3D Printed iPhone Stand: Imperfection Project

 

Challenge: To produce a unique iPhone stand.   As this was part of the 2025 School Market Day the focus for our students in this case was on innovation, creation and personalisation.

This task was created by a eight year old student using their iPad and the Tinkercad App.  The student also used the Tinkercad App to AR/VR their design.

Background: This print is going to be used as a teaching point this year - due to its imperfections and details there are a number of points of interest.

Lego Lettering cluster (viewed from the front of the design).   This was designed to be built around a lego brick as the centrepiece.  The clustering of the 'Lego' lettering looks untidy and is overlapping in places.  This needs to be reimagined and discussed with the students about how the lego brick could feature more details and address the spacing.

The lego layering on the top of the iPad.   The spacing between the studs is not consistent, some of them are also not in a line.  By discussing with the students we would like them to think about how they could replicate the stud so that it was even and spaced correctly.

The back of the iPad stand has a lego face figure.  While the figure is distinctive it could have some further adjustment (the eyes are slightly out of balance) the general dimension of the figure itself.

The overall dimensions of the print need to also be looked at and potentially addressed.   This print was obviously printed in glow-in-the-dark filament as a further discussion point for the students.

Level of Difficulty: Medium this task was completed independently and needs revision, so would something that would need a longer timeframe than an a basic task.

Size: The print base at the front measures 120mm across at the front and is 90mm long.  The thickness of the base is 5mm.   The panel at the back is also 120mm across however it is 10mm thick and 120mm high.

Cost: The iPad used 60g of filament to complete the print.   This was identified as costing $2.10 of PLA according to the Bambu studios costing software.   There would be a slight increase due to the nature of the PLA.   

Timeframe: The print took two and half hours to complete on the Bambu H2D.   Given the details of the print this is not something that we will intend to complete using the Snapmaker.

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

This project is intended as a project where we can discuss what needs to be addressed and what could be reworked.  It is printed as such and intended there is considerable level of revision for this print.

We anticipate that we will be updating this print later in the school year.   Our students are currently on their end of year holidays in New Zealand and will be returning shortly to school - we will back from our break next week with the students and should be posting shortly after that.

3D Printing Overview: Site Posters

 

These posters are summary posters of this site, highlighting some of the more significant projects and posts from the last twelve months.   Each QR code from the poster is linked to one of the summary posts on this site.   This is also going to be available as a file via Facebook and other formats.

3D Printed Money Box - 2025 Edition

 

Challenge: For student to produce an original money box using Tinkercad to complete the process.  Student was an eight year old designing independently.

Background: This was the last week of school where the students had time to explore the possibility of what they might be able to create.   We had the students construct, build and develop a range of prints and during the end of year break (which is occurring now) we selected a number of prints that have value moving forward.  In this instance while the design is simple and straightforward we believe that it will encourage other students to develop their creation skills - and for students who will require more of a challenge there is the issue of the student designing a way to lock the box and have a underside base panel for access for what is put into the box.

As can be viewed by the photographs showing this design the print was completed using glow-in-the-dark filament this was done just to give the project a novelty factor, it was not required for the print in general.

Level of Difficulty - Low at present, but the potential is clearly there for an upgrade based around how this print might be refined and reworked.  The student in this case was an eight year old who had been using Tinkercad for the year so was confident to work independently to complete the visible access of the task.  The face design is relatively basic and the details could have been developed further.  The hat has featured a number of times in various prints this year and is available as an item search on Tinkercad.

Size: The print measures 100mm wide, was 75mm deep and 60mm high.   The hat extended a further 40mm from the corner of the box upwards.

Cost: Using the software that is present with Bambu studio the print is determined to use 130g of PLA to complete the project and the cost of these PLA was identified as being $3.27.   Of note as this was completed with the Bambu H2D and there was a minimal amount of waste PLA with the print.

Timeframe: From the dimension of the print and the details of the print it was a significant print - it took four hours and forty five minutes to complete, which makes it using the Bambu H2D one of the larger prints that we completed during the school year.

