.  This was in contrast to the initial designs of the catamaran that listed due to small holes underneath the hull where it joined.

The challenge came when the Sphero Robot was placed on top of the design.  As soon as this was done the boat sank, due to the weight of the robot.

The student brainstormed potential solutions for this but found the issue very challenging.   The teacher has assisted and has directed the students to look for additional ways to power the boat, and we are currently investigating some of the options with Strawbee Robots.  There are some simple robotic movements that could potentially complete a rowing type motion, the weight of which would certainly not cause the collapse of the boat by excessive weight.

Timeframe: Five hours to print on the regular (default) settings.  If the intention is to move forward with a Sphero boat this would need to big significantly increased.

What we would do differently/next steps for the students: This is an ongoing project that the students is developing, working on and improving.  The key ongoing issue is resolving the powering of the boat - it floats at present without any effort but some form of power to move it, perhaps even a sail would finish the project nicely.

3D Printing with Rainbow Options - Revisiting Previous Projects

 

Traditionally the projects on this blog created and printed by students over the last ten years have featured a base filament (colour) which we have then spray painted for affects, colour and details.

Recently we have noticed as I am sure many of you have that the there have been a range of prints appearing with rainbow or multi-colours that have come directly from the PLA.

We have previously experimented with glow-in-the-dark filament, which we found to be a little challenging in particular when we then returned to more regular projects.

Recently we revised this approach.  We have located a range of rainbow filament which has different layers and shading to it and have started experimenting with it.

While some aspect of the difference in the print is shown in the photograph this has added some depth and colour to the prints.

We have revisited some of our more popular prints included the flexible kiwi, shown left or some of our name tags and badges shown above.

There is no current deviation for the temperature for the printer required and the filament appears to be as robust as ever, ensuring the stability of the students projects.

Laser Cutting Electronic MDF Support Pieces

 

This project was requested for a electronics project that required targeted MDF to fit into existing electronic equipment.   The laser cutter was used to cut the MDF into three distinct sizes - two of which were then identified by the labelling of the wood.

In each case the three sizes were specific to the electronic projects that needed to be cut with precision.

The Y8 student was able to create the sizing of the MDF within twenty minutes and then the cutting of the MDF took a further ten minutes - so the entire process and creation process took half an hour.   You can view in the link here previous work using the 3D Printer for a school project relating to the Sound Lure Predators from 2020-2023 by clicking on the link here.

Junior School Students Unpacking Commercial Designs

 

Recently a series of fidget like designs have started arriving at our school, which were initially purchased by students from an online commercial seller.

The student concerned purchased the design shown below.   When they had this delivered they thought that they would be able to locate this design online and did so by using Thingiverse.

The student located a basic print, was able to download the .stl code and then supplied it to the teacher for printing.   The student concerned did so without any teacher input, was able to simple hand it to the teacher and then request it would be printed.

The material that was used for the PLA for the design has meant that we have changed focus with our prints.  In the past we have used PLA and included the spray painting as part of the decoration process.  We wanted something that would engage and excite the students so we have opted to order a significant amount of rainbow PLA from our supplier, the first prints of which will be completed later in the week.

The design above was completed in three and half hours, had a small amount of PLA support at the base and the spiral measures 60mm across the base and is 70mm high.  There are no adjustments required for this print as the student concerned simply located a print that was otherwise available and wanted to be able to duplicate it.   By gaining possession of the .stl code the issue is simple whether or not the student wants to resize the design, although changing it would not necessarily by on the agenda given how snug it needs to be to successfully work.

Repairing a commercial Print:

Another favourite that has flooded the classroom at this point is the various animals that have been located.  Initially these came in the forms of animals and dragons that were ordered online.   Some of the commercial prices that were charged for these items were interesting given the context that our students are able to work out the amount of PLA included into a design and therefore work out the profit margin (yes even at Y3/4).

Some of the items that have been located are less than robust, particular in areas such as the linking.  An example is shown left, the lizard here in particular has very minimal linking for each of the legs.

The students solution to this is to locate the original .stl file, which is easily available online.   The student has then loaded the image into Tinkercad and has started the process of strengthening the linking at the points where the print has broken consistently.

Finally we have students who are continuing to use the filters that are available to combine with their iPads to take 3D Designs and images and add layers to them.

A recent example is shown left - the student wanted to locate a copy of a figure from the Monopoly game.   Once this had been located the student downloaded it into Tinkercad and then wanted to start manipulating the image using some basic AR/VR features.  As we have mentioned in this blog students have been using both Tinkercad and PicCollage for this purpose.

In the example shown left the original .stl 3D Print design has been then filtered through distinct filters to increase the appeal and the presentation of it.