Tinkercad App as an AR/VR Tool Juniors

 

No seperate green screen app or indeed special location is required - students with their iPads and the Tinkercad App are able to take their iPad to any location and then project the Tinkercad design or image into a location and increase its scale dramatically.

These examples for the junior school students were tasters - we had a total of ten minutes for the students to work their virtual creations into an actual picture at some location around our school.   The elephant shown left is available using the search bar from Tinkercad and then can be easily transmitted into the AR/VR situation.

In the example left the super sized 'king' frog (of course the crown was added quickly as a little nice touch) can be seen cleverly to scale by the one story building that is bottom right hand corner with the two students standing next to it to give it scale.

All the designs can have their colour changed using the app, including either entire colour or partial colour changes.   We have thought about using this as a writing prompt for students or thinking about other locations that this might be suitable to wow or amaze people with.

In the example shown left the students have stretched themselves with the location here.   They have used a window from the school playground and then projected the image into this location.

To complete this activity students require the Tinkercad app and an iPad.   There is no additional material or equipment required.

You can view additional examples from our students by using the keyword search AR/VR in the 'search' tab in the top right hand corner of this blog.

Creating Doors for our Farm Toy Building

 

We have a number of projects that are ongoing this year, designed to engage and challenge our students.  The Dolls House Project from 2025 has led us to look into other rebuilding projects for 2026.   In this example we selected a thrift store farm building that required a number of missing parts.

As we have done with many projects this year we have students having a brainstorming session followed by a degree of design using #Tinkercad and their #iPads we have previously posted we had students brainstorm ideas, create a draft and then place it on the design using Tinkercad's AR/VR tool.

The next step in the process for the students is to start the physical printing of the early prototype with a lean towards refining, adapting and improving the students design.   The photo left shows the first version of the door for the front of the building.    This is a straightforward design for the students which features a small handle and an attempt to solve the issue of a hinge by developing an attachment for the slot to connect to.

The door has been made independently by a Y4 student who is using Tinkercad for the second year.  It is a basic rectangular design, which was sized by the student.   The attempt to complete the door by having it work in conjunction with the groove works in the sense that it holds it in place when static but when the door is opened it tends to fall off.   While the students could glue the door into place the intention is to have them experience some basic engineering to problem solve successfully.

The current dimensions of the door shown are a 60mm by 80mm rectangle.   It took 45 minutes to complete, used 18g of filament at a cost of $0.45

The other part of the design that students are trying to deal with is the roof.  Again we have followed a similar process to the door.   The students identified the measurements, worked on some basic shapes and the adapted these to meet the design of the roof.   The final part for consideration and again the hardest part of the design for the students to complete was to work out a way to have a bracket or a clip that could attach to the top of the design so that it would swing open.

Students have nearly solved this issue - but again the roof is staying in place instead of swinging or clipping in place.   Currently the roof feature measures 80mm across and is 100mm long.   The print took thirty five minutes to complete, used 16g of filament and had an associated cost to print of $0.40g.

To ensure durability of the clip we made the decision to print both of these pieces of the farm building using the Bambu H2D printer.   Both designs will need to be re-engineered and adapted by the students.

3D Printed Stencils: Name Focus

 

Challenge: To produce a name stencil for a student that focusses on the name.

Background: This series of posts has been developing since the first tasks for the year.   In the initial stencils students focussed on basic shapes, provided by the main Tinkercad interface.  Following this students used scribble and then developed their names as part of the stencil.  We detected at this point that some of the students names could have been more of the star and therefore the final form has essentially gone back a step, with students creating a stencil with just their name as shown left.

We want to use this for an art based activity so have deliberately kept it simple.   These stencils were all designed by eight year old students using their iPads and Tinkercad independently - including the majority of students who were developing skills for the first time.

As noted we have used our Bambu H2D for this process, in allows us to confidently print 1mm wide PLA with minimal (ie no) waste.

Level of Difficulty: Low this is essentially a step backwards for the students for the purpose of having the name itself dominate more.  Having already completed this task and added numbers shapes and designs students were very clear and able to complete the process with minimal instruction.

