3D Printed Original Butterfly

 

Challenge: For a nine year old student to use Tinkercad to create an original 3D Designed (and then printed) insect, in this case a butterfly.

Background: The student involved in this followed the detailed process involved in the insect creation and development that we have mentioned and posted about a significant number of times on this blog, including using the ChatGPT generated resource sheet.

The student involved in the process did so independently and submitted this print for a final printing at which point the teacher was able to view it and provide some feedback - given the dimensions and the details (including the print time, the PLA used) it was felt that there was value in producing the print in a physical form to provide feedback to students.  In terms of the chronological order this print actually was one of the first that we completed.

Resources used to complete this print: Tinkercad App, iPad, Bambu P1S Printer, Bambu Blue PLA.  The Tinkercad app was important as the wings featured are from the main interface and they were the starting point for the design which then came from that with the remainder of the shapes and body parts.

Size: This was one of the reasons for the quick turn around for the print.  From wing tip to wing tip the print measured 70mm and was 60mm long.  The print body had a diameter of 20mm and including the thorax and the abdomen was 50mm long with the antenna being a further 10mm high.   The intention was for the piece to complement one of the art pieces of the Pet and Calf Day Art Display.

Cost: To complete the print the print used 17g of PLA.  There was minimal rafting (although as shown below even this could have been improved with the legs).  This gave the print a price point of $0.30c.

As shown on the undersize of the print, shown left, the student wanted to make sure the design had the typical six legs that were present in an insect.   By introducing them in the form that they did (six cylinders which were 2mm across and 5mm wide or long).  If the option had been to either adapt these such as making them smaller or printing them separately and then perhaps gluing them in place this would have removed the need for support at the bottom of the print which would have further reduced the cost and the printing time.

Timeframe: The print took one hour and six minutes to complete.  This was significantly contributed to by the rafting or support material that was created by the legs.   In theory we would suspect that it would be reduced by at least a quarter, and if you compare it other prints in the series (such as the stick insect or the ants) which took about half the time, however the balance to that is literally with the feet it sits quite well on the students desk, although it was intended to be placed onto a stick.

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students: This project when we revisited and reviewed it with the student involved checking off the list of items from the ChatGPT generated worksheet.  While the items on this list were covered the symmetry that is present in butterflies was addressed and discussed and the student, they acknowledged that they needed to adapt the wings and the designs on one side and on the reverse the legs were not attached to the thorax/abdomen area and instead were in the middle of the wings.

3D Printed Butterfly - Large

 

Challenge: To produce a 3D printed insect for a art display (as per the school pet day day at school).

Background: As per the descriptions that we have previously posted on this blog this was another example that was created via the process and for the Pet Day purpose for display with the tin can art.

In the example here the student wanted to create a unique butterfly that fitted the intention of the task.   We have previously looked at Butterflies as part of the literacy work that we were doing related to insects and other sub groups.   The students read about the creatures, spent time looking at the characteristics and also investigated examples of butterflies around the world.   One of the key concepts that the student wanted to convey with the design was using Tinkercad to create and show symmetry between the wings.

This example was created by an eight year old student who was working independently to complete the task.

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

Level of Difficulty: Medium - the print needs some attention (see below).   All of the designs in this series have had a basis in another design or something similar.   In this instance the wings that are shown here are from the main Tinkercad interface.

Size: The print is larger than a number of butterflies that have also been produced in this series.   The print measures 120mm from wing tip to wing tip.   The wingspan is 90mm high.    The print has a height of 30mm.   The antennas are 30mm in length and have a width of 0.5mm making them extremely thin.

Cost/Price: The print uses 48g of PLA to complete the print.  This gave the print a price point of $0.98c.

Timeframe: The print using the Bambu H2D had a total print time of three hours and forty five minutes.   This is three times the length of printing time of other prints in this series.

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students: The stars that are on the wings of the butterflies need to be refined.  They are currently not down completely on the wings, there is some rafting underneath them, although it is not obvious.  The antenna are extremely thing - they require a minimum of handling to ensure that they do not break off.   The reverse of the butterfly is where the attention for details could be significantly improved.   The base of the wings are blank, they could have a layer and some details on them.   The feet of the butterflies need to be adapted - they currently are stumps and have not translated well to physical printing.

There is one final consideration as well - we have experimented extensively with the AR/VR of the Tinkercad App and discovered that it is excellent at a base or ground level projection.   Where it can struggle at times is when you attempt to move the projected image off the ground into the air or up a particular object - this would be something to consider when looking at locations to place this object.

3D Printed Display Butterfly

 

Challenge: For students to produce a unique and original design of an insect to work in conjunction with an art display (for our calf day).

Background: As per the description that was posted about this yesterday and detailed our students creations focussing on the idea of an insect.

One of the key design features that are available via Tinkercad is the wings.   This pair of wings is accessible from the main menu.  For most students including out eight and nine year olds it is a very easy move from this design to start adding details and features that further develop the features.  We also have a somewhat limited timeframe with this activity.  We were looking for students to complete the activity in the region of thirty minutes to make designs such as this one available for the first printing run to allow us to have a series of printed examples to show the class.   We also wanted to ensure that the students had an opportunity to use Tinkercads AR/VR function.

When printed as shown left some of the details from the design were able to more distinct.  The six different spikes that were included for texture at the base of the wings was able to survive the printing process.    

Resources used to complete this print: Chat GPT sheet, Tinkercad App, Bambu PLA (blue), Bambu H2D Printer

Level of Difficulty: Medium - by using the wings as the basis for the design the students were able to complete it quickly, there is more details and additions to be added the intention was to produce a physical print that could be reflected on in a physical sense.

