Door Handle Message 3D Print

 

Challenge: Y4 Student to create an original 3D Printed design with a purpose.

Background: This student has been given a challenge to produce something that is unique, that is created by the student from scratch, using Tinkercad.   The student had a number of ideas that she wanted to look at creating and this project ending up coming as a result of this.   She decided to use the main interface to make a creature.   An issue for her was how to look at handing it from a door handle.   She made a decision to exaggerate the arms - and this was the manner in which the creation was able to be held in place on the handle of the door.

As shown left, the student was able to create something amusing but also managed to complete the brief.   When the student wanted to look at options how to present or decorate the design she was able to use one of the tools that our students have been regularly been using to put a filter onto our designs.   We have posted about it on this blog before but by using the PicCollage 'Magic Camera' Filter, the students are able to use their iPad to create AI version of the print.  This then gives the ideas for the students on how they could potentially decorate their print.

Size: The print measured 140mm across and was 100mm high. The depth of the print was 10mm which meant that it was durable and able to be handled

regularly.   

Timeframe: Eight hours from start to finish on the current default settings.   Ultimately the student wouldn't have wanted to have it any smaller than it was, so the printing time would have remained about right for this project.

Level of Difficulty: Medium - as the print was designed to be amusing, relative to the size of it, the arms could be over exaggerated to make the purpose of hanging the print onto a door handle.

What we would do differently/next steps for the student: The lettering which states 'Do Not Enter My Room' was too dense for the print.  The print needed to have a different message, or one that was simpler.  The message was able to be produced just by the printer but the student has already discussed an idea to rework, edit or adapt this message.

3D Printed Door Sign - [Refined]

Above: Print shown from above

Challenge: For student to produce a personalized gift for a special event - in this case it was to be a plaque that would fixed to a room to show the room that it belonged to. 
Background: This item has been produced before in various projects presented on this blog.   This is the refined version.   The key issue that was differed from this print was the width of the base.  In previous prints of this nature the width of the prints was in the 20mm range.  This had a significant affect on the print time - which came in at twelve hours.   The print shown to the left is essentially the same model as the previous linked print, but the reduction to a 5mm base size for the basic design has reduced the print time to a much more manageable four hours, without compromising the strength of the print.
Level of Difficulty: Low - its a main interface shape with some basic additions to it.   The owls that are featured in the top left and top right hand corners are sourced online and not created by the students. 

Above: Print shown in profile

Time frame: Four hours for the print - as noted, this is a third of other similar prints.  Given the purpose of the print this would be near the minimum required, as with the intention of it being fixed permanently to a door, the most likely way would be by using an electric drill to screw it to the door.
Size: The print was 5mm thick - and was 15cm across.
What we would do differently: Essentially this is a basic print, which would be easily completed by a student with minimal experience in the five minute time-frame (from start to finish).  The only additional feature that should have been included with this print was a measure or way of attaching it to the door.   The intention was to drill directly into the print, as the assumption was that the PLA would be strong enough to withstand the drilling.  The student had previously had experience with the 'hook' creation tasks, and had been part of the group of students who had experienced drilling with various mis-prints to test their strength and was convinced that this design would be robust enough to withstand drilling.
Next step for students: This design and idea could be refined to create a sign for a door easily, for a classroom etc.   By 3D Printing it, it would also be able to be used outside, for a variety of tasks and could be tailored for any number of signs, for instance a label for a class name, for a specific contents of a cupboard etc.