3D Printed Junior Challenge: Paperclip Extension

Challenge: To produce a unique paperclip or creation that can hold together a small number of sheets of paper.

Background: This challenge was about the students creating innovation and also making something that in turn could be used to advertise our school.   The paperclip design had to feature the name of our school and was detailed in a post that was put on this blog which you can read by clicking on the link here. 

Students by using the bookmark template which is available on Tinkercads main screen were able to complete the basic aspect of the design extremely quickly.   The next step to challenge the students was to have them refine, explore and develop their ideas.

An example is shown left, in this example the student was able to create a copy of the school uniform as he felt the two t-shirt tops, locking together would create a point of interest.   The paper would then be held in place between the two shirts.    He also customised the school logo, which is visible in the version on the right.

Another further example was shown left - the student created their own unique and original frame, then added some extra in the form of the dots before placing the name of the school at the bottom of the design.

In both instances the designs are creative and interesting and 'nearly there' in that they require additional refining to complete.

 Size: The shirt deign measures 40mm down and was 60mm across.   The current format with the design is 10mm wide.   The dimensions are intended so it doesn't overwhelm the paper, however this maybe refined.  The second paperclip was 90mm high was 50mm wide and was 5mm thick.   This allowed more personalisation with the design - although there was no personalisation with the star or the different shapes on the demand.  The student was charged with identifying symbols and meanings (such as four stars for the Southern Cross constellation) of symbols locally associated with the school to further add finesse to the design.

Timeframe: Both prints took currently under one hour with the default settings that are being currently used with our Snapmaker machines.  

What we would do differently/Next Steps for the Students: As detailed these projects are far from completed.  The require revision and reworking in both instances.  The emblem which is located above the shirt is an important symbol for the school and its meaning needs to be maintained, and it needs accuracy.   The second example, as mentioned, needs refining in regards to the symbolism and features, while. the design is striking meets the partial brief it needs more polish (for instance the name of the school at the bottom needs to be clearly shown, at present it is not).

3D Printed Challenge: School Micro Paperclip

 

Challenge: Our School Principal set a challenge to our students, to include in our school information pack for enrolments a paper clip or way to group four regular sheets of paper.

Background: This challenge was set by our school Principal at relative short notice, however it was one of the challenges that our students took to with speed and a design challenge that was impressive.

The brief was simple - for a paper clip or a way to puncture paper to group it together.     Our students had a class shared brief and were instructed to complete the design as quickly as possible - so we could start running prototypes and initial prints.

Tinkercad and the class page was of course the starting point for our students.   The design had two

particular points, 

The first is that the name of our school must be included in the design, Auroa School.   The second is that the design must be able to be hold the paper together securely.

One of the most fantastic aspects of design from Tinkercad is that there is a range of templates available for easy design that students can adapt.  In this case, without prompting a number of students located the 'simple bookmark' which was available via a search.   This design was the basis for the first two prints shown above left which were then developed in under three minutes or so by the students.

The next stage of the design is to challenge the students to develop their ideas and develop their creations that are unique.   An example is the t-shirt shown below.   The idea from the student is to copy the student uniform at school, and have a ability to lock the two items together forming the way to keep the paper in place.  The student is looking at ways to test the locking mechanism prior to printing.

Size: Both of the paperclips shown in the photo were 40mm across and 100mm and 120mm long.  The base of the design, which was the bookmark is only 3mm thick, this allowed it to be flexible but also have some strength.   The gold design had a head that was 10mm thick, the pink design which was the glow-in-the-dark filament was 5mm thick at the top of the design.  

Timeframe: Both of the designs took forty minutes to print.  Ideal for a group or class project when during the course of the next few days as many designs as possible can be completed.

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students:   The next steps for the students to is to complete their designs, share them with the classroom and use this to encourage the designs from the other students.   Each student will essentially create their own individual bookmark, they will be presented to the Principal who will choose the design that best meets the intended brief, which we will duplicate copy, and each student will receive their own bookmark. 

3D Printed Bookmark - Tinkercad Design Challenge

 

Tinkercad have a series of design challenges that are built into the main website.  These are suitable for students and we have started to use them as a challenge for students who are showing clear design ideas.

Some of the them revisit themes and examples that we are able to provide that have featured previously on this blog as a general challenge for students.  As there is a template button however the challenge and its design focus is something that is easily approachable and allows students to develop their design skills.

The current challenge, which closes tomorrow is a design challenge around producing a bookmark for use with reading.   Our students have designed various bookmarks previously and examples of which can be seen on this blog here or you can use the search function on the right hand side of this blog to look at a range of examples.

In this example shown left a student wanted to use the design features of Tinkercad to design a 'cat' themed bookmark.  The student concerned has shown a clear level of design ability during her time in the classroom and is now a Y4 student that is someone who is eight years old who has been designing and creating using Tinkercad for two years, many of the designs that she has been involved in have been featured on this blog.

Level of Difficulty: Medium - this design is deceptively simple for this student to create and while she was able to complete it in a very short timeframe, with the composition that she used, it is not something that every student could create.

Size: This was designed to book in conjunction with a regular bookmark.   There was the potential to complete a different dimension for the print, however it would have limited the viability to print a class set.   The print 

Timeframe: One hour, fifteen minutes.  The design included a degree of rafting that could have avoided if the back had been flat, instead of slightly raised however this would have affected the design, which would have meant that the head did not slide between the pages.

What we would do differently/next steps for students: This is a design that is one of a series.   By undertaking it the template, the lesson plan and the information the lesson could be supplied to students by a single click and they were then able to engage with the lesson and complete the task.  