What we would do differently/next steps for the student: As can clearly be shown left the student has yet to complete the underside base panel to secure items to go into the money box.   This is not as simple as it seems as the student needs to develop a locking mechanism to work within the dimensions that have already been printed.   This would be a task that a number of students could complete.    As noted previously the details on the top of the box, such as a the face could have further additions made to it.   The balance between adding details and not overpowering the print is also an issue that would need to worked out.

This was a 2025 design that was a reworked 2024 money box - view it by clicking on the link here.

3D Printed Cookie Cutter V3.0

 

Challenge: For students to create a original, unique cookie cutter with a 'festive' theme.

Background: This challenge was undertaken by the students prior to the end of the 2025 School year here in New Zealand.  The challenge was using the idea for the students to design a cookie cutter that could be used to create the festive themed design shown left.

The student used the basic geometric shapes to create the image of the tree and used the scribble tool to design the base of the tree.   The handle to press the shape was created using two layers of geometric shapes, cylinders and rectangles before the final layer in place consisted of another cylinder and finally a ball at the top.  

Although this sounds somewhat complicated the student was an eight year old student who was able to work independently to complete the task.  

Level of Difficulty: Medium - this task was able to be completed but the elements needed to work in conjunction with each other.   The other issue is the size, although this would appear quite large (see below) the students would be better suited for a larger item than a smaller one.

Size: The print measures 190mm high and was 140mm wide.   The print was 10mm thick/wide for the sides.   The handle extended 100mm from the base of the design.

Cost: According to the Bambu inbuilt software 54g of filament was used to create this print and and the cost of the print was $1.35.   

Timeframe: This print was completed in ninety minutes using the Bambu H2D on the standard default settings.

What we would do differently/next steps for the students: Although it isn't obvious there is a design aspect of this print that needs to be addressed.

As shown clearly left there should be on the underside of the print a 'blade' or 'cutting edge' that was created by having an additional ledge added to it (as it stands at the moment it cuts by squashing.   The other issue was the detail of the design that went with the shape.  The theme was festive and the student made a wise choice choosing such a simple image - however it was clear that they could have used more detailed layering to show the levels of the tree and the base in particular looked quite basic.

There is also the potential for the idea to work in other formats in particular with a stamp or something similar.   This design was a previously visited print and idea.

You can click on this link here to find out additional information about this print challenge for the junior students. To view additional projects related to this topic you can use the search bar top right and use 'cookie' as the keyword or you can click on this link to see further examples from 2025.

3D Printed Cup Coaster - with 'scribble'

 

Challenge: To produce an original item for consideration for market day 2025.

Background: This was one of the ideas that students had at the time when we were planning ideas and designs for our school market day in 2025.   This was an original prototype that the students created that subsequently didn't advance past the planning stage, however once the year was completed we started looking at projects that were otherwise not developed due to time constraints such as printer machine availability.

This design was recently identified as having potential and will be something that we will look at developing with the class of students who will be starting in February of 2026.  In this example the students utilised the design template (something that you could easily push out to the entire class via their Tinkercad accounts) and then added the design that is shown in the middle of the coaster.

The middle design was created by a eight year old student using the 'scribble' tool which allows the free creation of a particular shape and then applies it into a design.   In this case the student has opted very sensibly to sink the design into the base of the coaster (as of course having done so it doesn't affect the balance of the cup).

In this example the lip of the holder extends 7mm however this could easily be increased which would increase the stability.   Personalisation of this design is also a very obvious next step for the student.

Level of Difficulty: This is low as the base of the design was located by the student, downloaded and then added to.   Creating the layering required to make a coaster is a very simple two step process, as is the decoration in the base.   The eight year old was able to complete this independently without any teacher input.

Size: The print measured 110mm across was 10mm thick.  These dimensions worked perfectly for a regular cup however the obvious potential would be to customise this design in either direction (including super sized) depending on the requirements.

Cost: Using the Bambu Studio auto costing information the print uses 34g of filament.   The cost to produce a print with this filament is 85c.   For a standard roll of filament that would be 1kg costing $30.00 we would be able to produce 29 of these prints - which given the potential cost (and print time) would mean it would be a potential market day future item.

