3D Printed Design with craft Eyes

Challenge: To create a unique design that incorporates the use of craft 'eyes' as part of the print.  Student was eight years old and used their iPad and the Tinkercad iPad App.

Background: As explained previously this year we have revisited several different tasks from last year including our cyclops challenge, details of which you can read here.

We've always looking at ways to extend the students thinking and using craft items that can be incorporated into 3D Printing and students design.

In this instance the student opted to go with two eyes but to ensure it was not the traditional pair of eyes in this instance the student opted to have them on top of each other on the shape of a snowman with additional texture provided by the hair.

Level of Difficulty: Low - the fact that the design was a monster allowed for it not to have traditional measurements or features - which meant there was no right or wrong answers for the design that the students created.   

Size: This design was 70mm across and 70mm wide as well as being 60mm long.   These dimensions meant that it was capable of holding a single pen, or stylus pen, rather than a group of stationary.

Cost/Price: The print used 26g of filament and had a price point of $0.65c.   This information was supplied by Bambu Studios as part of their software when  the .stl Tinkercad file was imported across into the printer software.

Timeframe: Using the standard settings on the Bambu H2D this print took one hour to complete.   There was minimal rafting, mainly around the hair at the back.

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students: The location of the two eyes could be more refined.  There is a small gap for the eyes however the smallest eyes required a slightly larger gap.  The design does not have a solid base and this has meant that there is something of a 'wobble' present which upon testing of the print limits what can be stored in it.  If the print was to be expanded and store more stationary then the base would need to stabilised.

Junior Robocup Props - Part Two

The Four Turtle Shells off the printer

Challenge: Create a high quality prop to enhance the students performance in the Junior Robocup.
Background: Students have EV3 Lego Robots for competition.  The groups of three to four students have three robots to move and interact with a theme as part of robotic dance theatre.  A key part of the performance is the costume for the competitors and the costumes - for both the students and the robots.  Traditionally the props for the robots have been made from material such as cardboard and paper.  By using the 3D printer it is possible for the students to produce more high quality costume pieces for the

The three smaller shells mounted on the bugs

robots.  The parts themselves cannot be manufactured as this is against the rules of the competition.
Task: As part of this group of students they have a role assigned to a turtle.  They had build a robot to play the role of the turtle however they used the 3D Printer to create the shell for the turtle and for three smaller turtles for the performance.
Level of Difficulty:  Medium.   The smaller turtle shells worked perfectly.  The larger shell had to be refined.  As noted with a previous post the programming for the robots had already been completed therefore the props were limited to their role and size. Issues: The larger shell was not successfully be able to mounted at this time and needs to be sanded or refined so it able to be used in conjunction with the robotic performance.
Size: The smaller shells were 5cm long and 2cm wide.  The larger object was 20cm by 15cm.

Time Frame: Forty hours for the print of all four objects.
Process: The students Y8 designed the turtle shells as part of the process using Tinkercad.  They specifically searched for a pre-created turtle shell created on Tinkercad and then used that as a basis to design the three smaller shells.   The time frame (three weeks until the competition) meant that the students wanted to minimise the production time.  The photograph to the right shows the shell attempted to be mounted on the robot (which was unsuccessful) a further front to the shell is required to complete the major design features of the turtle shell.  As previously stated these are some of the first attempts to integrate the 3D Printers with the Junior Robocup creations and designs.  It is anticipated that this will create a raft of new creations had the timeframe been more flexible then a considerable number of designs and ideas using 3D Printers would have been created.