Minecraft Dolphin 2026 Edition 3D Print

 

Challenge: To design an authentic 3D Printed Minecraft figure or animal.

Background: This task came out of a task from the end of last week where the students were using Tinkercad to design animals, objects and Minecraft themed items.  Both systems use a block based system to build items using the software.

To complete this task students used their iPads, the Tinkercad App and also Minecraft Education (where they located the animals and then screenshot them)

The goal of producing the print/design was for their to be colour matching if appropriate but also for the Tinkercad design to feature the original from Minecraft in a way that it was recognisable.   The App was also used to project the design as a AR/VR image throughout the school.  You can read details of the initial design here.   Minecraft ended up being a significant theme in the design and creations of the students both in our 2025 School Market Day and in general AR/VR and 3D Printed student designs which you can view by clicking on the link here.

Level of Difficulty: Low (for the Dolphin) this was created independently by a student who has been designing using Tinkercad for seven weeks who is eight years old.

Size: The print measures 80mm long was 20mm wide and 10mm thick.  The tail and the fins provided additional length for the design.

Cost/Price: The print used 8g of PLA to print.  This has a price point of $0.20 to complete.

Timeframe: Using the School Bambu H2D Printer the total time for the print was 21 minutes.

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students: While the item has a novelty value it does not have a specific defined purpose that the student could identify.  The student could look at these dimensions and then convert it to something with a specific purpose.

The dimensions of the object are relatively close however when you view the print from above the two side fins are clearly different sizes, this could be address.   The blowhole in the head of the dolphin is currently only 2mm across with a printer able to produce less detail this would potentially have not been a viable part of the print.

As a point of reference you can view this post from 2025 when another student completed the project.

3D Printed Minecraft Dolphin 2.0

 

Challenge: To use Tinkercad to produce a 3D Print of a character of animal that is featured in Minecraft.

Background: In September as we were approaching our Market Day we spent time with challenges based around crossing over between Tinkercad and Minecraft.  We featured several posts about them.

One of the students at the time completed the project shown here which was not printed at the time but was one of the outstanding prints that we completed at the end of the 2025 school year.   With this print the student wanted it to be different from the other Dolphin that we produced at the time and subsequently became an item that we sold at school market day.

The alternative print had the eyes of the dolphin next to the nose on the front, the version shown here is more accurate and authentic to the game, with the eyes on the side of the animal.  In the original although it was glow-in-the-dark it also was converted to a key ring by inserting a hole into the tail, in this incidence the student wanted to have a specific purpose which was storage, hence the hollowing out of the back of the dolphin, which also reduced the print time and the cost.

The student who produced this print independently of the classroom teacher was an eight year old student who had been designing in the classroom since last year having no previous 3D Printing design or creation experience.

Level of Difficulty: Medium - we have discovered that there is a natural fit between Minecraft characters and Tinkercad and have in fact created an entire series of projects, prints and ideas as a result of the clear connection between the two.

Size: The print measured 160mm long was 110mm wide at its longest point and the print was 50mm high.  The storage area in the back of the print measured 50mm by 20mm and was 20mm deep.

Cost: By using the Bambu studio lab auto creation software we can determine that this print uses 65g of filament and that the identified cost is $2.00 (NZD)

Timeframe: Using the Bambu H2D the print took two and a half hours.   

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students:   There is a slight printing error with this print - the nose of the Dolphin was not attached correctly, normally this would be identified during the AR/VR prototyping but in this case it was missed (which would suggest the student did not complete this part of the design process) This project also could have potentially had a larger design area based around the storage, which could have been extended or had two seperate areas (which would have been divided by the dorsal fin).