Size:  The print is 90mm across from tip to tip of the wings and 100mm tall in length.   The width of the wings is 5mm and the thorax and the abdomen are slightly thicker although smaller.  The print was completed with rafting with was located underneath the wings which created the 'bow' or bend in them which is visible.

Cost/Price: To complete this print the printer used 20g of PLA.   This has a price point of $0.40c.

Timeframe:  To complete this print the printer was operating on the standard default settings and was operating for one hour and forty minutes.

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students:  When discussing butterflies one of the key features that we have talked about with students is the symmetry.  In this example here while the student has attempted to introduce some to this design it is not symmetrical and for it to be correct it needs some slight adjustments.   The colour that has been used here is a base colour, spray painting and decoration is a strong idea, using potentially glitter and also spray paints and other tools to enhance its presentation.

The six threads/spikes at the put of the wings are in position and remaining in place however they are very fragile and must have minimal handling for them to remain.   Also the students need to consider how to display this piece with a static tin car - such as a stick or prop and how this might look and how it could successfully be supported.

3D Printed Design: Butteryfly

Challenge: To produce something unique, something personal and something with a purpose.

Background: This student is new to the classroom and we were investigating design, ideas and how to create something different from students in the classroom.   The student decided look at creating a unique 3D shape, so opted for the Butterfly Wings.   For the personalisation, the idea was to link the wings, or reinforce the wings, by putting the block lettering across the front of the design.    The student is developing her ideas and concepts and the purpose of the design was identified by the next stage in the process.   She wants the design to work in conjunction with a storage box, this is the top or the major feature of the lid.   She is developing this idea and developing what is practical and able to be designed.

There was a bit of experimentation of the design and the shape, relative to the wings.   You can see this in the profile shown on the left.   The rafting has been removed from the print by this point, and there was a significant amount to give the shape of the design.   

Level of Difficulty: Medium.   This is intended to be an increasingly complex print with a number of future elements.   The butterfly would rate as a straight forward idea, but this is the first stage of a print by a novice Y3 student, who is eight years old.

Size: The wings measure 120mm across. the lettering is 20mm high and 20mm long.

Timeframe: Nine hours including the rafting, which as noted was significant.  The student was looking at design ideas and creations and in this case the larger the design was intended to shape further ideas and creations.

What we would do differently/next steps for the student: The student had the lettering linking the wings to provide further support.    The student decided that in future versions of this design the student would provide a stabilising block in the back of the design.   The next step having produced this design is the measurements for the box that it will work in conjunction with.  The student has started measuring and looking at options.

There will be further details on this project moving forward.

3D Printed: Swimming Pool Toys

3D Printed Swimming Toys has come about as a complete accident, however its potentially moved our design into another area that we hadn't considered.

The design and creation of this print took place as part of a series, created by a student, where she was using a template to create unique 3D Printed animals, full details of which can be located here.

During a swimming lesson this week we took one of the prints, in this case the butterfly to the school pool and placed it in the water.  We had already experienced this in our classroom where we realised that due to the print being set on a 20% infill the print would essentially float.

However what we didn't anticipate is that with the articulation designed by the student, the motion of students in the water caused a slight ripple which then caused the articulation to give the illusion that the butterfly was moving its wings.

We still have a couple of weeks of swimming remaining here in New Zealand and we will look to test this further, however potentially it would seem obvious that you could custom make a series of prints that would be used to motivate students by floating on the surface of the water.   In our instance a student who is reluctant to engage when swimming, and not keen to pick up items from a shallow pool was happy to play with the butterfly that was floating on top of the water.
 

Original Articulated Animal Design: Butterfly

 Now that we have completed work on the school market day the students are looking at addressing projects from prior to this timeframe that require completion.   As noted the majority of the prints of animals for our market day were the articulated animals located on Thingiverse.    While these were a good starting point we wanted to look at developing our own prints.

As featured here on the site we have a number of students working on developing original prints, which was started by the kiwi.   In the same group was the butterfly.   This was attempted to be printed previously although we had a faulty part on the machine (since replaced) which has allowed the following to be completed.

The process for the design of the butterfly involved brainstorming the idea, the students had identified how to complete the linking via a tutorial video on Youtube.    The design for the butterfly was sourced online.

The print measured 120mm across and was 90mm high at the tip of the wings and 60mm high at the top of the abdomen.   The print was 10mm high and took three hours to print.   The linking was quite loose however it was effective and worked extremely well.  The student used the component stages and then produced the final print in Tinkercad before it was converted using the Snapmaker Luban software before being print.

Tinkercad as a design program for our students works extremely well.  We have used it for a number of years at our 1:1 iPad School.  The students predominantly use Apple Laptops to create the prints although we have some students who use iPads to create the design.   As a teacher I also think that Tinkercad has excellent Educator/Teacher interface and the ability to host a classroom in a easy and adaptable manner.  The classrooms at school have school accounts created and linked to them and the students are able to design and create and then easily share and modify their designs.

The student as noted in this case has been able to design the butterfly essentially from scratch and the student researched and identified the linking via youtube - and thus was able to present to the teacher the final print which was then able to be directly printed without any modification.    This student has shown creativity and invention with her work and had two years experience using Tinkercad and the Ultimaker printers that were previously in the classroom.   

Snapmaker as a printer also has software that is available that works in conjunction with the printer/Tinkercad to produce the final results.  Again the software associated with this is exceptional, easy to manipulate and develop and produces excellent result.

Key to the final product, and we have mentioned this before, is that there is literally zero waste that is produced as a result of the printing - and the consistency with the print job is fantastic.   The linking/print comes out as a single piece already linked and completed.   This allows the students to produce an eye catching and creative design finished to an extremely high standard.   This is an exceptional project and exceptional example of student creativity.