Size:   The Lucy print shown measured 165mm by 140mm and was 1nm wide.   The Jules print was created using scribble hence the wavy lines this measured 180mm across and was 130mm high.

Cost/Price: Lucy cost $0.60c and used 23g of PLA filament.   Jules used $0.57c and used 24g of filament.  This was a standard PLA which we are currently sourcing for $30.00 per kilogram.

Timeframe:   The Jules print took thirty nine minutes to complete.   The Lucy print took forty one minutes to complete.

What we would do differently/Next Steps for the students: We have always had the intention of turning this project into some form of art based project where the stencil is the centrepiece.   The students are now going to take these design and apply a range of materials to them to look at the designs that are produced as a result (such as the example shown left).

Using Junior Stencils to create AR/VR Images

Using our iPads, the Tinkercad App and our stencil creations we created a series of images of the students work and then used the AR/VR button on the app to project the images into a variety of locations around the school and in the classroom.

While some of our students were experienced with their use of this app and the process for the majority of the classroom to experiment with for the first time.  To further clarify the amount of time that we had available was fifteen or so minutes before other school commitments required our attention.

This was possible because these designs had previously been created on Tinkercad and did not require any additional completion.  The designs were/are saved in the students folders in their accounts.

At this early stage we are allowing students to experiment with the process and look at their output, experiment with finishing and look at locations, ideas and contrasts (for instance students can alter the colour of their Tinkercad designs and adjust them to suit the background and the foreground etc.)

The AR/VR-ing of Tinkercad designs is like many other tasks something of a skill that students will develop, particularly over time.     Certain colour combinations work - as do certain iconic locations around the school (the swings are appearing numerous times).   Posing for image when there is nothing in front of you (such as a student trying to hold the design shown left) can take a little time to accurately place and adjust the size.

Given the timeframe and the introductory nature of the task to most of the students this would be considered a positive outcome, and more will be developed moving forward.

3D Printed Badge - 2026 Edition

 

Two weeks after the start of the school year and a basic introduction to Tinkercad the students in the classroom are at the point where they have started to develop and hone their skills - this sought of design is being produced by students, which we are then printing as an introductory task.   

This design measures 100mm by 60mn and is 5mm wide.   The print is using 19g of PLA and has a cost price associated with it of $0.50c.    The print took 35 minutes to complete.

The print was completed by a Y4 student who is working independently and using Tinkercad for the first time, as of two weeks ago.

Continued Revised Individualised Stencil

 

We have blogged at length about one of the starting project for 2026 in our junior classroom, students using their iPads and the Tinkercad App to create a personalised, unique and original stencil.  We are currently in the process of printing a class set of these including a revision by the student so we can trace the progress with their designs and use it to increase the creativity.

We have encouraged students to add their names to the design, to see if they can stencil their name into the creation, and experiment with this and various shapes that are tessellated to produce an art output.

The students key skills that they are developing is the basic shapes, measurement (as all designs have to be measured by the students to check size for being submitted for printing and using the 'hole' design from the main interface, to in this case go through the entire design and reduce the printing.   As repeatedly noted we have utilised the Bambu H2D for this.

Later designs have evolved to have the student put their own name in the bottom right hand corner (as shown left) and students have started experimenting with original shapes and using the 'scribble' tool to create an original shape.

Already we've had other projects come out of the examples - one of the student wants to increase the size of the base and produce matching shapes so they can be inserted into the design as a match task for a young child.   As a teacher there is the clear potential to use this to create some geometric work in the future (by having a range of shapes featured that could then be used to identify various features of a shapes). 

This is also allowing students to circle back to a previous task.   This is the second task for the year, the first being the 'badge' or name plate task.   Several of the students have now returned to this task and improved or revised their earlier designs.   An example of this is left - the student has produced a different version involving using the 'hole' to partially sink the name into the base.

This student also modified the base font design and explored altering its shape and dimensions - which is something that they are now passing onto other students.  All these designs have come from students who are eight years old, two of the three are designing using Tinkercad for the second week.

One student opted to include every member of the family in a design, but obviously looking at it you could include short phrases, greetings etc and it would prove to be effective.  We have yet to spray paint any of the designs or use anything other than regular base filament.

