3D Printing: Customised Box Junior Engineering

 

Challenge: To produce a customised box for a localised engineering project.

Background: We are always trying to find ways to interact and share with the local community so our students can engage with interaction and learning opportunities.   

In the past we have gone out of our way to talk about the technology available at our school and created projects specifically for locals shops, stores and clubs, these are still in use many years later, including our own school versions as we have detailed in posts such as this.   

In this example one of the members of our local community sought us out to help with a project involved the creation of a specific adaptation of a piece of farming equipment.   For this the individual wanted to have a customised box.

The dimension of the box are not particularly challenging for our Y4 students (who are eight years old) but the person concerned has a specific dimension that he needs.    For the initial design the dimensions of the print didn't match, so the printed design (shown left) was adjusted as the student needed to have the draw in the area marked by the silver pen, and cover the top of the print.

The positive thing was that the student was that the member of the public (a parent from another classroom at our school) is able to pop into class at the end of each day, check on progress and provide feedback to the student about adjustment, so that in a short space of time the print was designed and revised several times.

Size: The specific measurements for what the parent is after is based on its intended use to work in conjunction with an electric fence.   The box measured 50mm across and was 50mm long.   The inside sleeve or box needs to be inside by 20mm, hence creating an insert that is 30mm wide.

Timeframe: The first version of this print took just over sixty minutes, the revised version of the print was slightly expanded on this (the difference being the location of the slot.   This is being refined and will be very specific but is not going to be significantly larger than this.

What we would do differently/next steps for the students: It is going to very much depend on the member of our community.   The potential to get a engaging project working has meant we have been making the students available to adjust the print and return it the following day - for the students the benefits is targeting their design, for the adult they get custom made pieces that are getting completed at 24 hours notice.  It is a partnership we want to encourage and continue with.

3D Printed Calf Feeder Model

Above: Design shown in full.

Challenge: To design a working model of a calf feeder
Background: A local business which we approached as part of an initiative by supplying them with an oversized business keying.  The business then asked to produce an additional item that would work as part of a larger set, working in conjunction with a fence item from the set, also in conjunction with a number of items that interact with it model cows and other livestock.  The item concerned is a copy/model of an actual item that is used in the feeding on young dairy cows.

Above: Design with calf models

Level of Difficulty: Medium - this print is very deceptive while it is small in size it was built from scratch by the students involved, had a very specific purpose and needed to work in conjunction with other items.     
Time frame: Just over an hour.   This is the prototype for this item and it may go through some basic revision (see below) however the students have succeeded in completing the brief an designing something to complete the challenge.

Above: Design with artificial grass

Size: 50mm wide, 30 long and 25mm high - as this is a potential business partnership project to work with other items (see photographs) so the size needed to be perfect.   The other important consideration was that it needed to be mounted on the fence for the animals to use.
What we would do differently: This design needs slight adjustment.   There is a visible gap at the bottom of the design that needs to be addressed for the final print.   In the initial designs there was the thought that there was an ongoing issue with regards to the bar that was attaching the design to the fence.   However as part of the business there is a feeding set including artificial grass.   When the models were used with the artificial grass the height of the models relative to the calf feeder fitted perfectly.   This is the students first attempt at this design and will require some refinement (which will be shown and shared on this blog).