3D Prints: How do we reimagine basic tasks to keep it fresh?

 

We have mentioned previously on this blog that we have an examples box and that box provides a number of print ideas and exemplars that have been designed and created by past students.

One of the ways that we check off is someone has Tinekercad (or design) mastery is to challenge them to build something and look at the results.  Badges is a loose term for a very basic design which allows the students to personalise their prints.   It often leads to more creative and inventive designs and can be viewed as a starting point.

This year with half of the classroom being experienced designers (that is being eight year olds having designed and created for a year) the basic designs are something that they have not only mastered but tend to be well experienced in.   Extending them can sometimes come in different forms - in this case the original task was to produce a badge, which even independently shouldnt take more than one or two minutes, even for a first time designer.   We created a flipped video for this process - created by our students which is still in use.

One of the common challenges with design is how to increase the difficulty without radically altering the task, in this instance we have asked the students to take a basic name plate design and invert the name, so that instead of having it above the print line it is sunk down into the base of the print.   This makes it much more robust, as at times the letters being on the outside or above the print can cause them to be knocked off or damanged.