We also have a classroom with considerable glass bi-fold doors that lead to an outside area.    We are always considering ways that we can display information and projects on this (glass) space - this might be something that we could complete either using the stencil directly or correcting something that potentially could be spray painted into place as is completed during Christmas on plenty of stores by local sign writers.

This print shown left is one of the largest that the students have produced measuring 140mm across and being 150mm long.   This print took forty five minutes to complete, used 23g of filament to complete the project.   According to the Bambulab software the projected cost of the project was 0.55.    

Using Tinkercad to AR/VR Designs

 

We have started into the school year completing some basic tasks with the students focussed around producing their first design steps.   We are again using the #Tinkercad app for design in conjunction with the students with their iPads.     We are very fortunate to be a 1:1 iPad school as well as an Apple Distinguished School.

There are a number of reasons why we have used Tinkercad consistently for over ten years in the classroom and with our students.      It is a multi-layered design tool which the students take to (in terms of designing, creation and innovation) quickly and successfully.

One aspect of the design tool that we have used extensively with students (a reminder that we have a year 4 class of eight year olds for 2026, last year it was combined with seven and eight year olds) is the ability for students to AR/VR their designs while in Tinkercad using the Tinkercad App.

There are a number reasons that we do this primarily it allows the students to test the visibility of their designs but it also creates the potential for a further range of innovation with the use of technology.   Our first steps for 2026 have been to combine the AR/VR function to look at our stencil activity - shown in these pictures in the classroom and outside on the deck (one of the awesome things about the AR/VR aspect of Tinkercad is there is no green screen required).  We have also begin work for the year by looking at both our country and the mountain that dominates our region and our school.

We have 3D Printed both of these objects as we have previously posted about, but with the .stl file which are both prints we are able to share them with the students.   They are able to manipulate, shape and create using these files and the app.

In the example shown left students have taken the map of New Zealand and projected it onto the swing in the playground, to make it further stand out, its colour has been modified and then a screenshot has been taken with the students iPad.   The students have been encouraged to think about interesting and creative locations where they can project both images and also to think about 'super sizing' the prints so they dominate the areas around the school.

By sharing ideas and creations with the students (such as the photo shown left, which is the map of New Zealand on the 'wall' of the classroom) the students are both developing their own skills and also working with something that they are able to familiarise themselves with.

This task is being completed by juniors - which is seven and eight year olds however we have had students as young as five able to pick up the concept and use it as a challenge.   You can read numerous examples of this process and how we have used it by searching this blog and using the label 'AR/VR' or you can click on the link to an example here.

3D Print School is now operating via Facebook

 

We have been running this site on blogger for over ten years and it has remained relatively static.   This year we are branching out into several other media formats.   The intention at this stage is to continue to use this as a primary site of publishing but also use several other formats as well.   We are going to use this site for some of the 'best of' posts which will be reposted on Facebook and new material will be posted on both sites.

You can locate the Facebook version of this page at the following location

The page is currently called 3D Print SchoolNZ

3D Printing Week Two in the Classroom

 

What happened in the classroom during the second week (in four classroom days, afternoons only) in regards to Digital Design?

Students continued to develop and explore possibilities with Tinkercad.   The focus was on using the program in two groups.

Cohort Two were working on the start of their AR/VR designs for the year.   They have been working on projects such as the farm house repair - in the example shown left the student has applied their skills to start to look at potential to create a 'flip' for the roof.   Other students are working on the doors and attempting to work out a way to have them swinging on a basic hinge.    You can follow this project by using the label tag 'AR/VR Exemplar' or clicking on the link here.

We have completed the badge projects detailed last week.    Selected students have returned to them independently and created more advanced layers.  In the example shown left the student wanted to opt to add in a basic shape with a different hole section and finally added a butterfly - the wings required some rafting but the teacher was able to remove this successfully.   You can read details of this project by clicking on the link here.   You can look at a multitude of badge designs by using the 'label'.

Last year we wrote at length about a project from the students to solve an issue around our school.   One of the issues where we identified that the 3D Printers could prove a practical solution was to the areas of our school verandah where we had birds nesting and bird infestations.

