3D Printing Rugby Kicking Tee - Prototype

 

Challenge: To produce a useable kicking tee for use in rugby.

Background: This task came about from a student recognising that they could take a current item, in this case a kicking tee and replicate it using Tinkercad and then personalise it.   There is a copy of a similar type item in the Tinkercad interface although it is a kicking tee for American Football.

The first stage of the testing was to take the existing design, to start to modify it and then test it using a regular rugby ball.  The students found that the tee held the ball a particular way easily however they were interested in modifying it so that it would be easier to adjust the degree that the ball was leaning.

The personalisation of the item was very straight forward.   The student put the name of his club on one side of the design and the other side of the design they put their name so that they had an individualised item.

Since the first version shown above the student has already reworked the various lettering and wording around the outside of the design.

Resources used to complete this print: iPad, Tinkercad, regular PLA, Bambu H2D.

Level of Difficulty: Medium: this print started as a regular design found from the main Tinkercad interface search page.   As it was originally from an American Football design the students needed to modify it to ensure suitable for a ruby union football which has slightly different dimensions.   This requires some reworking and adaption of the base design.  The students also are now completing some testing to ensure it can travel and be kicked like a regular tee.

Size: The print currently measures 120mm long and is 93mm wide.   The print is 34mm high mid point.  With revision of the design there will be obviously be some adjustments.

Cost/Price: The print as it stands uses 120g of PLA to complete the print and this currently have a price point of $1.87.

Timeframe: The print as it stands takes two and a half hours to complete including warm up time of six minutes.

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students: The students have really enjoyed the process of getting involved with something that will help with a sport that they are very enthusiastic about.   We have also considered that we might want to complete the print using another form of plastic for the printer to make it more robust such as PETG.

3D Printed Projects in Action: Weekly Summary

 

Five and six year olds at Auroa Primary School are 3D Printing, well they are with the assistance of the experts in our classroom.   We are continuing to buddy up with a range of younger students and start the CAD design and creation process with these 'new' students.    Our students are taking on a mentoring role and starting with the basics.   The students are of course using Tinkercad combined with the Tinkercad App and either our Bambu H2D or P1S to complete a range of short term original projects such as the one shown above - with a thirty minute print time and a $0.35c price point using regular PLA.

We've also starting exposing students to using AI in a positive way as a filter - by taking the Tinkercad design of students, AR/VR the design and then posing with a photo, of the design before the final touches are applied using a filter, in this case Pic Collage however of course Chat GPT is also a viable alternative.

In the example shown left the 'hearts' featured in the design is the 3D CAD Design via Tinkercad.  It has then been projected into the arms of the student who is on the slide in the playground.  Of the playground the only part of the image that has remained is the slide and the poles either side of it.  This is the same slide that was featured in another range of AR/VR work that featured the Ooshie stand although in this example the background was completely different.

We also have set our students another design concept or challenge one that involves the school laser cutter.  Our senior students (Year 7/Year 8) have their Design Education Production (DPE) and as part of it produce this Monster Box.   the print has space for an insert and so the challenge for our students is to use their 3D Design skills to create something that can form storage or an inside of a box.  It needs to be obviously measured accurately and carefully.

It could potentially used to store smaller objects and items (currently thinking is based around jewellery, Ooshies or earrings).

Our students have the MDF chest and will be again using Tinkercad, the Tinkercad App and their iPads for the design.

Finally we're always encouraging the students to bring in objects that we might be able to personalise or adapt not just because they make interesting projects but we also have in mind our upcoming School Market Day (which will be held next in 2027)

One such project under consideration is the moment in replicating this rugby kicking tee - as it is plastic it is close in composition to PLA however the students of course have realised that they can produce their own kicking tee with their individual players name - designed into the side of it.  Further updates for all of these projects will follow.

Physical Trophy Repair: Junior 3D Print

 

Challenge: To repair a thirty year old school trophy. 

Background: This print project was detailed on this blog last week - you can click on the link to the post about the planning and the virtual creation of variations here.  

As we stated we were making it possible for all of the students to have input into the design but the printing of physical trophy tops was going to be limited to prints that would be extremely close as we needed essentially just one.