Timeframe: The print took under one hour to print (55 minutes).   Obviously any adaption of the size of this print would cause an adjustment to the time.   This was also completed with the Bambu H2D using a standard printer (such as the Snapmaker) would mean that we would expect the print to take twice as long (and there also likely to be less definition with the shaping).

What we would do Differently/Next steps for the students: This is potentially an excellent introductory task one that realistically a class could complete  as the print time is not impossible to imagine that it could not be completed during the course of a week.    

3D Printing History: Revisiting Previous Past Projects

 

We have mentioned that the quality and details that are produced by the 3D Printers that we use at school has increased significantly over the course of time.   Even in the short space of the last few years the quality, speed and detailing that is possible has increased significantly.

By using Tinkercad as a design tool for the students and in particular the classroom option the students accounts are still managed by the school - which means the designs previously created by the students are still accessible.

In particular there are designs and creations that previously were created that we are now in the process of revisiting.  An example that we are currently looking at is this design shown left.  Originally it was designed by a student in May 2024.   In both cases the print was completed with glow-in-the-dark filament - however when the two prints are compared to each other there is a clear difference from the quality of the finish.

The original finish is shown left.   The new version was completed by the Bambu H2D while the original (left) was the Snapmaker machine.   We have indicated that in 2026 we intend to be using the Snapmaker occasionally and the vast majority of the prints will be completed on the Bambu H2D.

The difference is particularly clear around the lettering on the print - which is much more detailed and sharp using the Bambu H2D.   The other significant factor is the time concerned.   With the Bamhu H2D the print time is fifty minutes - significantly under the original time.

The process is now to review the last three years of classroom designs (2023-2025) and identify projects or prints that were not attempted previously or where attempted but the details proved to be too challenging for the technology at the time.   We also have limited prints that date back much further than this, with the original .stl files to a number of projects and as a point of interest we will be selecting some of these to run them again using the newer printers.

It is still just under two weeks until our 2026 School year starts with our new classroom, we will be returning to our regular schedule of posting from then, thank you for your visit in the meantime.

2026 Ideas Box

Each year we look to start by having the students experience some 3D Prints that have already been made - if you are a regular follower of this site you will recognise some of the hundred or so projects that make up this box.

They are a mixture of prints in different media using both the Snapmaker machines and Bambu H2D which have been designed or located by our students.

The students are able to play with the designs look for ideas and generally use it as a resource box.   We have of course further information and details about all of the projects because nearly all of them have featured on this blog in one form or another.

3D Printing Lore #5 - The Teacher is Aware

We've been looking at some basic facts about 3D Printing that might be discussion or talking points for individuals (teachers) or adults or groups who might dip their toes into 3D Printing from a practical stand point and considering some of the obstacles.   Every school has a different situation a different set of circumstances that dictate how projects might work which could be simple as resources or ongoing funding for something as basic as PLA.   We have a focus on creation and innovation at our school and are incredibly lucky that we can use the technology in a way that we do.   

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

Each of these four points has a small post about examples of how you might approach the concept or the challenge that it could face.   The fifth 'lore' concept for 2026 is 'The teacher is aware'.

The skill set that a teacher needs to create or encourage 3D Printing needs to be an awareness but not a mastery or experience to any particular level.   While teaching and encouraging creativity are incredibly important in teaching any part of the curriculum the practical terms is that the teacher in this case is not particularly skilled in designing or creation.  Over time an awareness of what might work or what might not work has become a bit more obvious (although as the technology improves drastically as the machines improve as shown from what the students were doing in 2014 compared to what students have been completing in 2025

One main reasons for this site is to encourage the use of technology within classroom and school environments and locations.    Hence examples like this slideshow below - it is intended to allow a teacher with minimum experience to complete the process of creating ear rings with a class of students, in this example the class who worked on this project was seven and eight year olds however it is quite possible that this could work on a variety of levels.   It was intended as a basic 101 project for someone who might be working on 3D printing with students for the first time:

 

 Note from the author of the blog:

This site was always intended as a way to share the use of technology - it was originally just a 3D Printing site but as the technology has evolved over time (yes we really did start posting in 2014) other options have become available to the point now even the name of the site is in question.   Originally it was only ever going to be a 'blog' as this teacher had previously worked on successful class blogs in the past (this archive clsas blog for example has now had 1.3 million page views and is more popular now when active) however recent events have meant that we are preparing to launch on several other formats in the near future, although the intention is for this site to remain more or less the same, at least at the time of writing this (January 2026).  

