3D Printed Projects: Mothers Day 2026 Summary

 

We are approaching Mothers Day for 2026 in New Zealand and we have several students who have targeted projects based around this event.

The 'couch' which has been developed extensively and featured on this blog twice.  In its first form it was an idea for a project as a regular phone stand as detailed in this post about the print.

The print was further developed by the student from a generic project into one specifically focussed on a Mothers Day gift.   The print has evolved again as it has been now spray painted and has now a charging point included into the base of the design where the phone will be based.    This is now completed and ready to be presented as a gift.   This was completed independently by a seven year old student designing for the first time this year (for three months) and used their iPad, the Tinkercad App and the Bambu H2D.

This print shown left was completed by a middle school student in 2017.   At the time that this print was designed and completed we were using Ultimaker 2 machines (which we then replaced with Snapmaker machines before moving last year to Bambu Machines).    Despite being a number of years ago it was also designed using Tinkercad and iPad.

This was a significant print however in the years since it was completed the technology has moved on significantly and we would imagine the printing time and other aspects of the design would be improved.

You can also view this personalised Key Holder themed for Mothers Day from 2019.   In 2020 We created gift key rings/utility rings.  You can view all of these potential projects by clicking on the link and we would also suggest as a point of ideas you could view the Market Day 2025 ideas from our students as a number of those projects could easily be converted.

We've had a number of projects for personalised creations at the moment that offer a perfect example of something that could be created for Mothers Day.

In some of the examples the students have put the initials of the person that they were designed for.   In the instance shown left the prints used 32g of PLA to complete the print.     This has a price point of $0.33 for the pair.   The prints took thirty three minutes to complete.

There are a large number of examples on this blog from this activity which you can locate by using the search bar in the top right hand corner and the search bar phrase 'earrings'.

This would be an ideal project with a minimum printing time that would allow a class of students to complete the task in a relative short order.   We have also produced a slideshow dealing with this specific lesson, designed for a teacher taking their first steps in 3D Printing you can locate this by clicking on the link here.

Finally we have offered students the opportunity to create an original design which we are intending to print prior to Mothers Day.

An early design has come from this seven year old in the classroom who wanted to create an original and unique trophy that they could award to their 'number one Mum'.   With this design the student has used a combination of the main Tinkercad interface shapes and used 'scribble' to rate the handles and design the top of the trophy.   We printed this as an example to show the class and the student is intending to refine it.

The design at present is 70mm high, 60mm wide at the base.   It used 51g of PLA filament to complete with a price point of $1.27.    The print took two hours and twenty two minutes to complete using the Bambu H2D.

3D Printed Pest Control Sound Lure

Background/Details: This is an update of a previous post featured on this blog.   In this project we are partnering with a number of local groups and government organizations to produce a sound lure.   The sound lure is to attract pests (Brush Tailed Possums, Stoats, Weasels and Ferrets) to a standard or traditional trap.   The benefits of the 3D Printer with this process is that it is allowing flexibility for the selection of the speakers to be used.  We have ordered a variety of different sized speakers online (from primarily Aliexpress) and these have varied in size (deliberately on our part).    We are looking for combinations of features such as power use (solar) or different sized batteries (A4 or 12 Volt).  We've been in contact with the Department of Conservation about the lures that have been deployed in the past, they've had a buzzer sound to attract pests and a ten to twelve day battery lifespan.   Our students (who are ten and eleven years old) have spent the last four weeks looking at

considerably improving on the existing design. 

• They are replacing the battery with a lithium battery or a solar panel - this should extend its operating life considerably
• They have already spent time looking at replacing an industrial buzzer noise with an authentic Kiwi sound recording, which should make the lure more effective   

The 3D Printer is key to this design - it allows flexibility with the creation of a variety of shapes and designs to accommodate the different sizes of speakers that have been ordered but can also mean that the speaker will be water proofed to protect it from the elements.  We have conducted a running experiment with having the assembly numbers for the school in case of an event outside and exposed to the elements for over a year.    These designs are showing little evidence of any degradation in the PLA from being exposed to the outside environment .   Once completed these sound lures are being deployed in the environment they are going to be deployed in conjunction with regular traps to remove local pests.    (For our international visitors New Zealand has significant pest problems from introduced species - these are predominantly the Brush Tailed Possum but also Stoats, Weasels and Ferrets, all of which spread disease and prey on the native species of New Zealand.   Further details about these pests can be located on this Department of Conservation website.

Top: original speaker limited by size

The initial design was able to house the smaller speaker, however the students have been looking at refining the design, improving it (introducing the drill holes that are shown in the print above in the four corners of the device).   

As shown left the initial two watt speaker is shown above and the second three watt speaker shown below.    The initial supplied box design would not fit with the bottom speaker as its too large, this is not the problem for a custom made box to suit the second speaker, which is created by the 3D Printer.