The first print to meet this criteria is detailed in this post here.  The student used the Netball that they were able to find online as a key element as well a generic star and hoop.   The final part was the 'Netball' heading although this is going to be refined.

Resources used to complete this print: The student used their iPad, the Tinkercad App, the Bambu H2D and regular Blue PLA.

Level of Difficulty: Medium - this in some ways is one of those simple projects that needs to be done really, really well which increases its difficulty.  Its about a thirty year old trophy and it needs to be fitting with the style, purpose and quality of the original.   No easy feat.

Size: This print is currently coming in with dimensions of  60mm across the font a width of 60mm and a height of 80mm.  This will need adjustment for the final print (see the photograph below) the mounting is currently two big for the base that it needs to be mounted on.

Cost/Price: The print at the moment has a usage of 28g of PLA and this has a price point of $0.57c.   This print is being reimagined (see below) so this is going to be adjusted.

Timeframe: The print as it stands took one hour and thirty five minutes to complete.  (see below).

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students: When the 3D Print is applied to the existing trophy it is clear that adjustments need to be made.   The base of the print needs to be adjusted so that it meets the contours of the existing trophy (instead of overlapping).   

The print itself is currently using a default infill (of twenty percent) for the final version of the print this is going to be increased to give the print more weight but also crucially make it more robust.   

The inscription at the moment is currently too generic.  It needs to be specific for the trophy.

The colour of the print needs to be located as a spray paint.   The pieces that are broken despite the appearance is plastic.

Finally the entire process needs to be checked and approved by the senior management of the school as this is something that we are intending to last for as long as possible.

Ooshie Stand: Personalised Example

 

Challenge: To produce a personalised stand for Ooshies or Lego Mini Figures.

Background: This is the follow up from yesterdays post with the generation of ideas follow up.   We are continuing to explore further developments and ideas but to encourage the students with their designs we wanted to print a physical example that could then be used to review the ideas and consider what refinements might be required or considered.   As noted in the post yesterday this was intended for one of two things as a personalised display stand - the scale of which in theory would allow a range of the figures to be displayed.

The figures in the range were measured prior to the construction of the stand - however there is a subtle variation in the size of a lot of the figures and some have arms and other features that stick out from the base meaning that a universal stand needs to take thins into account.  In this example here the student made a slight design error that the last bay, the one with the second star is not the same dimensions of the other three and finding a character to fit in it is going to be one of the issues that the students will need to resolve.  In the example that was used with the run of twenty figures a peg has been introduced for each figure to be held in place.  In this student example the student opted to have a small division between the figures with the name of the person and the stars on either side.

This was done by applying simple fonts and also including the two 'stars' either side to ensure that there was balance and not blank sections of the design.

Finally we are always looking at considerations towards rafting or waste of plastic - there was the underneath of the design here.  A much better option for the student would have been to print the feet of the stand separately so they could glue them to the base post printing so that there would be no need for support - which essentially was nearly half the print.

Resources used to complete this print: Tinkercad App, student iPad, Bambu H2D, Blue PLA.

Level of Difficulty: Medium all of the skills that the student needed to complete the print they possessed and one would anticipate with the refinements and adjustments that they are going to make the print will be successful.

Size: The print currently measures 170mm long is 35mm wide and is currently on four feet that are 10mm high each.   The sections of the print are currently 35mm by 35mm - this will need to be revised, except for the last bay which is 25mm by 35mm and is too small for anything except for the smallest of the Ooshies.

Cost/Price: This print as it stands now uses 35g of PLA to complete the print which has a price point currently of $0.75.   As noted this could be reduced significantly by altering the underside of the print and printing the legs as seperate pieces as the weight of the objects being placed on them is minimal.

Timeframe: Two hours and ten minutes to complete (again as stated if we changed the base it would also halve the total print time.

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students - these have been more or less addressed in the additional information in the print which would affect the output.

Room Seven Auroa Primary School August 2026 Update

 

We're walking on spreading our students design and creation skills by having them mentor another junior school student at Auroa Primary School.   Our class which are the main designs featured on this page are eight and nine year olds, so the buddy students that we are working with are younger than that.    Obviously creating a simple name badge or tag is one of the basic fundamental tasks for our students and we have also been looking at ways to enhance that for the new students - such as producing prints involving 'Super-Glow-In-The-Dark' prints for this basic design shown left.  