Again we have a challenge and task which has required minimal input to allow us to complete a class based activity where the students have been able to design, create and then print.

3D Printed Book Marks - Further Developments

Challenge: For students to design a working bookmark.
Background: As detailed previously the challenge was to produce a working bookmark that stood out or had a 'wow' factor.   This was given to the entire class as a task.  Students were instructed to create a design, come up with an idea and the best working ideas with the 'wow' factor were in turn created as 3D Designs.  The designs presented here were some of the prototypes for the final projects.

Left: The initial Lollipop design shown on the left consisted of a stick that needed to be redesigned, made thicker and stronger and a significant improvement needed to be made to the clip to hold the pages in place.

The print took two hours, the item was themed as a Lollipop as the student felt that the novelty factor of the item would work as a book mark. 

The size of the print measured 150mm long, was 60mm across at the top of the design.   The initial design of the clip on the print was 20mm and the revised version of the print saw this reduced to 10mm which worked better as it maintained a hold over the pages.

The student has shown considerable talent in an artistic sense and is continuing to look at pushing her designs.

Left: A 'Star Wars' themed book mark.   As the student was wanting to design something from scratch featuring an iconic design from the series, going with a 'Tie Fighter' design as he could replicate this easy within the design page from Tinker cad.   This bookmark measure 70mm across and was 50mm high.   The clip that was designed to hold the book pages in place was initially 40mm high.  The student wasn't happy with the visibility of the Tie Fighter so in subsequent designs it was raised higher in the design.

Left: As shown in the subsequent designs the student has altered significantly the design to accommodate being able to hold the pages in place.   The clip can be seen in profile below.   The initial design featured a flat attempt at holding the pages in place, students needed to get the concept of a 3D clip that would work, and it took the students to see the designs that failed for this concept to be realized.   The print time being two hours, the design itself needed to have no adjustment from this point.

Left: As shown here in detail the clips that held the pages of the
book in place were all based around some variation of this design.

An important part of the process was getting the students to be aware of the need to produce a 3D aspect to the bookmark that would not damage the pages (as some prototypes did).    This would not have been possible without the prototyping process which showed that the original designs were not going to work.

3D Printed Bookmark - Car Example

Above: The completed design in position

Challenge:   To produce a working 3D Printed Bookmark for student to use with a regular book.
Background: Inspired by a generic challenge that was set/sent out with examples of 3D Printed Bookmarks.   These examples had been produced by adults but they were used as examples that were given to the students in the classroom and the student were asked to produce their own designs.  A focus need to be made on producing a workable bookmark that could be used to hold a position in a book.    This example originally had a single block that was thin and intended to hold the bookmark in place.    When this was trialed it was discovered that it did not pin or hold the page in place and slid out.   The student then designed a pin/clip to hold the bookmark in place.   Key to solving this issue was the width of the clip relating to how many pages that it was intending to hold in place.    The student was experiementing with 3D Design and has a strong design ethic and ideas, although this student, who is nine was producing his first significant individual 3D Print.  In the initial design there were issues with the clip although the student had the basic premise and idea correct.  He also decided not to over complicate the design of the truck, keeping a basic shape without additional decoration.   

Design in profile prior to removal of rafting/sanding

Level of Difficulty: Medium.   Once the shape was determined and the concept had been discussed the student created a sketch of a plan.   The 3D Print required significant alterations for the print to be considered successful, however by printing a first version it alllowed the student to clearly see the modifications that needed to be made. 
Timeframe: Two hours forty minutes.   This was the ideal print to complete a 'draft' print for - given its size and dimensions. 
Size: 100mm long, 30mm across and 20mm high.   Suitable for the realistic size of producing a bookmark for a regular novel book.   The portion of the design that was inserted into the book itself was a clip/double bar that was 40mm long.
What we would do differently: Very little - this project already had the reworking completed by the student between the first and second prints.   The final adjustments made to the print allowed a short term print to complete the task that it was intended for and complete the challenge.

3D Print School: Y3/4 Bookmarks

One of the challenges for 3D Printing is allowing younger students sometimes access to and use of the machines.   Our School has targeted this group of students with a Junior STEM program, with the intention of giving the students access to 3D Printing in the Classroom.  The initial design for this project, created by the School Principal, Heath Chittenden, was students creating a book mark suitable for reading.   Students were given a Tinkercad logon which they used to refine their design on the basis of circles - they picked up the process quickly.  Extension for the students came from a student who created a ring.

Learning Challenge: To design and create a 3D Printed Bookmark suitable for use with a book.  Students to use a basic design (featuring the circles) and then added their individual touches.
Background: Using the 3D Printers with students in the Junior School.  Junior School in New Zealand equates to students between the ages of 5 and 9 years old, although this class were 8 and 9 year old children.  Lessons took place for an hour once a week.
Task: Students had to design, manufacture and make a working bookmark.
Level of Difficulty: Low - a template was used for the basic design for the students.

Issues: student originally had some feet an antenna that while they added some detail to the creature tended to be flimsy and easily broke off or had to be removed after the final print.  As an added detail the filament used to print the bookmarks was glow-in-the-dark filament.
Timeframe: 3-4 hours on basic print settings.
Size: As seen from the shot 20cm in length and a depth of two to three centimetres

Process: Template designed in Tinkercad, shared with students.  Students then edited the design, and added additional features.   Converted to Cura and printed on the Schools Ultimaker 2 3D Printer.