This is a considerable long term project that is is the very definition of the term 'cutting edge' as the sound lures are very much in their infancy and our students are able to use the technology that is available to them to improve and create, the 3D Printer is a crucial aspect to allow the flexibility and creativity to work with the project.

3D Printed Advanced Box

Box Complete with lid in place

Challenge: To further develop childrens creation skills by focussing on producing a more advanced project with two parts reliant on each other and dependent on a successful print.
Background: Y6 student (11 years old) is creating the first next level print that is more advanced and detailed than previous efforts.   Student was using Tinkercad with assistance of other students to produce details on the lid such as the handle.
Level of Difficulty: Medium - the lid needed to work in unison with the base, and the student was challenged to create multiple lids that could be interchanged depending on the use of the object.  Once again all of the major elements that were the design features for this object were provided by the main Tinkercad Interface, which the student created independently.
Timeframe: The base of the box was significant taking ten hours, the lid required eight hours.   There could have been adjustments made to the lid shown above, to reduce the time (decrease in handle size).

Size: The base of the box was 15cm wide, 7cm high and 15cm long.  It had a width of 5mm.   The first draft of the lid (as shown above) had a lid size of 15cm/15cm and a depth of 5mm.   The handle sat 4cm above the base of the lid.   The lettering was raised on slightly on the lid, 2mm. 
What we would do differently: There were no issues with the print itself but the students didn't initially grasp the concept of the 'drop down' lid and what potentially it meant for securing the lid. The student also made the design not to put a divider into the inside of the box, so as it stands at present it does not have inbuilt dividers that would define its use. 
Next Step for Students: Obviously the drop down lid, potentially more detail on the lid and internal division brackets that could define the use of the box, such as featured in the Jewellery Box design, iPod Carry Case and Edison Robot Storage Box.

3D Printed Individualised Jewellery Box Lid

 Above: The lid prior to rafting removal

Challenge: To produce a working and individualised lid to be used in conjunction with the box designed in the previous print.
Background: Student was looking to create a jewellery box, individualising it in a way that reflected herself.  The lid needed to reflect the dimensions of the box as the two had to work in tandem.  The student concerned with this project is ten years old and its her first mid level difficult project having already completed projects based around a name plate and a desk organiser.
Level of Difficulty: Medium - in this example the challenge was not to build simply a standard lid but to ensure that it was personalised for the student, the student opted for her name and a pair of stars visible in the photo.  These were both created using the default interface on Tinkercad, and took fifteen minutes to create.

Timeframe: Eleven hours, the layering of the detail on the stars and the name lettering ensured that the lid as a seperate piece took nearly as long as the base to produce.  8mm nozzle.
Size: 14cm by 11cm with a depth of 1cm.
What would we do differently: The lid has some basic edging but does not have the detail or the drop in lip feature of other boxes that have been designed of a similar nature in the class.  As a consequence the lid has to sit ontop of the box instead of being held firmly in place as part of the design.  The student however was not concerned as given the nature of the print was thrilled with how it turned out.  In the photograph above the handle 'rafting' is still in place, and has yet to removed, knocking this through would allow the handle to gripped properly.

3D Printed Gift Box

Above: Completed in two stages - gift box with lid

Challenge: Student given free range to create an original design piece from scratch.
Background: This student had produced a name plate, was then looking for an additional challenge to really stretch himself.  He came upon the idea of producing a gift box for either Mothers Day (which is this weekend) or for his mothers birthday (if the timeframe would prevent it from being ready).  The student is a nine year old student who was experiencing an opportunity to use the 3D Printer for the first time.
Level of Difficulty: High - this was a challenging print in multiple stages involving significant planning.
Size: The print was constructed in two significant pieces.  The box itself had a 10cm base and width and depth of 10cm.  The lid was 9.5cm by 9.5cm with a depth of 5mm.  This allowed it to fit into the box itself.

Above: Box with interior visible

Timeframe: Box - ten hours.   The lid was initially eight hours and then seven hours with the reprint.
Issues: The lid initially had two aspects to it, the handle pictured above and a rose next to it.  The rose did not print successfully and was removed (as seen by the filament on the lid above).  The handle was removed as a result of printing and detatched the first time it was picked up.  The box itself held a number of objects that were built into the sides of it 'Mum' and a heart on the other three sides.  The box contained considerable rafting to allow it to be layered which had to be removed.  The finish was not perfect on the base when the rafting was removed, but this required some basic sanding and the use of a craft knife.  As a result a repeat print was made of the lid, with the second version having a removal of the rose.

Above: Lid seperate with handle visible

Process: Initial design was created in Tinkercad.  The design was then passed between three students, the one with the original design and then two who contributed tweaks and details to the completed project.
What we would do differently: Not a lot this is an example of a student really pushing himself with his 3D design in creating an intricate project that had parts that related to each other.  The student refined his idea repeatedly to include significant detail and produce an outstanding 3D Print.