Tinkercad AR/VR with Dolls House Furniture

 

We have detailed how we are involving ourselves in a long term project, looking at having a combination of machines and technology from our school.

We have already used the laser cutter to start rebuilding parts of the structure that we cannot repair.   We have also started to use Tinkercad to design furniture which we are going to print and then place inside.

Our original designs were created using the Tinkercad software.  The next step for the students is to start printing the prototypes but also look at ways that we can engage all the students while this is being carried out.

We have talked about the use of the AR/VR option with Tinkercad  and the students iPads.   The students have taken the designs that they have created and then projected them into the rooms that make up the dolls house.

This has given the opportunity for the students to see the designs and what they might look like in a location where they could be placed - it also has allowed several students to refine and remake their designs as they have not looked correct or have needed adjustments to ensure that they have the correct features.

We also gave the students a figure and instructed them to apply the AR/VR of their design to fit so that it was the approximate size for the figure.   In the example of the bed shown left, the figure is the plastic M and M figure holding the fan, the bed which has been already attempted and matched with the dolls house, as shown above.

As it is recorded with an iPad you can obviously VR/AR the shape in an outside environment so you are not restricted by using a green screen.

We also wanted to give the opportunity for the furniture to be run through some of the pic collage

filters to further develop the designs.

This is a bed, designed in Tinkercad, then having a pic collage applied magic camera feature (with obviously a Christmas theme) which allowed the student to present something independently of being 3D Printed.

Again the intention was to allow the students to use their Tinkercad designs to produce something that did not necessarily lead straight away to 3D Printing.

We have started the process of including other examples such as this, in this slideshow.

3D Printing Furniture for a Laser Cut Dolls House

 

We have detailed that this year we are looking at students undertaking several long term projects - the first of which is rebuilding the dolls house that was rescued prior to it being dumped in a rubbish bin.

The Y8 students who are working on this are using their design skills to use the laser cutter to rebuild as much of the base as possible.

As much as the intention was to repair the damage to the original house, the main wood that was used to put it together was untreated MDF which has in a couple of places been wet, causing considerable damage.

After finding examples online that showed some ideas that could be used in the design (such as the shutters on the windows or the faux brick work) the students were able to use inkscape to design the ends.

This is being produced by the senior students at our school, although our junior school students can see the project and have been informed of its intention, which is to give it to the junior school for them to use in the Y1 classroom, where our five year olds are.

We thought about how our own juniors, who are slightly older, seven and eight year olds.  We wanted these students to be apply their design ideas using Tinkercad to create something to compliment the dolls house.

The first designs that the students created were using Tinkercad's main interface.   These had minimal creation from the students, but the idea was to use these as inspiration for students to create their own versions.    In this example the student combined the table with the lamp and then used the size of the table relative to the size of the dolls house.   We have a rule with the students thats typically we ask the students to design their own version of items rather than use ones that are commercially available.

An example of an authentic design from a student is shown left, the students design is based of course on a bed, with the student using the design to create the basic features.

We have also considered how we might be able to use other technology available to our students - the idea is to use the Roland Versa Sign Maker to construct the stickers for the base, and then use potentially the students to hand sew the blankets to fit the base.

3D Printed Extension - Reworking a 2024 Money Box Design

 

Previously this design was created and originated by a student who is now in another classroom.   In the example shown left the student was looking to create a money box. 

The student had wanted to improve the design and had thought about adding a way to remove the coins put into the bank.   This year we are having a school Market Day one of the students from the class this year wanted to create a money box as a potential item for sale.  They looked at previous examples from our class blog and located one of the examples.   We spoke to the student concerned who had now moved to another classroom but we had retained the classroom page and student pages with their designs.

The key issue to improve the design was some kind of opening or way to ensure the removal of coins placed inside.   The students idea was to produce a door as shown.   The student who is currently ten years old found an online tutorial for the process and then completed the design addition.