3D Junior Printing: Angel Exemplar

 

Challenge: To use Tinkercad and scribble to create a unique decoration/cookie cutter.

Background: During Christmas 2025 we had a range of projects that we were working on as the year came to an end.  We also wanted to look at projects that students could complete independently and also potentially festive, and this design was made as part of the cookie cutter challenge for our students.

While some students had worked on complex designs including versions that included handles, such as the examples that were shown in these posts.   This student is a skilled designer and was able to consistently able to produce creations and prints of the highest quality.   This design was deliberately kept as simple as possible by the student - balancing the shape and the viability of the design.   This was created in under ten minutes by a seven year old student.

This would be an ideal introductory task for a student starting to work on a 3D Printing challenge.    It was completed with an iPad and followed a similar process to some of our earlier design.   The student wanted to consider using this design as also a bunting - hence the reason that it was printed using super glow in the dark PLA.

Level of Difficulty: Low.   This would be a basic introductory task for someone with students starting 3D Printing if you are a teacher looking for a first step with 3D Printing this would be a great place to start.

Size: This print was 60mm high, 50mm wide and 10mm thick.   This was quite a small design however it could easily be up-scaled to something similar.   Resizing would have taken the student just a few seconds to drag and drop the design.

Cost: We made a conscious decision to use the Bambu H2D printer to complete this task as potentially we would be producing a number of prints (if this would be used as bunting or a decoration).    By using the Bambu inbuilt software we can determine that this print used 6.5g of filament and this was determined to cost $0.16 per produce per unit.   It would have been slightly higher had non glow-in-the-dark PLA used.

Timeframe: Twenty minutes using the Bambu H2D.   Had we used one of the schools Snapmaker the print would have been successful but would have taken twice the time.

What we would do differently/next steps for the students: This was a straight-forward task with a basic simple outcome that was easily completed, although potentially the student could have placed more emphasis on the details involved in the silhouette however this wouldn't necessarily have translated to a better final product.

You can view a post about Cookie Cutters from 2019 here on this blog,  this 'cat' themed design from 2017 a scribble version of a Christmas hat from the same series in 2025, 

Resources for Potential 3D Printing Part Two

As we are preparing to start the 2026 School year later this month we are continuing to look for objects that the students might be able to use in conjunction with 3D Printing and/or AR/VR modelling and creation using iPads + Tinkercad.

Recently we posted about the farm building that we are going to be working on and we have also discovered a range of backgrounds in a department store clearance.

We've another object adding to the group - as we recently purchased from a second hand thrift shop a 'BoomTrix' Kinnetic Launch (as pictured).

The set was broken when it was purchased as several of the stands were missing - and this is what attracted it to being purchased.   As we have a set of objects which are engaging and can promote problem solving the hands on aspect of the design will work potentially like the Dolls House project from 2025.

Currently contained in the set is the taller tower, the bounce pads and the target finish line.   The tallest tower is 270mm high and 200mm wide at the base, but could do with a clearer launch ramp.

Each of the current mini trampolines are 90mm across, there were some cardboard targets and jump options (like a cardboard hoop) that have broken in the process of the use - however these are ideal for a 3D Print based on their size and design.   

We also have the benefit of the packaging of the product which clearly shows the ball passing through a target and the message should be clearly able to give ideas for the students to create.   The use of Tinkercad will allow the students the ability to AR/VR the designs and put it in place with the rest of the objects, which are intended to work in sequence.   Tinkercad also has ability to motion test objects which we could use to simulate the ball bearing dropping before we move towards 3D Printing of the potential additions to the set.

