3D Printed Cyclops Eye Detailed Version

 

Challenge: To create a design that integrated the use of craft 'eyes' and 3D Printing.

Background:  This print was originally  part of the cyclops 2026 print series - although it is going to be revised following the school holidays.  The very first use of the eyes took place in November 2025.

The student wanted to create a design with multiple eyes with various shapes and additions to create something that had a varied texture.

All of this design was created by a eight year old student who is part of the second cohort of classroom students.   They used their iPad and the Tinkercad app to complete the design independently using Tinkercad for the design.   The teacher then converted the .stl file into Bambu studio to complete the printing of the project.

With the design the student used the Tinkercad Apps AR/VR feature to test the design virtually.  They used the 'motion' feature to ensure that the design was solid and then removed any additional spikes that were not fully attached.

The design was projected to a range of locations inside and outside of the classroom and the students placed it in locations where potentially it could be placed.   We also stressed for the student the importance of the purpose of the design and where it was viable or not.

Level of Difficulty: Medium - there are a lot of elements that are going on for the student here and they have combined but also require some revision.

Size: The design was 90mm high and was 80mm wide.   Elements like the spikes extended 20mm from the base and the holes where the eyes were placed tended to be sunk 20mm into the base of the design.

Cost/Price: The print used 112g of PLA to complete and had a price point according to Bambu Studio Labs of $2.82.

Timeframe: The print took three and a half hours to complete on the regular settings for the Bambu H2D.

Next steps for the students/What would we do differently: The students design could benefit from further refinement.  The eyes are sunken in significantly with the design and therefore they are not obviously visible.   The print was completed in glow-in-the-dark filament - although this was perhaps something to be reconsidered if it was to repeated again.   The base of the design is a little uneven because of the weight of it and therefore it would be adjusted slightly in future prints.

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.

Cyclops Challenge Revisited 2026

Challenge: To create something based around the eyes from a regular craft set.

Background: Regular visitors to this blog will recognise this challenge from last year it was one based around the use of a prop or third part challenge and the goal for the students was to incorporate the item into the 3D Design.   We have previously proved successful in doing so with pencil sharpeners (which you can see via this previous post here or inputing this into the search box top right hand corner)

This challenge focussed on the craft eyes shown left.  They were purchased from a local chain store from the craft section for $5.00.  Each of the eyes has an adhesive sticker on the back of it to fix it into place onto paper or cardboard as we are ultimately mounting it on plastic PLA which would mean that we would be gluing it in place with some form of strong adhesive.   As we have mentioned in the past we have a range of previous prints from this site collected over the years for the students to use as an inspiration point for students- one of the featured prints is the series of 'cyclops' prints from last year,

Last years design came in a range of designs with the inspiration for this year being the design shown left (which is printed in pink glow-in-the-dark filament).

To ensure that this years designs were original, and not simply a copy of the example shown left students were challenged to create a design that featured multiple eyes - with a minimum of at least two, however we specified to the students that they needed to ensure that they were not 'traditional' that is they were not placed adjacent to each other like we would expect to see in a regular face.

We started by having the students sketch a 'monster' figure and designing it on regular paper.  We then had the students exchange plans with each other and have students use Tinkercad to create the digital image object of the other students idea.  Once they had their creation checked they were then encouraged to add depth and details to their original design.

This design (shown left) cane out of the process.  Of note is the detail that the student was able to create into the design - the hair in particular was something that was possible with the detail provided by a regular nozzle on the Bambu H2D.    The student opted to meet the brief provided with the eyes by producing two slots one at the top on the top tier of the 'snowman' design.   

To further provide a point of interest this print was printed in green glow-in-the-dark as we have been using some material left over from last years Market Day.

The biggest challenge for this task for the students is allowing for specific measurements for a range of 'eyes' for the print to work in conjunction with.  They provide a striking contrast to the print filament itself but to ensure that it works effectively they cannot really be glued in place without any kind of insert or opening for the eye.

This monster will be featured in an additional post on this blog.

3D Printed 'Cyclops' Print - Completed Design

This project was started by the use of 'eyes' for as a provocation for the students, where they were challenged to design an original and unique creation on the basis of this.

This was detailed in a previous post on this blog.

The sheet of eyes that is shown left had a variety of sizes and also had a variety of details.  It was purchased from a local craft store for $5.00 although there are online versions listed significantly cheaper.

The design was completed in Tinkercad.  It was designed by a seven year old student.

We will be producing a teaching directed and targeted video explaining the process and the details of this project.

The final print, when printed with rainbow filament is show left.   The eye as detailed has been held in place by the space that was designed to house it, it did not need to be glued as it was forced in, and it expanded and then locked in place.

The print was successful and has got us thinking what else might we be able to present to the students to provide them a provocation to design and create?