In some examples its about the experience of something new, one of the best all time questions about this, from the student who designed it was the question that came the following day when they had a brief catch up about the print - "how long does the batteries last and when do you need to change them?"

We've continued to develop our 'Ooshie Stand/Lego Stand Ideas' to consider ways to display items as detailed here on the post.   We are yet to print out a full set of these for the students but one of the aspects of the project has been using Pic Collage to apply filters to their designs and consider what this design might look like.

This image shown left has an applied filter.   The storage was projected to the base of the slide on the school playground.  The image left shows the slide (blue bottom right hand corner).   The filter has then altered some of the poles and other playground equipment.   The scenery in the top left is the slope that leads down to a 'pump' track for our school.

We've been further exploring more about our 'movement' challenge using Tinkercad to create a 3D Print that has a movement theme.   We have not been able to print every print in these sequence however a number of students have already altered their designs to include a range of ideas, concepts.

This activity shown left involves creating a basic maze.  We've made examples of these before on a small scale in this instance the design is being refined as a virtual design rather than going through several prints first.

The students are considering obstacles that they might be able to include into the design - and a crucial element of this is the ball that will be used to challenge for the activity - while a ball is possible to 3D Print discussions about a rubber ball being more suitable is engaging the students and also involving them in some physical form.

We're also preparing for the NZAIMS Games and while this is a sport based activity which is a month away (and is not technology based) it is however a good opportunity to spread the words and the works of our school.

We regularly leave prints that have been featured on this blog in different locations (around the country) when attending various events (we gift them to schools we visit, when meeting other educators or leave them in public locations) and are going to do this again during the Girls Basketball Tournament.

Ooshie Stand: Generating Ideas

 

One of the areas of excitement at the moment is a group of collectible toys that are available from a local supermarket.   They are collectables aimed at 'encouraging' the purchase at the franchise which then gifts the buyer a range of the toys.  They range in height from 30-40mm and generally 30mm wide.

In this example shown left one of the teachers from our school used Chat GPT to create a model stand for their classroom collection.   The stand was connected via interlocking pieces (and is not glued together).   In this instance the print was completed using glow-in-the-dark filament. 

This inspired our classroom to consider how they might be able to create and design their own version of these and consider how they might be personalised or developed further.   The size of the objects that need to be displayed meant that a small print would be completed for the project.

As we do typically with this kind of design project the first stage is for the students to build a virtual design and then test its viability by using the Tinkercad App to project an image of their own versions into different locations around the school to look at its presentation, scope and scale.  

In this example shown left the student has advanced the teachers design by adding a name on the top of the highest shelf.   The students were then able to share the designs back to each other to consider how they could develop, expand and then further adapt their designs.    Once this has been completed the process of printing out several of the designs will be completed to again use as examples and review them, consider them and help guide and refine their designs.

Update Non-Printed 3D Printed Projects

 This slideshow has been updated with additional activities to focus on 3D Printing activities that don't involve 3D Printing as the final output.   All of the activities that are listed are described in full on this blog at some point.

Motion: VR/AR + Chat GPT

Tinkercad  and its design platform is constantly evolving and changing and during that time the students are constantly finding ways to develop the skills and ideas.   One of the best activities that we have found has been the process by which we've taken images created using Tinkercad and found ways to display or develop them other than the traditional way in which we would present the creation.

The digital image that is available from a Tinkercad screenshot is something that we've already taken the image with and applied it in different context.  One of the best ways that we've done this has been the application of filters to the image.

It will also be possible to use Chat GPT to alter the image as well.

In the example shown left the Tinkercad design has been uploaded into Chat GPT.  With it we have used the screenshot above.  The prompt to that was with the description was to explain how the design work and also how the design might be improved.  The language that has come with the design is something that the student will investigate to see how it compares to the language they might use.

The explanation of how the design works likewise could be compared to its intended purpose.  There is range of generic information that has been created by the process which is included at the base of the design - but it does have a range of suggestions for the student on how they might improve the design.

Again the purpose of this is to consider how we might create a virtual image, how we might test it and develop it to ensure that it is workable and then ultimately what we might consider for the purposes of publishing.