3D Printing Lore - Juniors can 3D Print

 

We've been creating a set of teaching points to consider relating to challenging the thinking of teachers and educators with the use or application at a regular state school.

Previously we've already stated three:

#1 You don't need more than one machine to 3D print with your students at school.  This year we are anticipating using a single machine for our classroom and the majority of the 3D Printing work at our school.

#2 You don't need to 3D print all of your 3D printing projects.  We again this year will be creating and designing a number of projects but not all of them will make it to the printing stage - a number will be published as AR/VR images and other designs.

#3 3D Printing Glow in the Dark - changing filament to a different kind of printing is increasingly simple and adds dimensions, texture and a different aspect to the students designs.

#4 Juniors Can 3D Print.  This blog has gone through several stages of development, starting with its initial years the designs and creations were completed by senior students.   Since 2022 the prints, designs and creations on this site have been generally created by students who are seven and eight years old.

One of the biggest misconceptions that is currently met by many teachers is that 3D Printing is for seniors (older students) and not something that juniors are capable of or necessarily have the skills to complete, which was very much my own line of thinking when I changed classroom levels to the junior school - nothing could be further from the truth.   Students have consistently and constantly shown great aptitude to use Tinkercad to develop and plan, adapt and create a wide range of projects for the most part completely independently of the teacher.

A case in point which we are highlighting now is the 'cyclops' storage print which came as a result of introducing the 'eyes' sticker sheet shown above to the students.   When given to the students as a challenge the idea was to produce a character using an eye as the starting point.

Students in the classroom produced a range of ideas and one of the seven year old students created the design featured on this page.  They did so independently of the teacher, with the exception of the 'eye'.   The concept, the idea, the design and process was all completed by the student who then in turn handed the final .stl file to the teacher for the teacher to print.  There was no input or guidance and was completed by a student in their first year using Tinkercad.

The design took just over one hour to print, details of the full process and how it modified over time can be seen on this post here, followed by the final design which is described here.

Non Printing 3D Printing Ideas: Updated 2025 Slideshow

 

We have published a number of slideshows on this blog detailing various projects and information, we are currently in the process of converting these into Powerpoint presentations and Keynote presentations.

These slideshows have a theme or focus about a range of activities and ideas.   This slideshow is the non 3D printing ideas, that is ideas that are designed using #Tinkercad and destined not to be completed as a 3D Print but another form of publishing including a number of ideas based around using the #Tinkercad AR/VR app option as a publishing option.

School Market Day Ideas - 2025 Overview

Every second year at Auroa Primary School we have a major School event, our School Market Day.  On this day students run businesses with a focus on invocation, creativity and personalisation and we have the local community come to school for the event to purchase items and see what our students have created.   This is a major undertaking for the school.   This slideshow is an updated selection of ideas that the students were involved in creating (from seven to twelve years of age) using iPads and Tinkercad, Mac Books and Sketchup (for laser cutting).   We have also included Sonic Vision Studios amazing summary videos of the events.

We are looking forward to being back at School at the end of January with our new classroom of students with new designs, creations and projects.

Using Resources to Combine with AR/VR

 

3D Printing and Technology design has been an engaging and successful tool to use with the students.    As we been evolving projects and ideas we are always looking for items that would work in conjunction with the technology.  An obvious example from 2025 was the Dolls House Project which combined a physical object with a strong virtual component.  Another was the 'eyes' which became the 'cyclops' challenge which led to the creation of an original storage project.

Some of the items located to use like this has come from 'bargain shops' or second hand shops - like the toy farm that is being used for 'AR/VR project work in 2026.

Just this week, in the holidays in New Zealand at a large franchise store we located another item from the 'clearance' section that should prove very useful with the students this year.   We found two large backdrops.   These backdrops are themed 'Island' with a tropical volcano scene and 'Construction'.   The scale of the these backdrops are large - they measure 1.8m high and are 2/5m wide.  As a backdrop the intention is to put them on a classroom wall and then have the students create something to be placed in front of the backdrop and AR/VR it into place using the students iPad and the Tinkercad app.    The price to purchase both backdrops (it was clearance) was $2.00 each.

