3D Printing and Laser Cutting Sphero Resources

 

Not only do we have a range of 3D Printing and other machines available for our students to use we also have other technology that can be used and created.

Sphero Robots are a coding robot that we have had at our school for a number of years.   We find these robots work very well with our junior and middle school students and overtime we have created a number of resources with the technology to use in conjunction with the robots.

An obvious example is the town and the garage designed to work with a Sphero Robot.  We have students when they feel confident in using the 'drive' option with the robot and have used the coding maps that we look to include challenges and tasks involving the building.

Although its showing its age this building and garage was built using the school laser cutter.   With dimensions of 300mm across, 220mm deep or long and 150mm high - this is too large to 3D Print.   This size  allows the robot the ability to choose either entrance to go into.

The design was cut with MDF and then had a layer of regular cardboard applied to provide the texture that can be seen in the photograph.    We also use blocks or rods combined with the building to increase the level of difficulty.

We have also created a range of other resources that combine with the technology.    In 2024 we looked at creating paddles to work in conjunction with the robots which are waterproof.   You can view this post here.   This was also detailed when we experimented with creation boats and using Pixton Comic Creator to create a series of posters to explain the students work - you can view examples of this by clicking on this link here.

While Tinkercad is a free web based software for the year that we used Pixton in 2024 we paid a subscription for the students to have access to the full range of Pixton creation, allowing us to create a range of student generated media that relate to both Tinkercad, 3D Printing and Sphero robots - as shown left.

We also used Pixton to publish the 3D Printed designs of the students to present and explain what they have made and created for their designs.    This might be an option for schools concerned with the privacy of the students (as their images in these presentations are represented by avatar figure of the students).

This year we are looking at the students creating additional resources that are 3D Printed to use in combination with the Sphero Robots.     The students are currently thinking about ideas about what they can use to create to them move forward to the prototyping stage.

3D Printing: Design Ideas for Non Printing

 

We have previously published a slideshow detailing examples of work from this site - focussing on some ten years of creations of Christmas Themed 3D Prints.     In this slideshow here we have decided to focus on examples of how we might used Tinkercad to create 3D Printed projects, projects that either might not be ideal as 3D Printing projects or by their nature would make better virtual or other designs.

As with the other slideshows and resources from this site you are more than welcome to share and use them and we would really like some other examples and to hear about your own projects.

3D Printed: Term One Junior Program - Summary

 

Following the creation of the initial badge and name plates the second round of designs have the students looking to introduce colour via the 'rainbow' filament that we are now using.

The design for these is expected to have the name part of the badge sunk into the design instead of having it on the outside as is typically first designed by the students.   New versions like the one shown left will be explained in detail on this blog shortly.

In the example shown left the students are then being encouraged to work on a more detailed and creative original design.   In the example shown left the student is intent on creating a basic tank design using the geometric shapes that are available on the main Tinkercad design interface.

The student has used the 'track' option for the movement, the turret is currently in a fixed position but the intention is for the student to design a rotation turret.   This student is a Y3 student so a seven year old who is designing for the first time.

The student is working independently from the teacher in that they are bringing their completed design for printing.

We have also discussed in the past how not all the students can have active printing of their designs and projects due to the limited availability of the printers.   As we have mentioned in the past there are various opportunities and ideas that students can be involved in using Tinkercad which doesn't meant that the prints need to be completed.  A clear example in the past has been the filters that we have used taking the Tinkercad

designs and then applying filters to them - in the case of the inbuilt Tinkercad designs there is the 'brick and block option which we have already posted about this year.  Furthermore we have also used web based programs such as Pixton to further enhance the designs.

We also have used the motion option from the main Tinkercad interface (this is the apple shown left) - this then leads to the 'throwables and the scene' icon shown directly left.   Students are able to further manipulate and experiment with their designs to interact and experiment with them.

In this example the students designed a game using their Tinkercad creation interface.   They identified targets that then could have objects tossed or thrown at them, scoring points on the basis of the difficulty of the shot or object.

A further extension can be provided by having specific objects targeted for certain areas (for instance in the example left the student need to identify what of the throwable objects could successfully hit the 'ten' location.  Further extension could be provided by students identifying carnival games and recreating them in the context of using the design ideas and source.

