3D Printed Personalised Magnetic Memo Holder

Challenge: To use a common stationary item (in this case a magnet) and combine this with a 3D Print.
Background: Looking for students to be introduced to 3D Printing by starting with something straightforward and basic the students could easily produce.   The student was ten years old and was producing for thier first time.   The object that they were given were two pin-magnets.   The student decided that she wanted to create a 3D Print linking her name with space for the magnets.   The basic design is familiar to everyone who has seen the main Tinkercad Interface.  The name of the student and then the production of the holes inside the design follow a very similar format to the design of the name badge and key rings.  The total design time for this student took five minutes (for her first print) and this was the complete successful print.
Level of Difficulty: Low this student was able to work this out with minimum input (ie none) from others and worked to complete the finished product independently.
Size: 110mm long, 30mm high and 5mm deep.   This was perfect for the design.
Timeframe: One hours and twenty minutes - given the design the idea was to get someone to produce something in a short timeframe that was going to be successful.
What we would do differently: This student was wanting to produce something in a short time frame.  the hole where the magnets went could have been more precise but worked with the intent.  The student is going to move onto more complex and difficult projects.

3D Printed 'Cat' Themed Magnet Fridge Holder

Above: Complete Cat 3D Printed Fridge Magnet

Challenge: To use two magnets in a way that uses them in conjunction with 3D Print.
Background: Student who had limited exposure to 3D Printing.  She was given the challenge of using a common item and tasked to 3D Print some aspect of it.   This task has been used repeatedly to create the students an opportunity to design something with a 3D Printing theme.   Previous examples of prints in this series featured on the blog include the Robotic Pencil Sharpener and 3D Printed Magnet Holder which are detailed on this blog.

In this example the student choose to concentrate on creating a note holder that could be placed as a reminder on a noticeboard or the fridge.   The design was available online from a simple search from Tinkercad main interface.  Following that the students only task was to check the dimensions of the print and width of the print.   The final task was the introduction of two holes that were cut into the design, these formed the eyes of the design. The student measured and attempted to replicate the diameter of the holes to ensure that the eyes were securely attached to the base of the design.  The student involved in this design is nine year old.
Level of Difficulty: Low - this was an introductory task for a student who wanted to learn and develop her skills with 3D Printing.  This was her first independent project despite contributing to other projects that students have worked on.
Size: 80mm wide, 90mm high and 5mm thick.  The purpose of the design was based around a print working with the eyes, which initially were two different colours, the student wanted to switch to using two yellow pins to convey the theme of eyes. This was about the right dimensions for this product - which was intended as an introduction to showcase 3D Printing without the print project taking to long to get to the finish.  The weight of the product is also dependant on the thickness of the design, there have been other prints using similar magnets that have been too heavy which have caused the magnets to slide down their intended surface.   This was shown by the previous magnet challenge.
Time Frame: One hour twenty on our typical default settings - using 8mm nozzle and 20% infill.
What we would do differently: While the student was particularly happy with the design and finished product there are obvious extensions that could be completed.   There could be the potential to print, in a relative short space of time, whiskers or additional basic features.  The fact that the design could be completed relatively easily would also lend itself to a series of similar kinds of designs that might then be completed in large numbers over a few days (ie monsters etc).

3D Printed Magnet Customised

Three designs group together with prototype at bottom

Challenge: To take an ordinary or common item and incorporate it into a 3D Print and design.
Background: The came as part of the challenge involving using common items and creating a 3D print concept idea and print around the object.   In this case it was a small magnet.   This magnet can be clearly seen in the picture on the left.   Thinking about where our school is located the student wanted to produce a design that had the name of the area on it as a souvenir or a marker.   The design was relatively straight forward - the magnet had a pin shape, the student wanted to feature the name of the area where the school is based 'Auroa' which features five letters.   To ensure that the magnet was strong enough to hold the print in place the student attempted to design a print with two and then three magnets holding it in place.    The student opted to make the block aspect of the 3D Print a similar length of the print - this created a small issue with the weight of the print causing the printed design to slide as the magnets could initially not hold it in place, this was overcome by introducing a third magnet into the equation to hold the design in place.  At the end of the day where the location of the school is somewhere it is not common to have material produced for (ie it is not possible to purchase 'Auroa' themed material as the location is to remote.

Three designs with prototype now at the top

Level of Difficulty: Low - this was rather straightforward design, kept simplistic with a view to produce it quickly, with the key criteria being the inclusion of the magnets as a priority.
Time fame: Two hours - Some time could have been taken out with the background behind the design which was created as a block to have the pins secured within the design.
Size: The print was 80mm long 20mm high and 20mm wide producing a rectangular prism shape.  There was scope to reduce the size of the print at the rear of the design where it is not visible.
What we would do differently: There wasn't particular consideration paid for the strength of the magnet relative to the weight created by the 3D Print.    The magnet themselves are not particularly strong (which was the reasons the students refined the design to include three pints instead of two) and a strip or bar magnet would have served this purpose better.