As we have demonstrated in the past visual apps such as Pic Collage have the ability to take the image and manipulate it in a range of settings and motions.   This image shown left is the same basic Tinkercad image which has then had a 'starry night' filter applied to it.

There are a significant number of examples of this process which are featured on this blog - you can view the examples by using the search bar or clicking on some of the links such as this summary post here.

3D Printed Prize Giving Trophy Repair

 

Challenge: To repair a thirty year old school trophy.

Background: We are always looking for opportunities to have our students solve problems or involve themselves in practical related activities - such in this instance this trophy.

The trophy is awarded in the sport of Netball - the trophy has an engagement plate on the back which has been awarded for thirty years.   Despite its sheen and appearance the figure that is on the top of the trophy is plastic - which has had a coating applied to it to make it appear different.   When examined in detail it has been repaired at the base of the players feet already several times.

Netball in itself produces a challenge - Netball is something of a niche sport.   We have been searching for a Netball figure that is available as an .stl file and are currently unable to locate one.   This has meant that the students have experimented with using other figures or concentrating on really generic figures.   We are specifically looking at mounting something on the top of the trophy in the middle, at the highest point.   As a classroom challenge this is something the whole class could easily get involved with.   While the output of the project is a single print.

The montage left shows a design that has then been AR/VR into place using the Tinkercad App (this feature is available to iPad users, not browser users of the Tinkercad online page.

The design left was created by a pair of nine year olds from our classroom in one ten minutes session.  Once they had completed the basic design they then took the original trophy and experimented with background so they could successfully AR/VR the design.

The filers from Pic Collage were then applied to a screenshot from the Tinkercad AR/VR to show the different affects that might be possible with the design.   Not all of the filters were successful as some have a tendency to overwhelm the designs.   The next step with the process for the entire class is to refine their original designs.

The audience for this task is exceedingly important.  We have created a range of trophies in the past.  This year we have already created various trophies and awards and we also have last years exemplar masterclass project which is available to be viewed here.

In the design left students worked on something that looked like it might fit based on size and then once this proved viable or not were intending to expand the process to include more detail.   

The person who commissioned the project is going to review all of the designs and from there select three or four of the designs that they feel meets the brief of the project the best.  Once these have been identified they are going to be printed and then the physical designs will be evaluated and looking at selecting one or two as final projects.  An important aspect of the success of this project is the colour matching - that will be finding a spray painting colour that matches the shine and the appearance of the original design.   

3D Printed Junior Movement Challenge: Early Versions

 

Challenge: Students to design a print that has moveable parts.

Background: This task is one that the classroom is working on at the moment - with the challenge to ensure that their print has at least part that allows motion or movement.  This has been something of an open challenge in that we've given the students the brief and then asked them to create something as a response to the design.   

There were a variety of designs that were created by the students - one of the important aspects of this task was to ensure that students shared their ideas and creations so that they could encourage each other and bounce ideas from one another.   Another important aspect is the testing process - this is usually not done with physical printing of the objects by projecting and using the Tinkercad Apps iPad ability.

An example of this process is shown left.  This print has been projected  oversized and then rotated by the student to see if the print was viable.   The student chose to project it onto the concrete area of our school.   

This as we have mentioned many times before is a technique to allow the students to produce an output from a lesson without the need to have a physical 3D Print that would be challenging to complete for every student.

Resources Used to complete this print: iPad, Tinkercad App, Bambu H2D, Silver PLA, Bambu P1S, Orange PLA (for the internal cogs).

Level of Difficulty: Medium - however this is potentially going to become more advanced (see below).  This was a completed independently by a nine year old student working with six months experience the teacher did not have any input into the process at any point.

Size: The print came in a number of sections.  The boxing for the main container for the print was a square that was 130mm wide.  It was 50mm high.  The print had a width of 5mm on the outside.  The inside of print had the main column that was 80mm tall and 20mm wide.  The cogs had a diameter of 80mm.   The intention was always to have a variety of cogs that were in the middle of the design.   

Cost/Price: The print was significant.  It used 150g of PLA to complete the print.   It had a price point (cost) of $3.00 to complete this print.