There are issues with the design as it stands - the student has created the base, but the balance at the bottom will be something that they need to refine.  They have proven however to be one of the strongest designers in our school in recent years, and this is something that they should master in very short order.   

This student has shown since the start of her time in the junior classroom (as a seven year old) to be capable of designing a series of projects that I would consider as good as our senior students.

Update: Upon printing the revised version of the print, including the opening at the bottom the student was able to determine that the mechanism for opening was not working as she had hoped.  There was no issue with the placing of the base, and the balance was retained by the two aspects of the design.

The student was not happy with the 'pin' aspect of the design that was she wanted it to work and lock in place, however it didn't work as intended.  She has asked to take home the prototype to be able to redesign the pin in a way that it will work successfully as intended.
   

3D Printed: Ten Minute student challenge

 

Challenge: Y3 and Y4 classroom students using Tinkercad are given ten minutes using their classroom student account and their iPads to create a pair of ear rings that would be suitable for someone to wear.

Background: We have created these before, using the same process with the idea that the print time varies between fifteen minutes and half an hour.  Students in this instance had to develop them independently from the teacher, the teachers role was simply to arrange printing of the designs when they were complete.

The students needed to asses their designs in terms of suitability for hanging/wearing and needs to ensure that it is robust particularly the connection or join point between the ring or the loop and the design itself.

While each of the designs are somewhat unique and their size and print time varies in most cases it was under thirty minutes and the length of the prints in total and including the loop was no more than 60mm.

Each of the students was able to put their own spin and design on the ear rings.

We are also mindful of a significant event that is taking place later this year, that is our school market-day.

This event is significant for Auroa Primary School we have an expectations that our students are creating, innovating and designing and making something that would have value in the community.

We have had businesses run by students who have to look at something that they could potentially sell.   One of the things that make this activity ideal is that the printer can produce something that is unique and student created and can be produced for a minimal cost, as we have with the laser cut ear rings.

With such a relative short print time the entire class can realistically have their designs completed over the space of several days (that is a class of twenty six students). and then printed out.

This allows the students to check their design, check their viability, run tests and then finally make adjustments.

There are several pairs that will be printed later and there will be a second run of prints which will be posted for additional ideas.

3D Prints: Will it Float? Applying it to Boat Designs

 

We took all of the first wave of 3D Printed boats and placed them inside a container in the classroom that was filled with water.    We had tested the viability of the designs via the motion part of the Tinkercad program, which suggested that there was some issues with the design.

A clear example is the first version of the 'Titanic' which when floated by the students, as shown left, clearly showed that the design was not balanced and tipped to one side.

The more recent update of the Titanic, shown left, successfully floated.  It included four life boats (the original had twenty) and the typical four funnel stacks.

The decks and the top of the boat were balanced and as a result the ship floated comfortably in the water.  The student concerned wants to add additional feature to the ship, in doing so they want to ensure balance, so if they add something to one side then they indeed doing something on the other side to match.

This was the design which featured the name 'Emily' on the first page of first wave of designs.   It included four funnels and two decks, but no additional features.   The student wanted it to be used as a basic boat that floated and was able to achieve this with the design.  As with the others that are in series the student is currently working on adding additional features that she can include with the design to make it more realistic.  Again with the other prints and designs in the series the student wants to base the design on the template of the Titanic.

One design that strictly speaking did not work was the design shown left.   It did float - however the design is top heavy in that the weight of the design cause it to topple over, and while the student felt that it met the brief, that it floated it did not float as desired.

Which then started another discussion with the students would a regular print float or sink?

We looked for some designs that we had from our example box and selected several items - and posted the question to our students, literally, will this float? Most of the students thought that the tree would sink to the bottom of the container, but it didn't like the others, it maintained its floating ability and stayed on the surface.   An attempt to cause it to sink by placing a light amount of force on the design, and pushing it to the bottom simply caused the design to remain on the bottom until it was released, as noted by the students this is similar to the fluter boards that we have recently used for swimming and water safety.