2025 Year in Review - Tinkercad Hunt

In October 2025 we had our Auroa Primary School Pet Day - this is the biggest event as part of the school year, where there are a range of activities, one of which is the whimsical diorama build.

We took this as an opportunity to refine our students 3D building skills - by using the dioramas as the background for some unique Tinkercad building!  With the students using their iPads to take photographs of the display the students then used their iPads and the Tinkercad App to create something that could fit into the scene.   When the students had completed the design they then took their iPads back to the diorama and added the creation, the object into the scene virtually and took a photograph of the final result.  This taught the students about the composition and the design details and also refined their design skills.  In the example shown top left in the Christmas grotto scene the 'Snowman' that dominates the front left of the design is not actually there!

This task was completed by a class of seven and eight year olds independently and the slideshow below shows a range of photographs taken by the students on the day.   We will be trying again with this process and this task next year in several forms.

3D CAD Design - Festive Images of Tinkercad Designs 2.0

 

In the run up to Christmas and the end of the 2025 School Year we were setting weekly and daily challenges for our students involving the use of Tinkercad to create a series of designs.

Some of these were 3D Printed projects and increasingly some of these remained virtual designs or images that we have been printing by having the students creating a virtual image - which is then projected using the Tinkercad App, and specifically the AR/VR function, the students iPad and saved as a picture file.    This allows the entire class to complete the task.

We already published some early examples of one of the tasks - which was to make a literal creation of a festive song by creating its 'virtual' interpretation of the title or line from a song.  This was easily created by the students and then led to much explanation and refinement.  For instance the design shown top left was created by a student to show 'Jingle Bells'.    The student also used the motion option on the Tinkercad App which we have used previously to test the viability of the prints to make bells move or jingle.

The example shown left was along a similar theme but was 'Rocking Around the Christmas Tree'.   Although its not particularly clear there are rocks placed around the outside of the design to lead towards the identification of the lyric and the song - although the student could have perhaps increased the size of the rocks so they stood out more clearly.

The student then took this design to the next step where the entire image was projected onto the floor of the classroom, the carpet being shown as the background.  The next step of course was then to place this image into a festive filter.  We have extensively used the Pic Collage app to complete this however there are a number of apps that are able to manipulate and create virtual versions of images or shapes (in this case Tinkercad designs).   This is something that we will be focussing on and working with our students this year when the class returns.  If you would like some examples about other non 3D Printing tasks you can click on the link to our non-printing 3D printing slideshow here.

2025 - Review of Tinkercad Vs. Pic Collage

 

One of the most powerful aspects of using 3D Design and CAD design has been the students ability to combine their creations with other Apps to increase their purpose, design and depth.

In the previous year we've used a combination of apps with the students iPads particularly when we've been working on something that hasn't meant that the 3D Printing part of the project has been easily printable or machines have not been readily available.  You can see examples from previous years of our students using Pic Collage on 'Farm Scenes' created in Tinkercad or using both Pic Collage and Pixton Comic Maker to create an explanation of how our students 3D Printed boats were created. or further examples here from 2024.

In these situations the students are using all of the design skills and creation that their iPads and the Tinkercad App provides but the final output is not necessarily a 3D Print.

We used a range of tasks to complete these - in examples this year we used the 'festive' AR masks with Pic Collage to create a series of festive images.   For example the figure shown left is the final version of a Tinkercad Creation that then had been projected into the classroom to create a interesting background and then had the filter applied to the final image.

This was then converted by the student into the front page for a unique Christmas card.  While this might seem to be a somewhat complicated process the entire task was completed independently by an eight year old student in the course of an afternoon (one hour session) who had their iPad, the two apps and understood the process.   You can see the full details of this task from this blog in November by clicking on the link here.

There are further examples of the overall process which you can access by using the search bar in the top right hand corner of this bar.  We have tag every print and project over the last tern years with various tags and links, so you can find a number of examples and also see the progression of the students work and ideas.   We thank you for your visit to this page - we are not currently at school as we are returning with a newly revamped site and some significant changes as we are on a journey, to the new year in February 2026.