Timeframe:  To complete the print the printer ran for five and a half hours.   This was completed on the H2D Printer.   This was completed with standard settings and regular infill (which is twenty percent).

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students: This print is intended as a gateway print.  By printing this print early it is intended to consider for the class what else might be developed.  An obvious feature of this print would be what could be placed onto the main column and some variation of different objects and shapes.

There is some discussion need around the purpose of this print relative to its size.  Students have already considered a version that potentially by its design could be suitable for a cat toy or a small child.   However the students need to investigate the PLA and consider what might happen based on the potential outcome of the print.

3D Printed Junior Challenge: AR/VR Movement

 

This is the companion post to the challenge involving movement from the end of last week, the first physical examples of which are posted on this blog here.

As we have stated a number of times on this blog we are essentially trying to run the entire output of our classroom this year off a single printer.   This produces a challenge for the teacher that the students cannot all physically have their prints produced at one go, and also need to test the viability of their prints and designs.   The way that we do this varies but chiefly we use the AR/VR Tinkercad App feature to project, rotate and size the designs.   When doing so it tends to be very obvious if there are any flaws in the students designs and they can also have fun with how they approach their prints thinking about innovative ways to display them or have them interacting with the environment.

In the example top left a attempt to produce a small dog toy has been oversized and placed on the ramp outside of the classroom.   In the second example shown left a design was placed under a running tap to create an illusion suggested by the running water.

In both instances the students came up with the concept and ideas independently (they are eight and nine year olds) and then projected the image in place with their iPads and used the Tinkercad app to do so.

There are a range of pictures that have been produced with this activity - we are going to take a wide selection of them and put them on the Facebook page that is associated with this blog.  You can locate that by clicking on the link here.

3D Printed Glow-In-the-dark Earrings

 

Challenge: For students to produce an original part of earrings.  

Background: This has been a staple design idea from our students - the size of the prints have meant that its something we've been able to produce in details with volume (such as a class set).  Its featured many times over the years from Market Day projects combining both the 3D Printers and the laser printing.

If you want to see a slideshow with an overview of the entire process and a summary of our projects related to this topic you can click on the link here.  In addition as always there is a search bar on the top right hand corner of the blog - this has the keywords for each of our posts or projects which include the keyword 'earring'.

The decision to print the earrings in glow-in-the-dark was made to pop the designs.   The student concentrated on a single design and then duplicated the design when it was completed.  

Resources uses to complete this print: iPad, Tinkercad App, glow-in-the-dark, Bambu H2D.

Level of Difficulty: Medium - as always this task has elements that makes it appear somewhat simplistic but this is not always the case.  As this was tasked as students to be original the students needed to come up with an original idea that would work and have a high recognition factor - the ice cream idea certainly ticked those boxes for the student.   

Size: Each of the prints from this project measures 45mm across at the front and are 50mm high.   The print is 5mm wide.  The ice creams are 40mm in length height wise.   

Cost/Price: The pair of earrings used 18g of PLA to complete the print.  Using the calculations from Bambu Studios the print had a price point of $0.35 for the pair.

Timeframe: To complete this print the printer took 41 minutes to complete both.

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students: There are a couple of obvious issues with the prints as they stand.  You can see clearly the hole that is visible in the Tinkercad design (the first image) did not translate into an actual hole in the finished print (essentially it was too small and as a result did not register as part of the process).   The two shapes on the side by the ice cream are a little random and the student will evaluate how to wear them.   The print should be robust enough for a hole to be drilled through the design.

3D Printed Junior Challenge: Movement

Challenge: Students had to design a print that was practical (had a size limit of 100mm) and for success criteria had to have movement.
 

Background: This was given as a an open challenge to the students.  We used several examples of interlocking designs that are available online and gave the key criteria that the students designs had to have a moveable part.   The cogs that are shown in the design were sourced from the Tinkercad main interface.  When your students are on the design page there is a drop down search category of a range of items in the shapes library.   There is a range of items that you can bring instantly into your students design -  that are classed as 'hardware'.'   In this instance we wanted to allow the students to focus on the engineering challenge rather than the design.