The original junior Christmas tree print was located here.

The final stage of the testing was to find a range of designs and prints, many of which have featured on this blog.  

Without exception all of the prints floated - one or two of them floated at the top of the waterline but all of them remained buoyant.   

The students by this point were able to determine that all of the prints were able to float as a result.

3D Printed Boats: First Wave of Designs

 

We have detailed in a previous post how the class of students are currently working on several challenges.  One is to produce a range of boats - we have experienced success in creating these previously as is detailed in our this post.

Follow the success of the first design students have been working on a range of designs, and creating and bouncing ideas off each other.  The Titanic is a 3D Print that is available in various guises on a range of sites, and we have printed it in full in the past.

Hence the design shown above has four funnels (our students loved locating fact that only three of these were legitimate and the fourth funnel was in fact a prop!)

The first design measures 180mm long was 55mm wide at the mid point and 70mm high.   The funnels were part of this, being 20mm high.  The ship in this case took four hours to print.

The second design (shown left) had slightly different dimensions - and took slightly longer to print.   This was four and a half hours.   It measured 160mm long was 60mm wide and featured two distinct decks - the student wanted to add details to this design so attempted to look at ways to have windows or cabin windows on the side of the boat.   The student wanted the funnels to stand out significantly, so in this incident had the four (again inspired by the Titanic) at the top of the design. 

There is another important lesson in this boat, which is called 'will it float' and the answer is no! The student in this case has built the funnels too tall and the weight of them causes the boat to tip, when it is placed in water.   This is a vital engineering lesson to the students - which can be illustrated by placing the boat in water.    The student is going to be given the opportunity to address and redesign this, which should take place easily using Tinkercad.

Its one of those things were the fact that the design is completed but it only with printing that the student can identify a fault - and also we will go back to the 'motion' animation to look if it is sustainable.

The final design that we would like to show is the boat shown left.  The student has again opted for the four funnels, has included an oversized flag (we have discussed the idea of using decals for the boats, potentially created using our sticker making machine) and there was a clear using of a personalisation - this student had used the idea of sinking the lettering into a design as we had been working on with the lesson to upgrade the display of the badges of the name plates.

In this case the design measured 150mm long was 60mm wide and 55mm high.   This design was suitable size wise and the student was thrilled with it - it also was very balanced relative to floating.

We are going to give our juniors a choice to look at testing this boats, seeing which ones that they like and also which ones they are able to float or race against each other.

3D Printed Boats: 2025 Junior Designs

 

Challenge: To build a realistic boat

Background: We have given the students an opportunity to have some design time in the classroom.   The students have been working on a variety of projects one of which is the boat that was shown left.

When the student was working with the main Tinkercad interface a boat hull is one of the items that can be produced.   The student had also seen on of the previous designs from the inspiration box - which had further developed his idea.   As a student who liked history he thought that he might like to attempt something inspired by the Titanic, which has been another significant recent project with the 3D Printer.

We have printed a range of boats in the past - the IRB inflatables for a local Surf Life Saving Clubs special event, a rowing boat, with the intention to power it by a Sphero robot, a complicated and detailed Catamaran from last year or an earlier version that was created detailed from scratch.

This is the first example from the students - one that we were able to print, place inside a water container and then post some questions about - would it float? The answer to that is yes: we have confirmed this in the past, thanks to a lucky accident during swimming where we were floating 3D Designs in our school pool, starting with this butterfly.   This led to the creation of a series of 'pool' or 'bath' toys including a range designed for our previous market day.

Size: The boat current design is currently 140mm long from bow to stern.   The decks are currently 30mm high, the stacks 20mm high and the hull is 20mm high.     At this stage these dimensions are suitable for the print, although as details are added to the ship, as the student undertakes more research, and therefore changes are experienced.

