Project Update: Art Letter for Market Day

Project Update: As detailed previously on this blog the students from this classroom have an upcoming Market Day project where they have to run a small scale business.  The students were keen to adapt the 3D Printer to provide a means for producing word art of phrases that they could then mount on wood.   They wanted to use the 3D Printer to produce the lettering.    In various testing and trialing the students attempted to print various phrases and lettering as detailed in the previous print.   After deciding to use pallet wood as their backing wood, the students then used sandpaper to take away the rough edges of the wood and then used a commercial staining wood stain that was available to produce a finished affect on the wood.   The last stage was then to determine which colour PLA worked with the stained wood and the size of the font and lettering used.    The students made the decision to focus on the "Dream & Achieve" phrase.   The font Dream measured 130mm across and was 60mm high as well as being 5mm thick.   The ampersand in the middle was by far the smallest of the three

measuring 30mm by 30mm.   The final part of the design was the "Achieve" this was also 130mm across but in contrast to the 'Dream' was only 30mm wide but also 5mm high.     This lettering was designed to sit on wood that was 450mm long and was 50mm high.   Originally it was thought the 'dream' would be in a different colour, such as the purple PLA.   However as is shown in the test print on the left the 'Dream' part of the print has a dark stain created on the wood and while the 'achieve' stands out the 'dream' part of the project is hard to identify at distance.  The next step for the student is to work through different colours contrasting to the dark background to see what stands out and is effective at making the print be more of a display piece.   The students have already identified Glow-In-the-Dark Filament as important to this project.   The teacher has given feedback to the students related to the print and how best to attach the lettering to the wood (currently experimenting with wood glue).   The teacher has also spoken to the students about the mounting of the 3D Printed lettering.  In the last prototype shown above the students have not spaced the lettering evenly, and although it is not obvious from the photograph they have not removed the excess PLA from the lettering meaning that some of the lettering is not sitting flat on the wood.

3D Printed Art Proejcts - Completing LED Lights/Jars

Above: Light with additional support in place, blue tacked.

Challenge: As a separate art project students had created a glass jar with an LED light.   The project needed finishing because the area around the LED light was too small for the jar - the 3D Printer was used to create additional support for the light so it would sit perfectly.

Background: This was a project that required the 3D Printer to integrate with what was already produced, the 3D printer was used to produce the finishing.  The student had created the art project but was also a student who had used the 3D Printer extensively so when the light needed additional support to hold it in place she knew immediately that she wanted the 3D Printer to produce the additional support for the LED light.  The design was based around the light, relative to the size of the jar and allowed the extra width for the light, created by the 3D Printer.   The light was then able to sit perfectly in place on the top of the jar.   This is a fantastic example of using the 3D Printer to complete a project in a simple but extremely effective way.    The print was designed by the student and a trial completed by using blue tack to hold the LED light and extra print in place.
Level of Difficulty: This is low - the design is simple, however the concept and idea came from the student who identified that the 3D Printer would be able to complete the job perfectly.
Time frame: Six Minutes - this is possibly the shortest print to ever be featured on this blog in five years, however nothing additional was required - the light was supported to fit perfectly.
Size: The design was 5mm thick which is the minimum that would allow this to be successful, the size of it was relative to the jar and the size that was required to complete the project, nothing additional was required as it.

What we would do differently: Nothing - while this was a very straightforward print it was a perfect use of a 3D Print to complete a project.   The LED lights that were featured in this design were ordered online, as were the jars.   The students then used a stencil and duroseal to create a design on the outside of the jar.   The jar then had spray paint applied to it from an aerosol can.   The final product was a 'Night Light' that was produced - the light was concealed in the lid of the jar.  The students were intending to experiment with different stencils for affect on the jar itself - although this would not change the 3D Printed aspect of the design.

The fully completed design (with 3D Printed element obscured by the lid, which is in place as intended) is shown on the left.