Pic Collage have a range of filters that can be applied to designs - we have a basic subscription to the app at school and typically have a limited number of filters available, however there are a number of apps that offer the same basic idea that they take an image (which of course in this case is an original students design) and then apply additional details, features and depth to the image, the duration of which usually takes no more than a few seconds, such as this other example of a basic scribble design from November 2025.

2025 - Year in Review Involving Minecraft in 3D Printing and CAD Design

 

Our class of students is junior and has some amazing students in the classroom.   One of their favourite learning activities and programmes to use is Minecraft (in classroom of course, Minecraft Education).   During the course of this year we used the combination or similarities between Minecraft and Tinkercad for a range of learning activities that the students were involved with.

The main Tinkercad interface has a range of design tools which include all of the main geometric shapes.  This works in very well in designing the corresponding Minecraft items or animals as they can be replicated accurately and the students have a knowledge about them.   You can see an example of this progress from the screenshot top left when one of the junior school students (who was eight years old) was able to use the Tinkercad program and their iPad to replicate the Minecraft Panda.  You can view an extended description of the process by clicking on the link here from September 2025.

Once we had completed the first wave of these designs we then challenged students to create more depth, more details and add to the process.   The first round of prints tended to be things like creepers and bees which you can view here. 

Further more detailed examples followed such as the Panda shown left (which was then duplicated to show a second Panda, which is a copy of the first).   The student used Tinkercad to design the shape and added the details, then used the colour palette to match with the black and white theme.   This was one of the few designs from this run that we turned into a full 3D Print.  Given the time of the year and other commitments that students had at the time this was always going to be a 'virtual' project as opposed to a 3D printing project.   You can read the full details of this project here.

It goes without saying that for regular visitors to this blog our major school event this year was the 2025 School Market Day.   During this event when we were working through the design and creation process Minecraft and Minecraft accessories featured heavily in the planning process.  Our students found that there was a very significant amount of material online from free domain sites that we have used to source .stl files (such as Thingiverse).

Of our eight class groups one of them was specifically focussed on Minecraft and utilised glow-in-the-dark filament to use in combination with LED lights as described in details in this exemplar post.

We also used Minecraft educations design tool to create our Market Day items - so using Minecraft to create a scale model of a Tinkercad design.  In this instance here we recreated our students model of the iPad stand that was the major item for one of the market day groups.

This allowed the students in a group of four to team build the item and design it as a copy,   You can click on the link here to view this post from November.

Thank you for your visit to this site - as we have stated previously we are currently on our summer break with our New Zealand students and will be returning to the classroom in February 2026 when we will start actively posting with new material.

We also used Minecraft and Minecraft creatures or animals as a basis for a general 3D Printing design.

We made designs such as our original Dolphin which became a keyring which we marketed for Market Day 2025.   This design was further developed with storage ideas based around the design such as the example shown left or a further recent example shown on a previous post here on this blog.

2025 Seniors Market Day - Acrylic LED Nightlight Signs

 

During our school Market Day for 2025 we had a number of innovative and creative projects created by the students of Auroa Primary School.   While our students in the junior school concentrated on using Tinkercad and 3D Printing the senior school worked on a number of projects using the School Laser Cutter.  

One of the most popular items from the entire school was the laser cut acrylic night lights.   The students used their Mac Books and Sketch Up to design the top half of the lights.   We were able to produce a range of personalised and localised lights - that were not available anywhere else.   The base of the light was ordered from a prominent online supplier and done so in bulk.  This allowed the students to produce something of high quality and the price that they charged for this - although the purpose of the Market Day was not a fundraiser it was a combination of innovation, personalisation and creativity.

There are numerous resources available online to complete the process - once the template had been produced the senior (twelve and thirteen) year old students were able to complete these independently.

Thank you for your visit - its the School Holidays in New Zealand, our students are returning to school in February 2026 when we'll be back with another year of activities and projects with our seven and eight year olds.  We look forward to your visit then.

3D Printing School Lore 3: Glow-in-the-dark

 

Recap:

#1 You don't need more than one machine to 3D Print with your students and school! In 2026 we are going to complete all of our projects on one machine.