If we had more time available potentially we could have had the students use a range of tools to develop these shapes as well as the backing and the other details, however our afternoon block where we allocate time in the classroom tends to be forty minutes or so, so our time is limited and this was produced as a prototype on the first attempt.

We found various online fidgets and wanted to look at ways to recreate this.   The print that was undertaken by the student was a first attempt - we felt that there was a large number of factors that needed to be addressed but the best way to do this was a physical version of the print.

Resources used to complete this print: iPad, Tinkercad App, Tinkercad Interface Design: hardware 'cog', Bambu H2D, Silver PLA.

Level of Difficulty: Low - the challenge in this task is based on the engineering of the task.  The design and creation is going to be for the housing for the shape itself and it is anticipated that the student might adapt this design when moving forward.

Size: The print measures at present measures 95mm across at the front and is 105mm high.   The width of the print is currently 10mm.   At present the design features the three cogs however this is going to be adapted depending on the motion that can be achieved with it.

Cost/Price: The print as it stands (shown left in the photograph) uses 15g of PLA to complete the project.  This has a price point of $0.30c.

Timeframe: To complete the print the project took a total time of 45minutes.  There was no rafting or support required for this print.   It was printed as shown.

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students: This print will require refining - the cogs at the moment in the design are somewhat loose.  They require some additional support or design to hold them in place or allow them to move with motion to complete the success criteria that was assigned to the students.

The student has also considered that it might be extremely effective to complete this print using different coloured PLA as that would have a striking overall affect with the design.

3D Printing at the NZAIMS Games

 

Our wonderful rural school is attending the NZAIMS Games in Tauranga later this term competing in Girls Basketball.   As such we are competing as part of over 450 schools and 14,000 students.  One of the things is that we like to highlight something different about our school.

Regular visitors to this blog will potentially remember that this badge can out as a 'stock filler' item for our 2026 Market Day.

This item is a small item that we will be giving to the teams that we will be playing against as a thank you for the opportunity.  This item printed in super 'glow-in-the-dark' filament.   This print uses 12g of PLA to complete the print.   It took thirty five minutes to complete (including the warm up time of six minutes).   It has a price point as determined by the Bambu Studio Labs is $0.24c.

We have also been working on the 'sports trophy' design that we detailed in yesterdays blog post.   We have completed the first print using again the glow-in-the-dark filament.

The photograph shown left is an example of the details that are possible using the Bambu H2D.  The name at the front is 5mm or so in height.  The student has also decided to have the font go all the way through the design as shown in the top part of the design.

This could benefit from having the font more evenly spaced out to include a second line.  In the 3D Print design on Tinkercad the font is visible although small and it is a good example of a short term print illustrating what adjustments need to be made following a review of the print by the student who is working on the project.  In this instance as well as it is essentially a commission project he has been able to speak with the person who requested the design and receive feedback about how it is progressing and what changes need to be made.

3D Printed Prize Giving Awards: Progression

 

Challenge: To produce personalised trophies for a local sports club prize giving by having them designed by a student.

Background: There are a number of elements at work here.   We have previously blogged about the trophies that students have been working on based on an initial design from the Tinkercad main interface page.   We had students create the basic shape and then modify them by placing names or information into the design - you can view that blog post here.

The version of this design however that caused this project to be actioned was a slightly smaller version of the sellotape holder that was also featured as a blog post.  This physical copy was shown around to a number of staff and one of whom made a request to a student from the class - for there to be customised designs for the local sports team.

The sellotape trophy hybrid is shown left.  This has manner of the features explained in the posts.   This print currently measures 80mm across is 80mm high and has a diameter of 90mm.  With these dimensions and details the print had a print time of one hour and fifty eight minutes.   The print used 51g of PLA and had a price point of $1.01.

By producing a master copy of this print the student needs to only replace the name plate at the bottom for each person (and also put the name of the team on the outside of the cup).   There are going to be an experiment with doing this with the glow-in-the dark filament for a novelty affect which might slightly increase the price point.

After this was completed the first of the personalised designs was then taken and projected onto the school field it can be seen with Mt Taranaki in the background.

One student was able to complete the entire project including meeting the the person who wanted the designs created in under one hour and the only remaining part of the project will be to print the trophies.