In the example shown left the student designed a scene with the intention of the motion capture.

This when activated causes the lid on the design to collapse, which in turn causes a 'chain reaction' which was the purpose of the lesson.

The chain reaction can then be modified by changing the variables that are part of the design, and seeing how the change in variables can then affect the outcome, such as increasing the height of the sides, the shape and the context of the block on the top.

Combining Tinkercad, Pic Collage and Pixton Part Two

 

This is a combination of using three web based programs in one.   In this example the student created a boat as part of the Room Seven Classroom Boat Challenge.

While we intend to print a number of them, some of the students when the design has been completed would like to share and have it shown to others.   While the Tinkercad design by itself is interesting and creative there are additional filters that can be applied.  In this case the original Tinkercad file was then imported in Pic Collage and the 'Cherry Blossom Filter was then added.   The final step was the student using Pixton, a comic App to produce an avatar of themselves standing in front of the design explaining about its creation or details about the print.

This is another student who followed the same three step process, and used their design avatar to explain information about the print.

This involved two of the three stages, with this design the student opted to leave the Tinkercad design in its regular state by just using a screen shot and then adding the characters from Pixton.

Combination Work: Tinkercad - Pixton and inbuilt blocks

 

This is the follow up posts to examples of how my class of students is looking to use Tinkercad in other ways to combine with other apps and form of presentation.

As we have noted yesterday we have some students, based in our rural area who have been producing 3D Printed Mini-Farms.   While we have not printed all of these creations, we also want to use them in other ways and explore other potential uses.   We also have students producing writing in Pixton, another iPad app.  In this instance the student has imported their design from Tinkercad directly into  and used the it as the background for a creation.   The comic book characters are avatars of the students, and the students are going to have a series of explanation of the different aspects of the design explained by the cartoon characters.

The original format for this design, looks 'blocky' as it already has been converted into a block option from the main interface.  We have students who are big fans of the plastic block building material, and this converts their original designs into a brick format.   There is also options for another similar not a mining game, to make similar blocks.

All of the three options here are very easy to import into the various extensions, or within Tinkercad.  It is simply a single button pushed.

3D Printed Amazon River Dolphin Animal and Project

Challenge: Focus on a unique animal for Market Day to extend a student who has shown creativity and innovation.  

Background: As mentioned with the previous posts that are forming the majority of the present content we have a major school event next week - our School Market Day.

In the current classroom for Y3/4 we have a number of students who need some extension and one of the students has interests across a range of topics.   One aspect where the 3D Printing has proven to be really positive is in allowing it to create an animal that can be highlighted and featured that perhaps is not shown a huge amount of coverage or details for a variety of reasons.   The student in question wanted to highlight an Amazonian River Dolphin which is a creature that he has an interest in.   

The student spent a considerable amount of time further researching the animal and getting the dimensions right.  He opted for a cartoon approach to highlight some of the features of the animal as opposed to having dimensions that were correct (an example is the teeth that are prominent on the bill).

The student looked at ways to extend himself further by adding some additional sources of creativity to his work.

He used logos created by external sites like Brand Crowd and Logo Maker.   He created his own QR Code by using QRstuff.com and finally as he's been producing impressive and creative work using Pixton he was able to produce a comic based around the creature with additional information 

Level of Difficulty: Low - we wanted to allow an easy completion of the design, hence allowing the student to use 'scribble' to get the point of the animal across, however there were many elements that were working in conjunction with the design as mentioned above.   While this didn't add to the difficulty as such it meant that there was additional work for the student to extend themselves.

Size: 130mm long, 80mm high and 10mm thick or wide.   The purpose of the print at this stage is to act as a bag tag or a keyring so this would be the recommended dimensions for this kind of print.

Timeframe: Three and a half hours on standard (15% infill) print using our favourite Snapmaker Printer.   There is potential for variation of printing for this design and idea and it is expected to be adjusted accordingly.

What we would do differently/next steps for students: We have an obvious next step here, turning what is a static print into a connected print with a ball and socket joint to create a flexi-animal. We have students who are Y3 and Y4 however these have unpacked this learning over the course of the year and are well versed at creating these prints.   The student has decided in the short term to focus on the Market Day as it is next week - and wants to develop these prints further after this point.