#2 You don't need to 3D Print all of your 3D Printing projects! In 2025 we started moving away from printing every project and a number of times we used the design process, completed the design but used the Tinkercad AR/VR option as the publishing of the project instead of the physical printing of an object.

There are numerous examples of both of these projects on this blog which you can search for by clicking on the link or using the 'search' box in the top right hand corner of this blog.

#3 - Printing Glow in the Dark Filament is easy! This is something that has evolved over time.   In previous years the printing with specific filament other than regular PLA tended to be something that was avoided.   We sometimes had to store the PLA in air tight containers or clean out the machines once we changed the filament.

When we held our 2025 Market Day we wanted to be able to create a range of interesting prints and challenging for our students - 3D Printing was able to be featured significantly but we wanted to do something a little more interesting and hence the use of 'super' glow-in-the-dark filament.   

Having already ordering various combinations in the past we did so again.   A challenge for you as an educator is to consider what combinations, what differences or what adaptations that you can make by using different filament.   Students have plenty of experience with basic PLA but breaking down the different types available and the different kind of material that can be printed.  To further provide some practical example the video below was created to further illustrate and show the process and examples: 

2025 - The Year in Review: Inter school Challenge

 

In November this year as we started the process of wrapping up the year in design and creation we gave the students various challenges based around several themes.  One of these was an inter school challenge.  In this we choose a school and looked at finding out information about the school - but in particular we wanted to focus on looking at producing a likeness or a model of their logo.

Auroa School has a Pukeko as its current mascot.   We have attempted to replicate this ourselves to varying degree of success and we have also looked at other local schools with complicated logos and designs, although in some cases we opted to use the Roland Versa Sign Maker to ensure that we could accurately represent the logo.

In this instance we choose another ADS the Gardens School from Manurewa.  We published two significant post about the process at the time.   

The first phase of the project was looking at the school online - we are a rural school in South Taranaki and the students were interested in the differences with a urban school in Auckland, New Zealand's largest city.

The logo of the Gardens School is quite distinctive and we spent time with the students using Tinkercad to design the logo.  When the early prototypes had been completed we then spent time to reflect on the design and specifically compare them to the original.   Small details which didn't appear obvious to the students could then be discussed in detail, such as the size of the koru in the design, or the number of 'strikes' or 'flashes' that came off the design.

Once we had started the process the students were tasked with AR/VR projecting their recreated image at different locations around our school.   An example is like shown left where students used their iPads and Tinkercad to project the logo from another school onto our adventure playground.  We also talked with the students about other locations that it might be appropriate to display it at.  This is a process that worked extremely well with our Dolls House Project and also something we are going to complete extensively in 2026.

We have a set of school values at different locations around our school (as shown above the drinking fountain shown left).    In this example students took their 'Gardens School' logo and projected it next to one of the Auroa School values.   When this was then compared back to the original we had a discussion about how the two looked side by side, what adjustments needed to be made etc.

We also spent time looking at the font design and the design of the colour on the design.   While we were looking at a 3D Print, and ultimately did produce a number of them they all came off the same print which was featured on this blog here as this was the best finished product.  This is one thing that we would like to have considered when designing and creation and something that we have come to believe quite strongly that you don't need to produce a 3D Print with every project that you are involved with.   The CAD design opportunities provided with iPads and other technology combined with iPads can mean that there is design opportunities but it doesn't mean everything needs to be printed.  We have created a slideshow of activities that fit this criteria which you can view by clicking on the link here.

One of the awesome aspects of this challenge was that we were constantly able to direct students to what the logo should look like, how it should be represented and how the could define and adapt their designs to fit the desired outcome.

We had a class of seven and eight year olds work on this project as well, a combination of students who had used Tinkercad for two years and novice designers.

Thank you for your visit to this site - we are no longer posting here actively as it is the 2025/6 School Holiday Break.   We are posting reviews, achieves and material that could not be posted during the 2025 School year.   

We are also redesigning and redeveloping this site as well as expanding this digital template as we add significantly to a number of platforms, more of which will be announced in the new year.