3D Printed Minecraft Axolotl Part Two

Earlier today we spoke about the Axolotl that was design by a student as part of the Minecraft Vs Tinkercad Challenge (2026 Edition).

The identified next steps for the student were to address the purpose of the print, to change it from a novelty to something with purpose.   To that end the student decided to use the original design, shown in the previous post and take it and modify it as shown left.

As shown there is now storage space in the head and side as well as three circular holes on the back of the design on the left hand side.   

The student was able to make the adjustments following the verbal feedback from the teacher and did so easily.

In the original post the student used 70g of PLA with a cost price of $1.73.   In the revised version shown left, when the storage was included the print used 65g of PLA and had a price point of $1.65.    The print time had been increased to 2 hours and twenty four minutes.

This print is now awaiting spray painting by adults which will complete its presentation.

A reminder that we are publishing the full range of images from this series on the associated Facebook page for this site and you can view that material by clicking on the link here.

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.