Dance Dance Revoultion Expansion

 

Available to our students are all sorts of wonderful technology opportunities - one of our favourite resources which the students are able to use and is always popular is our full sized DDR (Dance Dance Revoultion) Step-Master machine.  This is a key resource at our school.  Not only did Mr Bloor make an amazing video and had an incredible project when it was made.  You can click on the link and see the creation of it here.

We have also had incredibly live-streamed competitions using this machine including our K-Pop Demon Hunters Special or our regular super challenge! 

This week there has been an incredibly exciting update - Mr Bloor has doubled the size of the machine! No longer is it just a two player battle now it has been increased to four!

You can see the additional pads in the photo on the left and they are already proving to be hugely popular with our students (who are able to dance at lunchtimes).   

You can see Mr Bloor has added something else to the machine as well - the bars at the back for even more crazy moves!

Don't forget this is not just an amazing piece of hardware for our students - we also create our own music videos which we then use in the competition where the students create, plan and then make their own music videos examples of which you can see by clicking on the link here.

We are so lucky to have Mr Bloor at Auroa Primary School as many of the projects that he works on at our school and with our students are 'passion projects' that he goes above and beyond the call of duty to work on.

3D Printed 'Eyes' Project

Challenge: For a junior school student to create a unique design and for the design to include a physical object to enhance its presentation.

Background: This design developed along with several from the classroom during this recent challenge.   The way that this design was created where the face was developed and made 'flat' was designed in a way that it became apparent that it would work well in conjunction with a physical object to enhance its presentation which in this case was the pair of eyes that the student selected to add to the face of the design.   

The basic design was completed by the eight year old without additional assistance from the teacher.

The student created this design from scratch and did not use anything other than the basic shapes that are available from the Tinkercad interface.

The eyes themselves came as part of a large pack that were purchased from a local chain store.  We have used them in the past such as with the cyclops design from 2025 which you can view by clicking on the link here.

Resources used to complete this print: iPad, Tinkercad App, Eyes from chain store, Bambu H2D, silver PLA.

Level of Difficulty: Medium there are some elements that the student could have refined however they worked well together and the eyes did add significantly to the details and the presentation of the piece.

Size: The print measured 60mm at the front is 70mm long and was 60mm wide.  The sides were generally between 10mm and 20mm wide.  While there was limited storage with this design it allowed the print to be manageable for both the size and the price.

Cost/Price: The unit used 49g of regular PLA to complete the task.  This has a price point of $1.00.

Timeframe: To complete the print the printer using the regulation default settings took two hours and twenty six minutes to complete the task.

What we would do differently/next steps for the students:  The student was happy with the design as they felt that it met the brief.   Some feedback was provided for the lettering which was a little bunched together as shown in the middle photograph.   The lettering could also have been adjusted.  Facially the student was happy but could have perhaps looked at some features that made it more dog like.

 

Hamburger Junior Storage

 

 Challenge: To create a unique storage item for a desk for the students to keep small items.

Background: This task was designed to test the students design creativity.   This shape was created from the Tinkercad design page but the student decided to use the shapes to make something that could be easily recognised.

The buns and the items that were in the burger were created by manipulating the shapes to represent the different parts of the design and the storage was of course created by making a hole in the top of the design before the student finally added their name to the design.     There is clearly additional details and features that could be added to this design.

Resources to complete this project: iPad, Tinkercad App, Bambu H2D, Silver Bambu PLA.

Level of Difficulty: Medium.   This design has a number of aspects of it to make it work.   

Size: The design measures 100mm across at the front.  The design is 100mm long and is 70mm high.

Cost/Price: This design used 116g of PLA to complete the print.   The price point of the print was $2.32 to produce.

Timeframe: To complete this print using the regular default settings the print took four and a half hours to complete.   There was a minimal amount of rafting associated with the print (which was the support at the bottom and between the cheese and the bun.

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students:   The student has already considered how he might add additional features to the design such as the items that make up the inside of the burger.   On the buns itself several items of detail could be added.   

The student also is considering having the lettering sunk into the design instead of sticking out of the design.   The base of the design needs to have a basic sandpaper to smooth some of the edges of the design.

If you would like to see additional ideas for novelty stationary holders you can use the search bar in the top right hand corner of this blog.