Due to the shape of the building and the connections there are protected gaps where birds have been repeatedly nesting, which is directly above an area where our students eat their lunch and sit during break times.   This area can be affected by bird waste as they are nesting.

We were able to use our iPads, the measure app and the Tinkercad app to create customised 'bird block' to prevent access to this area.  We have been identifying where these have gone, applied contact cement to glue them in place and are observing what now happens as a result.   We know that the 3D Printer is robust enough to allow the prints to be drilled through should the prints require a further way to secure them but at this stage this appears to be extremely successful.   You can view the original problem, potential solution and students progress by clicking on this link here.

Revised Junior School Stencils

 

Revision One: The student whose work featured yesterday conducted testing with their stencil.   They worked with another student and produced a second stencil - all of the shapes that are shown here are featured from the basic Tinkercad interface.   

The dimensions of the updated stencil remain similar to yesterday and crucially the width (1mm) and the print time (twenty five minutes) remains the same.

The task being completed the student is moving onto the second challenge in the series, including their name as part of the stencil and also including a design unique to the student created using the 'stencil' icon.

This is a first attempt that is the first to feature a student working on the block lettering for their name.   In this example the student choose the block lettering for their name and used the edit feature to increase the size of the lettering.   There are currently only four text types/font available for use with Tinkercad  however students have the option of increasing their depth, width and making the features 'sharper' which suits this print.   The dimensions of the print are slightly different from the original as it is a more box shape, this being 120mm by 120mm.  Again however the width of the print (1mm)  is such that the print took less than thirty minutes to complete. 

Revisiting Stencils from 2025

 

Challenge: For students to produce an original stencil that could be used for an art design.

Background: We attempted this in November 2025 and it proved to be a popular challenge for the students.  At the time we had a number of other projects that were taking place and it was always going to be something to revise at a later date.

The idea was relatively straight forward.   By using the Tinkercad main interface available via the program (or the app) students were able to locate the 'hole' icon.   This allows students to pull a hole though a solid shape.  In this case it creates a stencil effect.   The biggest issue was the thickness of the potential stencil.   In the case shown above the Bambu H2D is able to produce a stencil that is 1mm thick - which allows a minimum print time for the project but has enough strength that it can be used as a functional stencil.

Not all of the stencil shapes were successful - the house which can be viewed on the Tinkercad screenshot which is in the bottom left did not have the correct linking on the inside of the print so when the print was removed from the printer this part of the print did not survive the process (and created the shape which you can see bottom right in the photograph).   

The student is now going to refine the design, think about what other shapes might be able to be created, including some specific challenges (see below).

Level of Difficulty: This is low as it is another introductory task.   The concept or key idea to use with the challenge is the hole tool.   This can be mastered easily by the (seven and eight year old students) and then applied to their general designs.    The shapes can be sourced from the Tinkercad library, or in the case of the house the students can use the 'scribble' command to create unique designs.

Size: The key element to the design is its width or thickness which in this case is 1mm.  The print was 150mm long and 86mm wide or tall.   To aide in the printing time the stencil shapes are essentially hollow so that part of the plate/design does not print.

Cost/Price: To complete this stencil used 12g of filament.   Using the Bambu Lab Studio information we can determine that the cost of this print was $0.30c.  A word of caution - this was completed using the Bambu H2D it might be beyond the capability of some 3D printers to complete the details.

Timeframe: The print took 25 minutes to print making it one of the shortest prints that we would be completing - of course this is primarily due to the width of the print.   It makes it a potential task to complete with a class of students.

What we do next/Next steps for the students: The key issue with a print like this in the early stage is the detail from the students.   They are able to complete this task easily but it is the unique nature of the task where the potential lies.   Students could use the scribble command and create a specific design - in this instance the student did not use a 'font' but could have easily done so to create their name, or the name of their school as the centrepiece.   It is also considering what patten the stencil might be used for, while obviously some kind of tessellation is easily achieved perhaps the student could have an art piece in mind prior to their Tinkercad design and they then complete it with this in mind.

This is a post that will be updated when further students have completed their designs.