Timeframe: Three and a half hours on the default settings.   In this instance the default is perfect as it ensures that the hull is able to float, a more dense hull would prevent it from floating freely.

What we would do differently/Next Steps for the Students: There is something of an art to ensure that the design is balanced.  In the example shown at the start of this post the decks are off centre, this is clearly shown when the design is placed in water, it lists considerably and the students are clearly able to determine what was required to have more balance.  The other aspect of this was the students were able to use the motion feature, that we have previously detailed to run motion tests on the boats to see if they weren't viable to print - designs for instance that hadn't been linked would fall apart or designs that were lop sided would tilt or collapse on one side.

This is evolving into a classroom challenge or series of prints that will be developed and reported over time.   An example of the evolving print is the final design shown bottom left.   The student has used the main Tinkercad interface design to create a boat design that was influenced by a themed ride at an amusement park.  Their intention is continue to refine and improve the design.

3D Printed: Junior Challenge - Tank

 

Challenge: Based on an idea from a student earlier in the month can students use Tinkercad and its interface to create a realistic tank.   

Background: We are always looking for ideas for students to develop, that could be unique to our students and use Tinkercad.  In this case the idea came from one of our students designing for the first time.   The original prototype gained the attention of the students in the classroom, who thought that the idea was creative and interesting.   Some students discussed how we might be able to make it more realistic and also considered some basic articulation - the turning of the turret is something that a number of students have already considered and have considered how they might be able to produce it.

The main shapes have all come as basic geometric ones, the challenge will now be, with a range of designs coming for the students to share their development to determine and encourage each other.

Size: The model that is shown above (the first version) was 90mm across and 90mm long at the tracks.   The design was only 20mm high.  The new version shown left has a base that is 60mm wide, and is 80mm long, with a barrel that extends a further 60mm from the top of the base.   The exaggerated tyres also need adjusting.

Timeframe: The initial print took one and a half hours, the second more detailed version (shown above) took three and a half hours to print, on the regular default settings using the Snapmaker 3.5.

As shown left the student who had been working on developing his 'cuts' for name design choose to have his name featured on the base of the tank at the back.

The student as mentioned is now going to redefine, redevelop and adapt this design.   There has been a number of designs on this blog that have featured students placing incredible details into their design by using the main interface, such as. the Christmas sleigh which was built in 2018.

What we would do differently/next steps for the students: The students are currently making their way through the design phase, they are looking to refine their ideas and see if they can adapt it to meet a copy of an existing military tank. 

3D Printed 'Rainbow' Badge Exemplar

 

Challenge: For a student to individually create and produce an individualised badge.

Background: This task is a foundation task for students in our classroom.   The students are able to complete the task by following a flipped learning task from this instructional video and able to work independently.   This student is a Y4 student who is eight years old, with their second year experience with Tinkercad and 3D Design.

Crucial to this design was the addition of a hole, the name design being sunk into the base of the design instead of on the outside and the addition of three additional features two stars and the heart.

Size: The design was 60mm high and 110mm long.  It was 10mm thick.   As this is intended to be a robust badge that is able to be used to name a bag or swimming bag.

Timeframe: One hour and forty minutes.   Given the dimension of the print the time would be about correct.   This was produced on a Snapmaker printer using the Tinkercad design on the regular settings, including typical infill for the design (twenty percent).

What we would do differently/Next steps for the student: Nil.   This is an exceptionally well balanced design which is robust and detailed.   The print was completed using 'rainbow' filament which meant that there was no need to spray paint the final design.

3D Printing: Design Ideas for Non Printing

 

We have previously published a slideshow detailing examples of work from this site - focussing on some ten years of creations of Christmas Themed 3D Prints.     In this slideshow here we have decided to focus on examples of how we might used Tinkercad to create 3D Printed projects, projects that either might not be ideal as 3D Printing projects or by their nature would make better virtual or other designs.

As with the other slideshows and resources from this site you are more than welcome to share and use them and we would really like some other examples and to hear about your own projects.

