Summary of Half Way Point: Term One 2026

 

Students have completed the introductory task which was the creation of a name badge/plate.   This was detailed on the blog here.   This print them morphed into a series of prints based around the development of a generic stencil and then a stencil which was personalised for the students.   You can view all of these posts by clicking on the links above.

These posts were completed by seven and eight year students from our rural school in New Zealand using Tinkercad and their iPads.

We have had students refining their designs based around the repairing of a piece of play furniture, which in this case in a barn/farm set.

While it is not immediately obvious if you haven't seen a post before about this item the door shown left, in white has been created by a student and then using the Tinkercad App and the apps AR/VR feature the students have 'projected' the door into place to see how it visually looks - there is no 3D Printing of the part at this stage, the students are designing and crafting thier ideas and applying them in a virtual sense.   Eventually the doors will be printed and an attempt will be made to complete the play set by developing a solution to the roof which will need to be produced in several stages.  You can view examples of this work throughout this blog by using the search bar top right or clicking on examples here.

We have spent considerable time exploring the AR/VR design aspect of Tinkercad.   Students have made a range of creations and used the pre-made items and also used original designs such as the donut shown left which was then projected into a students lunchbox.    When this was completed we have taken the adapted image and combined it with another level of AR/VR by running it through one of a number of Pic Collage filters that are available via that App.

Our students do not have time to allocate to this other than our 'design' or 'investigate' time in the classroom which is usually in the afternoon.   

Creating Doors for our Farm Toy Building

 

We have a number of projects that are ongoing this year, designed to engage and challenge our students.  The Dolls House Project from 2025 has led us to look into other rebuilding projects for 2026.   In this example we selected a thrift store farm building that required a number of missing parts.

As we have done with many projects this year we have students having a brainstorming session followed by a degree of design using #Tinkercad and their #iPads we have previously posted we had students brainstorm ideas, create a draft and then place it on the design using Tinkercad's AR/VR tool.

The next step in the process for the students is to start the physical printing of the early prototype with a lean towards refining, adapting and improving the students design.   The photo left shows the first version of the door for the front of the building.    This is a straightforward design for the students which features a small handle and an attempt to solve the issue of a hinge by developing an attachment for the slot to connect to.

The door has been made independently by a Y4 student who is using Tinkercad for the second year.  It is a basic rectangular design, which was sized by the student.   The attempt to complete the door by having it work in conjunction with the groove works in the sense that it holds it in place when static but when the door is opened it tends to fall off.   While the students could glue the door into place the intention is to have them experience some basic engineering to problem solve successfully.

The current dimensions of the door shown are a 60mm by 80mm rectangle.   It took 45 minutes to complete, used 18g of filament at a cost of $0.45

The other part of the design that students are trying to deal with is the roof.  Again we have followed a similar process to the door.   The students identified the measurements, worked on some basic shapes and the adapted these to meet the design of the roof.   The final part for consideration and again the hardest part of the design for the students to complete was to work out a way to have a bracket or a clip that could attach to the top of the design so that it would swing open.

Students have nearly solved this issue - but again the roof is staying in place instead of swinging or clipping in place.   Currently the roof feature measures 80mm across and is 100mm long.   The print took thirty five minutes to complete, used 16g of filament and had an associated cost to print of $0.40g.

To ensure durability of the clip we made the decision to print both of these pieces of the farm building using the Bambu H2D printer.   Both designs will need to be re-engineered and adapted by the students.

Junior 3D Printing: Farm Scene - Progression

Challenge: To design and print an authentic farm scene.

Background: Recently we have been experimenting with a group of students who have designed farm scenes.   To put it into perspective we are in a rural area of New Zealand with a heavy emphasis in farming.

We recently produced a series of Tinkercad designs that we felt were creative but initially we were reluctant to print the designs as we (underestimated) the ability of the Snapmaker printer to successfully print the design, as it had a number of detailed parts.

Each element of the design shown in the photograph was created by the student with the overall scene in mind.   The hay bales for instance were designed from the main grid.   The student also expanded their design skills considerably by adding details onto the digger.   In the original design there was no scoop at the front of the tractor, the student created this and then added it to the existing image.   He also wanted to add an axel at the back of the tractor and did so by using the basic shapes.

The design featured a high level of rafting/support into several places, the tractor in particular.   The student was aware of this challenge and the teacher attempted to remove this without compromising the details in the print.   This was more or less successful (see below).   

The student also used the 'terrain' feature from Tinkercad for the base, however opted to make it still thin, and was considering the ability to laser cut MDF to complete a base for the project.

Level of Difficulty: Hard - this was created by a Y4 student who has just started 3D Printing, however they have already shown an awareness and a creativity that is unusual for this level- it has come from experience and design in Minecraft and other programs, but they have then transferred these skills to TInkercad.

Timeframe: Three hours - there is a question over the purpose of the print (see below) and this will have an impact on the ultimate design.

Size: The current version of this print is measures 120mm and is 85mm wide.   The height of the print is 40mm, at the point of the tractor.   The current thickness of the terrain base is 2mm making it particularly thin, however as noted the student has decided to use the laser cutter to create a thicker base.   Each of the different elements of the scene were relative to the main part, which was the tractor.

What we would do differently/next steps for the students:  The student has created a detailed scene, however the first draft print alerted him to the fact that there were subtle adjustments that needed to be made - to the hay bales and the tractor.   The removal of the rafting of the tractor also caused a challenge - if the rafting cannot be removed with the machinery suffering, then the tractor need to be adapted.   The student is also thinking about the next stages for the design, however the student has been quizzed about the purpose of the print and is considering how they might create a purpose for this, including having labelling on the print.

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).