You can see additional work based around this process and concept by clicking on the link here from November 2025 or a design involving spray painting from 2024.

2026: Using Tinkercad for AR/VR Building Design

 

We have posted extensively in the past about how we are increasingly using Tinkercad and the Tinkercad App to AR/VR students designs for the purpose of prototyping.

This means that prior to potential printing students can apply a design, consider it, rework and potentially then reflect and design - with 3D Printing being the final potential step.

We wrote last year after school finished that we had made a series of purchases for potential classroom projects - including the design shown left.

In this instance the students decided to start with potentially one of the basic designs - a door to work in conjunction with the structure.  Apart from a basic design  of the door the challenge for the student is to consider the design of a hinge.  There is a small bracket which is on the door frame on the right.  In the example shown left the student (who is eight years old) has used the app and then projected the image into the design to see if it 'looks right' and therefore can advance further with the design, make adjustments or reconsider their approach.   The key area of the design is the hinge and allowing the ability for the door to be open and closed.   Students are aware from completing the 'badge' process that the anticipated print time for this project is in the region of thirty minutes.

3D Printing Lore #6- Dont Underestimate the Students

 

3D Printing Lore #6- Don't Underestimate the Students

We are currently two days into the school year - after two brief sessions of students from our school using #Tinkercad to complete designing task students have been able to complete the following designs, which we have now printed.  In the case of our 2026 class the students are developing their work based around using their iPads, the App and then completing the designs themselves.

In both cases shown here the students have already produced these as individual projects - the teachers sole role with the project has been to print the projects.  Moving forward I will be looking for as many opportunities as possible to use provocations with the students and I look forward to watching their ideas develop.

Previously with regards to lore or challenges:

#1. You don't need more than a single printer to print in a school environment.

#2 You don't need to 3D Print all of your students 3D Printing projects

#3 3D Print using glow-i-the-dark or other filament is easy

#4 Juniors can 3D Print just as well as seniors

#5 The teacher is aware

3D Printing First Novice Print of 2026

 

Challenge: For an eight year old to produce their first independent project.

Background: As noted elsewhere on this blog, this is the first challenge for the students in the classroom.  All work described is being completed independently using just an iPad with no previous experience in the use of Tinkercad.

Level of Difficulty: Low - this is an introductory task for students completed in thirty minutes from start to finish by an eight year old who hasn't used Tinkercad before.

Size: The print measured 90mm across was 90mm high and 5mm wide.   It is made this size as it is intended for the student to use it as a bag tag.   If it was a key ring it would not be suitable.

Cost: This was completed on the Bambu H2D.  Using the Bambulab software we can determine that the print used 18g of filament to be produced and it had a projected cost of $0.44c.   Regular white PLA was used to complete this print.

Timeframe: The completed time for the print was 32 minutes.  It was part of a class set where we were realistically using the main school printer to print a set of fifteen projects over the course of two days.  It was intended to get a project completed by a student, get them excited and get them thinking about future possibilities.

What we would do differently/Next Steps for the students: Nil - completed as hoped.  We used students who had experience from last year to use Tinkercad and also a Flipped video from this site.

3D Printing Week One in the Classroom

What happened in Week One of Auroa Primary School for 2026 in regards to Digital Design:

To complete work in the first week of school students used their iPads and accessed the Tinkercad website to log into their online design accounts, used the Tinkercad software and created their first designs.

Currently we have not used the Tinkercad app or completed any AR/VR work.

Cohort One: This is the new group of students to the classroom who have had no previous experience with using Tinkercad. They are eight year olds who are developing and exploring their use of Tinkercad for the first time this year. They have a regular iPad to create all of their designs. One of the students has access to their own 3D Printer however they are using it more for printing pre-made items rather than original design at this stage.

We were able to assess their efforts by using the Tinkercad Classroom Interface.   An effort was made to print as many of these initial designs as possible to give the students a physically created print to think about and have as an output.    As non of the prints were sized to take more than one hour (on the Bambu H2D) and there were 15 students in this group this was achievable.

