3D Printed Personalised Birthday Gift

 

Challenge: To produce a unique and personalised present from a student to another person.

Background: This was presented to the teacher as a completed project that had been designed, created and actioned at home by the student.   They wanted to combine a small stand, a name and row of hearts as well as a personalised message on the back of the design and give this as a gift.   The student concerned is eight years old.  There were two versions of this printed both on the P1S Bambu machines.   The first version is shown top left.

In this version the lettering was very narrow and subsequently the printer had difficulty in producing the desired affect, which was produced in the adjusted version.   The different between both versions size wise was only 30mm or so however it made the difference between a successful and non successful print.

In the initial print the lettering on the reverse of the design was too small and had difficulty being read, the revised version had 4mm high lettering that was sunk into the design and was as thin as 1mm in places but held its form.   

Resources used to complete this project: Tinkercad App, iPad, Bambu P1S, Cotton Candy PLA.

Level of Difficulty: Medium.  This student has shown creativity and flair when completing designs and had a very definite idea and process in mind when completing this print - also was very keen to make use of the exisiting 'cotton candy' as they felt that the colour would work in conjunction with the gift.

Size: The revised version of the print, as shown left, measured 110mm across was 30mm long and 40mm high.

Cost/Price: The print used 15g of PLA for rafting and 45g of PLA to complete the print.  This had a price point of $1.17 to complete the print.

Timeframe: This print took one and half hours to complete on the regular default, infill settings that are set up with the printing software.

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students: Nil - completed and done in a way that the student was very happy with.  There was a limited discussion about mounting it somewhere - or the fact that it does have a hole in the top left hand corner when facing forward, but the student did not want to change it.

3D Printer Pencil Sharpener - Deluxe Edition

 

Challenge: To create an original design that incorporates into the print a physical object with a purpose.

Background: We detailed this projects start earlier this month when we tasked students with the challenge of having a physical sharpener created to work in conjunction with a student engineered 3D Print.    The students for the process were able to work with a partner on the design.   The challenge first stage was the design then the students were to undergo testing to ensure the design was viable, balance and had a purpose.

Some of the challenges that the students came up against were aligning the sharpener correctly into the print, ensuring that they had a suitable 'exit' location for the pencil sharpening once it was used.

Once the inserting mechanisms had been devised the students then spent time working on the other aspects of the design, inserts for pencils, names and shapes.   The students wanted to use a multi coloured PLA for the affect that it would create - this is a PLA which is called 'Cotton Candy'.

Resources Used: iPad and Tinkercad App for the design, Cotton Candy Bambu PLA, Bambu P1S.

Level of Difficulty: Medium/Hard.   This is one of those tasks that appears simple but there are layers and elements to it, particularly when the students start to attempt to have multi entry and exit points and details that need to work in conjunction with each other.

Size: This version of the print measures 50mm across and was 55mm long and 40mm high.   

Cost/Price: This unit as it stands uses 42g of PLA filament to complete the print, including some 12g of rafting (for the lettering and the inside of the box).   This had a price point of $1.07c to complete.

Timeframe: To complete this project the printer took a (now standard) six minutes to warm up and one hour twenty four minutes to complete the print, for a combined total of one and a half hours.

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students: There is a gap in the side of the pencil sharpener holder as shown left.   This has been created because the internal storage on the other side of the wall is too close to the side of the print.  It needs to be moved slightly or reduced in size which will correct the error.   The final step is for the students to undergo testing to ensure that the item works as it is intended.  If it does not the students will then need to look at reworking and refining it.