We can print one of these designs on the Bambu in just over an hour for a single print, although we have put four of them on a plate and successfully printed all of them with an adjusted timeframe.

3D Printed 'Cyclops' Challenge: Masterclass

 

Challenge: Given a toy eye the students in the classroom were told to create a build/project around it.

Background: This is the finished version of the first initial print.  The process behind the design for this print was detailed in a previous print on this blog.

This design is now shown with the eye firmly in place - without glue as the student was able to force it into the eye socket when it then expanded into place, held there by the design.    The design is used to hold a USB flash drive.

At the same time that this was being produced one of the other students wanted to create something on a more significant scale.   This student is a eight year old student who has shown creativity and aptitude with her designing work and skills.  She wanted to use a 'cyclops' theme to produce a unique storage location.   Tinkercad was used as the main design tool.

The design is shown left on the Tinkercad design page.    The student opted for a single eyeball which as shown was on a stalk, with two pods of storage either side of the main body.

Level of Difficulty: Medium - the design has a number of aspects and details in it.   For instance the spikes on the body and the boils have been created by adding small cones and circles at different locations and then flattened out or added.     The balance with the design was required and it also needed to work with the scale.

Size: This was a significant print in terms of size.    The print measured 170mm across and was 90mm wide.    The main height of the body of the print was 120mm.   The Pods were 70mm long etc.    This was intended as a significant print.    The stalk with the eye in the middle was a further 70mm high.

Timeframe: This print took four and a half hours and took place on the Bambu H2D Printer.   This made sense with the dimensions and also the details that we wanted to bring to the print.   There was absolutely minimal rafting that was produced with this print - if we had used our other primary machines, the Snapmaker then we would have expected significant rafting with this projects.

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students: 

The student has shown the ability to be able to produce prints such as this.   When the initial challenge was set to the students they were asked to incorporate an eyeball into it this student opted to move in another direction.    The student could have looked to use this with the design, as they could have opted to use the printer to change it colour.

The student could have looked for additional features and develop the design further.   While they put a considerable amount of additional features onto the design but they could have added further details.

We have used the 'monster' theme numerous times in the classroom as a design focus because it allows the students to not follow particular rules or details (such as when a cat is designed) 

3D Printed Junior 'Cyclops' Challenge

Challenge: To use a large single eye in conjunction with a print design (aka the cyclops challenge).

Background: We are nearly three quarters of the year through the school year in New Zealand and the students have been using Tinkercad as a design tool for nearly all of this time (as we started projects in the first week) there is also a number of students who were in the classroom last year with nearly two years design experience.   As a teacher I tend to be looking for examples and ideas that I can present to the students, the classroom and challenge them to come up with ideas and creations with a loose direction.

This project idea came from something that developed with a previous print project on this blog.    We were using a 'cat' theme for our literacy tasks and so a natural fit was 3D design - the students finished several of these designs with stick on eyes - as can be seen in these posts on this blog.    While we now have the potential to use the Bambu H2D to change filaments mid print and produce a eyeball we also wanted to look at a physical 'eye' as a starting point for a design.

By purchasing a packet of large oversized eyes from a local craft shop, for a nominal fee, it was presented to the students with the challenge of producing something based on the design however the students could only have one eye and the print had to have a purpose to it.    The students brainstormed ideas and looked into projects that had worked previously from storage to pencil toppers.    The limit to the eyes created a 'cyclops' aspect to the challenge and students worked in monster designs as part of it.   As shown left and above the student used the Tinkercad main interface to design oversized teeth and gums, ears and a socket for the eye.

The students were collectively creating as so were able to bounce ideas off each other they also used AR/VR to project their designs into different locations to look at their suitability for design and to consider aspects of their creations.   In the example shown below the student duplicated his original design.

This allowed him to develop two seperate prints for his project, a pencil holder on the left, which he then inverted and turned into a pencil topper, reduced the size and put a hole in the bottom so essentially turned one project into two.   

Level of Difficulty: Low - this is essentially a task where the open aspect of it allows students to create something with an open scale and design features (for instance it would have been more challenging to produce a realistic cat.

Size: This print was initially created to be 70mm across and was 60mm high.   The print was designed originally as a prototype and to realistically store pencils would need to be of a larger scale, with greater ability to hold stationary.   The pencil topper needed to the other direction as it couldn't be too big as it would upset the ability to write realistically with a pencil.

Timeframe: Just over two hours.  This was completed on the Snapmaker printer - if it had been completed on the Bambu we would have expected this to be half the time, something in the region of one hour.

What we would do differently/next steps for the students: As noted there is some redesign that is required when the student decides on the direction that they want to go on, either increasing the storage or reducing the storage depending on the purpose.   The design is robust, comical and the student has the balance right between the task and producing something that has appeal.   The other thing to keep in mind is that the student who is responsible for this design is seven years old, although they have shown an aptitude for creation and design.