Canvas Printing Roland Versa Studio Sign Maker BN-20

 

Recently we achieved a significant series of results from our students in several inter school competitions.   To celebrate this we wanted to ensure that we could produce something special to mark the occasion.  

Our first option was to go to a local stationary provider and take a .jpg of the photograph of the students and ask the stationary provided to produce the image on canvas with a frame.   We in addition wanted to have lettering to recognise the event printed onto the canvas.     The total cost to produce the image on the canvas was $70.00 (NZD) which included the frame.   The next step was to think about the resourcing that we have at our school and consider how we might be able to use one of these to create our own version of the image.

We have used our Roland Versa Studio Sign Maker BN-20 machine for a number of projects, and while our primary use has been to produce stickers related to the school, it has a number of other features.

In the version of the image shown left, it is the same .jpg that was used at the commercial version - except in this case it was printed using the Sign Maker and printed onto canvas.

The two images are essentially identical - however as we produced the image ourselves we were able to spend time altering the image to best suit its display.   

This allows for our version to have more specific detail.   Both versions took an identical time to print, which was just under one hour.

When the two images are placed next to each other to consider display options the two are essentially identical however as noted we have more opportunity to customise our version.

The images were both 1.5m by 800cm tall.   The final aspect of the design was the backing.

In the commercial version (which is above when the two images are shown together) it is backed onto canvass backed by cardboard.

This then led the staff member who was creating this project to consider how we might look at identifying ways to make the backing.

We have previously discussed how we have a large laser cutter here at school.   In this case the teacher wanted to create framing using the school laser cutter.  The frame is made from MDF was created to fit the image perfectly.   In the example shown left the frame was assembled, the frame was then glued and then held in place by masking tape as shown.    A cost point for the school is hard to absolutely determine as the costs of the MDF are minimum, the only legitimate cost would be the ink for the use of the printer.

At the end of the day we have been able to produce something that is very positive for the school that is comparable or superior to a commercial version, which students should be able to replicate easily (especially now as a template for both has been established).

3D Printed: Term One Junior Program - Summary

 

Following the creation of the initial badge and name plates the second round of designs have the students looking to introduce colour via the 'rainbow' filament that we are now using.

The design for these is expected to have the name part of the badge sunk into the design instead of having it on the outside as is typically first designed by the students.   New versions like the one shown left will be explained in detail on this blog shortly.

In the example shown left the students are then being encouraged to work on a more detailed and creative original design.   In the example shown left the student is intent on creating a basic tank design using the geometric shapes that are available on the main Tinkercad design interface.

The student has used the 'track' option for the movement, the turret is currently in a fixed position but the intention is for the student to design a rotation turret.   This student is a Y3 student so a seven year old who is designing for the first time.

The student is working independently from the teacher in that they are bringing their completed design for printing.

We have also discussed in the past how not all the students can have active printing of their designs and projects due to the limited availability of the printers.   As we have mentioned in the past there are various opportunities and ideas that students can be involved in using Tinkercad which doesn't meant that the prints need to be completed.  A clear example in the past has been the filters that we have used taking the Tinkercad

designs and then applying filters to them - in the case of the inbuilt Tinkercad designs there is the 'brick and block option which we have already posted about this year.  Furthermore we have also used web based programs such as Pixton to further enhance the designs.

We also have used the motion option from the main Tinkercad interface (this is the apple shown left) - this then leads to the 'throwables and the scene' icon shown directly left.   Students are able to further manipulate and experiment with their designs to interact and experiment with them.

In this example the students designed a game using their Tinkercad creation interface.   They identified targets that then could have objects tossed or thrown at them, scoring points on the basis of the difficulty of the shot or object.

A further extension can be provided by having specific objects targeted for certain areas (for instance in the example left the student need to identify what of the throwable objects could successfully hit the 'ten' location.  Further extension could be provided by students identifying carnival games and recreating them in the context of using the design ideas and source.