Cohort Two: Students (eight years old) who used Tinkercad for one year.   These students had grasped many of the principals and ideas and used Tinkercad actively for some time.   For these students we allowed them to tutor or help the other students on the first day and on the second day start the rebuild of the toy farmhouse to replace the doors etc.   They were measuring, designing, checking and then problem solving to think about a hinge and how the door might be able to be swung open.  For the purpose of sizing the students used some examples of the name badges. We are hoping that this will lead to the sharing of ideas with the other group of students once they have completed designs. It is our intention to complete another seperate lesson next week for both groups before combing challenges from this point forward as all the students will have the fundamental design skills that are required to start working on projects. Next week we want to focus on the 'stencil' idea from last year as we want the students to master the concept of using 'hole' to insert and modify basic shapes.

3D Printing 101: Class Prints Cohort One

 

For the start of the school year we are aiming as quickly as possible to use our block of afternoon to introduce students to Tinkercad and begin the process of having the students develop their skills.

For the first challenges we have two distinct groups of students.   The first are the students who spent last year in the classroom and have worked with Tinkercad for a school year.

The other group of students are novices who have not used Tinkercad previously.   We are a 1:1 iPad ADS School - we are very fortunate that every student has an iPad.   The students have a class Tinkercad account and use it to design.    The first task should be very familiar to regular visitors of this blog - we typically call it 'badge' and you can of course use the search bar top right to locate many previous examples.

The core learning was done via the students utilising the 'experts' in the classroom and also the flipped video that we mentioned yesterday.   This tutorial video is the number visited page on this site - 

The intention is to up skill the students.   Once the task was completed we checked the criteria with the students prints.   We looked at the composition, the balance and the criteria.    Students needed to have their name on the design, a shape and a hole to create the purpose for the print.

We allocated thirty minutes for this time to include the design, and then reviewing the design in Tinkercad.   We did not use the AR/VR function of the design at this point but were able to rotate the students designs and creations.

The class currently consists of twenty students.   There are fifteen students in the cohort who are starting to design.    Each of the prints have a different completion time as the sizes vary but in the example shown left the print measures 90mm by 90mm and is 8mm wide.

In this version shown left the student opted to have their name sunk down into the design, instead of sticking out, this again is something of a design 'trick' of 3D Printing designs while the obvious design would be to pull the letters above the base line in this example as a design feature.   Once this was completed the second part of the challenge was to complete the process again for another person (so it could be assessed differently from the first) and include two additional features.   This had the students starting to understand the concept of using the shapes and design contained within Tinkercad.

3D Printed Mt Taranaki Progression

 

We have started using the print that we discussed yesterday as our first AR/VR task for the year.   We have detailed in the past how we have used this function of Tinkercad and the Tinkercad App to project images around our school - including making them supersized to show details and features that might otherwise not be noticed.

This is the 3D Print of our local Mountain that we are working through with our students.   We started discussing how we can develop this idea, this display and think about the features and how we might present it to our classroom and school.

The mountain is a hugely iconic local image that dominates the landscape and our community.   In the image shown below the model of the mountain being held in front of the mountain itself - the mountain is currently obscured by cloud cover - however we will repeat the process when the conditions are suitable. 

Already with discussions with the students some of the features of the mountain have come up as part of the physical model being available.

We are going to use the .stl file for all students to be able to produce an original AR/VR image of the mountain and project it around the school creating a visual display to start off the school year.

At the same time we are also undertaking our very first 3D Prints and original designs - we have spilt this into two distinct cohorts.   The first group of students have begun the process of working on the AR/VR and the functional repair of the 'Farm Building' that was purchased from a thrift shop which has a number of elements needing to be repair and replaced.

The second group of students is following a flipped video concept from 2019 - this is a fundamental skills starting with the use of Tinkercad where the students create a basic design.   This post here is amongst the most popular on this site.

3D Printed Mt Taranaki

This is the view from outside our school - just before the start of the 2026 school year.

Mt Taranaki is in the picture which is an iconic and hugely significant local dominating feature.  It is also a prominent part of our Mihi Whakatu (greeting) that our students need to be able to identify and recite for a foundational part of our school.