In the example shown left the student designed a scene with the intention of the motion capture.

This when activated causes the lid on the design to collapse, which in turn causes a 'chain reaction' which was the purpose of the lesson.

The chain reaction can then be modified by changing the variables that are part of the design, and seeing how the change in variables can then affect the outcome, such as increasing the height of the sides, the shape and the context of the block on the top.

3D Printed Ideas: Rainbow Filament - Market Day 2025

 

Every two years at Auroa School we hold a school market day where students sell products that are made using some of the technology that is available to students of Auroa Primary School, with our Market Day focussing on innovation and creativity.

We have posted about this in the past on this blog extensively, you can search the blog by using the box on the right hand side.

We also have videos on this event created by the wonderful staff member whose videos are featured on his Sonic Vision Studios Youtube page.

We have again started experimenting with different kinds of filament for designs.  In the past we have experimented with having students (supervised by our seniors) using spray painting in special circumstances.  The latest batch of prints that we are experimenting with are 'rainbow' tinted and shaded PLA.   You can see an example of the dragon shown in the top photograph, which was the basis for our 'Dragon' selling or the name plate/badge shown below, which has previously been featured on this blog.

Developing our Junior Classroom TInkercad Skills: 'Blocks and Bricks'

 

As we have mentioned previously we have used Tinkercad extensively with our students as a design tool, it is a adaptable, free web based browser that has excellent viability with a classroom setting and is able to be used by junior school students.

While we use it for 3D Designing, which we then print using our Snapmaker printers as we have mentioned in the past we have three operating machines in the school, a school of two hundred students.   This means realistically we cannot at all times print designs for students.

In this instance as we have detailed on this blog previously our students have used their Tinkercad designs to AR and VR their creations to create a context when they can make or create something and display it in a different way.  Two icons that are available from the main Tinkercad interface, as shown in the top left.

The tank shown left is an example of design that is not yet been printed but has been designed by a first time, seven year old creator.

The student is intent of potentially designing a tank, and the initial design is shown left.   The student in this case is designing this for a first time with a number of elements to it.

When the student was first designing aspects of the creation he was encouraged to AR/VR the design to see if he could manipulate it to adapt his design.

As shown left the design has now been put through the 'bricks' filter, which is similar to special kind of interlocking blocks that the students are very familiar with.

There are three levels of detail with the blocks, the design shown left is the most detailed.   

This design is again shown but using the 'blocks' design, which converts a students/adults Tinkercad design.    The filter takes a few moments to apply and then can be screen-shotted by the students.

Again as with the 'bricks' option there are three level of details available for the design.    We also can of course apply them to any design in the students design folder/accounts.

Laser Cutting: Seniors Rebuilding the Dolls House

 

We posted about this previously detailing how we are wanting to use our technology to apply to practical tasks to engage our students.  A group of senior students are working with our large scale laser cutter.

We recently identified a Dolls House, that was destined to be thrown out and we wanted to look at the viability of restoring it using our technology and then making it available to our junior school students.

After the cleaning and the wiping down of the house the students started to examine it, in more detail.   The main base wood that has been used to construct the house was chipboard, and there are parts of the house where it has been wet, causing it to loose structure.

While the students working on this wanted to keep as much of the original house as possible this needs to be balanced with turning it into something that is functional and useable.

The senior students sourced some images of vintage houses for inspiration and begun the process of using Sketch Up to start to design the sides for the house.

The first completed replacement piece is shown here.   The windows and the shutters have been designed with hinges and work, the size of the end is designed to work in conjunction with the existing base of the house.

The shutters and windows are designed to match, the detailing at the end of the wall was created by using a range of smaller rectangles and squares and gluing them onto the base of the design.

The students need to consider that the design has been produced using MDF.   This typically isn't the most durable of design wood and will need to be stained or sealed to further protect it from the elements and from students in the new entrance classroom.