We wanted to try and think of other ways to show and connect to the mountain for our students.   We were able to locate a .stl file of the mountain and print it out by sourcing it via Thingiverse.  This is one of several sites that has a considerable number of freely available files in a range of topics.   We wanted to locate the .stl file as this is the primary way to import files into Tinkercad.  By having the print in Tinkercad we can do several tasks.

Firstly it allows the students to experience and hold a physical topographical map of the mountain and point out areas of significance.   In the case of the mountain we have the main peak and another peak that is part of the mountain but on our side.

We also of course now that we have the .stl file have the ability to use the Tinkercad App and AR/VR the mountain into different locations around the school and to look at it in terms of turning it into some kind of art project.

Finally again as we've been doing recently we used the glow-in-the-dark filament to complete the project.

The print was completed using the Bambu H2D - it took two hours to complete, used 47g of filament according to Bambu Studios used filament that was worth $1.20.

3D Printed Map (of New Zeaaland)

 

This week we're returning to school in New Zealand - Auroa Primary School is back this Thursday with a new wonderful group of students.  One of the first activities is based around where our students are from and what is important to them.

We are looking at the possibilities of including some AR/VR design and 3D Printing into it.   Two things of importance are the map of New Zealand/Aotearoa as we look at our location and where our students are from.

This ,stl image was sourced from Thingiverse and printed in under one hour.   It is able to be printed as shown and has considerable geographic accuracy.   It is not complete - there are issues with Ninety Mile Beach/Te Oneroa-a-Tone and Stewart Island/Rakiura.

The print will give our students an aspect to think about their location and where we are from.   We also want to think about how we might use this as part of a design to feature or display something in the classroom hence the decision to complete the print with glow-in-the-dark filament.

The print measures 20cm from the bottom to the top is 40mm wide for most of the print - and 60mm at the widest point.    The print is only 10mm thick in most places - it was stretched further however this tended to have the peaks looking out of scale.   We are going to look at the opportunity to back it onto something such as a piece of MDF.

3D Printed iPad Stand: Revised

 

Challenge: This was part of our 2025 School Market Day projects - the group that was based around creating and developing iPad and iPhone stands.

Background: Students in the junior classroom who were seven and eight year olds used the Tinkercad app to develop of range of iPads for order.   They used the basic template that was available on template and then used the design tools to remodel and develop the designs.

The degree of difficulty varied depending on the design - you can see examples of this work here which featured on this blog in 2025 - including the 'Willy Wonka' design which this 2026 remix was based on.

As a point of interest this print was printed with super glow-in-the-dark filament.   


Level of Difficulty: This design was created independently by students (and modified by the teacher later) and is based heavily on the Tinkercad template - which some adjustment.   To a student who is capable of using Tinkercad and the Tinkercad app the design would only take a few minutes to personalise.  This would rank as a medium level task for students to complete independently.

Size: As this intended to hold an iPad successfully the dimensions of the print reflect this.   The print measures 140mm across and is 120mm long.  The base is 20mm thick.   The backing plate at the back is 140mm high, 135mm wide and was also 20mm thick.   This print was completed with a base infill of 20% (which is essentially the standard for every print ever published on this blog).

Cost: This is a significant print - including 'rafting' to support the print as it is being completed (although like most Bambu H2D prints it is minimal) the print used 238g of plastic.   This meant that the cost of the print was just over $6.00 NZD.   It would have been slightly higher as super-glow-in-the-dark filament was used (although this is minimal).    We were charging $8.00 for items like this at our School Market Day to cover the entire project and costs.

Timeframe: This is one of the significant Bambu H2D School projects that we are printing - and the purpose of the print reflects that.   While some of the phone stands have come in at the two to three hour mark this print took six and a half hours to print.    

What we would do differently/Next Steps for the students: 

We mentioned at the time of the School Market Day but the students would have been able to make more of an impact if they had shown and demonstrated some of the stands prior to the event - we have found that they have had a very positive reception since and tend to be something that has an actual functionality to them (as opposed to for instance being something static or a 'toy').   While this was a remix of an existing project it is anticipated that there will be additional versions of these that will take place in the coming school year, which starts this Thursday.