3D Printed 'Not Lego' Lego Minature Chairs

 

Challenge: To produce an authentic looking piece of furniture to work in conjunction with a 'lego/not-lego' set or scene.

This activity has several reference points.  Firstly one of the major challenges that our students were involved in was the making a 3D Printed furniture suitable for a Dolls House.   You can see an overview of this major project by clicking on the link here.   An off shoot of this project was creating 'lego' scale figures.

A discount purchase of end of line promotion from a local supermarket meant that we could access several kitchen scenes and our students as result worked on a series of figures to match and then items of furniture to fit into the scene.  Students AR/VR the creations into these scenes and then we printed in some cases the physical figures.

This design came out of that process as it was an end process of producing a chair to fit around the table.   It was a relatively easy design for the student and allowed them to create something that could easily be printed (see time below) and then modified to fit into the scene.

Resources Used to complete this project: iPad, Tinkercad App (for design and AR/VR projection), Bambu P1S, Cotton Candy PLA.

Level of Difficulty: Low - this was completed independently by a nine year old,  The chair design as it stands (pardon the pun) at the moment is recognisable and functional although the potential would be for further details to increase the challenge.

Size: This is a miniature print to fit into a 'lego' sized scene.   The chairs dimensions at present measure 20mm across is 40mm high and 20mm deep/wide.

Cost/Price:  We have used the Bambu Studios cost price analysis extensively to ensure that we are considering the viability of prints but also to make sure we could identify what could be a 'whole class' activity for someone who is working on a budget or has limited access to a printer.   This design uses 5g of PLA plastic with a price point of $0.13c to produce - making it one of the lowest price prints that we have completed this year.

Timeframe: To complete this print the printer had the standard six minute warm up and preparation time and then printed for twenty one minutes.   This meant of course the total time was under half an hour on the regular default settings.

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students: The design that the student has created as shown left in place is almost too large as it stands at present.   When compared to the rest of the scene it is the size of a high chair but obviously does not have the correct dimension for this.  It needs to be adjusted smaller if it was to be for the table - however once this is completed (and this should take no more than a simple drag and click of the design) the student could make a full set from a single item.   The detail that the P1S can produce given the default settings is extremely impressive.  I have had a casual conversation with someone who is involved in role playing games and their machine is producing all of the figures.

There is huge scope for further design in this range.

3D Printed Dolls House: Final Room Reveal

This is the completed shot for the bedroom of the Dolls House project when all of the elements have been completed and put together for a final shot before it is passed over to the junior school students for final testing.

The students have put together a range of piece of furniture.  These have undergone several revisions and reworking from their original designs.
 

As these have developed several examples have been highlighted due to their details and success of scale.

There are still some aspects of the project that need completion.   The flooring which is shown above is obviously not the finished version, which is being completed with the sticker machine.   The flooring needs to have perspective, and will be based upon a new MDF floor completed by senior students and using the school laser cutter.

We are also looking at examples which we have found online of using wallpaper however again it will require the senior students to complete MDF replacement of the walls before 

3D Printed Furniture: Micro Edition

 

Challenge: For a student to produce an original and functional piece of furniture.

Background: Regular readers of this blog who have been following our project work for 2025 will be familiar with the overall project of producing Dolls House furniture.

Some of the biggest prints in this project have come out at over fifteen hours.   The couch that was shown left was designed to be micro scale and as a result was about to be printed in ninety minutes.

This was designed with the figures in mind that we had been using to scale the designs, but while one figure fits rather snugly in this couch it works perfectly with another range of micro characters.

The student also wanted to add additional features into the design, so it wasn't simply a block of shapes.  He added in cup holders in the arm rests, smaller cushions in the corner, created the illusion of seats and placed two shapes in the base of the design.

The entire project was completed from start to finish by an eight year old student using his iPad, Tinkercad and designing for the second consecutive year.

Size: As a lego scale print the couch measures 90mm across was 40mm and was 30mm high at the back - while this scale doesn't fit the figure first shown left it does more than perfectly fit the smaller scale figures mentioned.   To scale it up for the figure shown above the dimensions would need to double or potentially triple which would lead to increased dimensions and print time.

Timeframe: Ninety minutes in present form.

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

This couch needs to be adapted to complete the task for the larger figure, although there is potential to produce them for a smaller figure as identified.   The student has opted to create the cushions by shaping the base of the couch, a discussion will be held about modifying the base or introducing something similar to the lines of a cushion, although if this was going to be placed into a junior classroom we would want to ensure that it would be robust enough to last, which would lean towards it being printed as a single piece.

3D Printed Dolls House - Furniture Exemplars

 

We have reached the point wth the examples that the student are producing following a period of reworking and refinement that they would now be described as exemplars.

Students have been continually bouncing ideas of each other to ensure that they refine, improve and rework their designs.

They have started to consider applying scale to them to ensure that they are able to work in conjunction with a figure or model to ensure that they are viable.

Early designs featured the basic shapes the new versions that are currently coming from students features designs that are had additional details that were not previously included with the designs.

Another example of this would be the comparison between the desk shown left and the bed in the top right.   The bed has been scaled perfectly to fit the figure, the desk in its current configuration is slightly too large as it comes in at nearly should height for the figure.

The other discussion that is being had with the students is what happens next? What else can we work on to complete?   The next direction where we want to start working on is how can we combine the furniture with the house and the rooms.

We have started to look at commercially available examples of decals or stickers again while this is in the early stages with some basic designs, which at the 

moment the scale is not quite right but we are wanting to inspire the students with the direction that we can go.

We can already determine that the floors and the walls could both be decorated this way, by focussing on decals for the floor and wallpaper for the walls.   It might also be possible to include additional details in the images that are not present as physical aspects of the house for instance other details that would be reflective of a kitchen background.  These early flooring examples (shown left) have been printed with a. standard colour printer and then laminated to put in place to ensure that the idea can be demonstrated.   As the Roland Versa sign maker pints .png files our junior students could complete the task on pic collage.

3D Printed Furniture: Advanced Details

Challenge: To push students design ideas and abilities in creating more detailed furniture that could fit into a dolls house.

Background: This has been the focus with the classroom for the last week or so.  We have had to take the time to print a number of examples of the students work, as they have been refining, reworking and altering their design.   An overview of the entire project is located here.

In this example a student has wanted to push themselves to design a realistic and detailed kitchen unit.   This idea was created first by another student who came up with a detailed idea of a kitchen unit, which was featuring a sink built into the design.   This is located on our blog here.    Once the design had been shared with the class and then tested for viability and AR/VR into place.

The student wanted to create a number of features in this design, a sink with a hot/cold tap, a cutting board (which has an apple attached to it) various cupboards and a working fridge.

Size: The side featuring the cutting board which is shown in bottom right.   The first side measures 10mm long is 20mm high and 20mm across.  From the following side has similar dimensions and a length of 110mm.    The sink side was 70mm in length.   The fridge which is shown next to the sink was created to be an independent piece.   The height of the fridge was 70mm high and 20mm across and 40mm long.

Timeframe: The total time for the print took four and a half hours.   This was reflected by what needed to be created to make the print fit with the context of what was required.  Any smaller and the design would not have worked with the figure.

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students: The intention has always been to use as much of the schools technology as possible.   The 3D Printer are a significant part of it but the exciting part for some of the students will be the use of the sticker machine to produce decals to work in conjunction with the print.    The student who created this is now going to work out the area of the bench, measure the size of the fridge and use technology available to consider how they can create the decals.     Although this student does not have specific experience with the use of the machine before they will be using their iPad and Pic collage.

3D Printed Furniture: Oven

 

Challenge: To produce an individuals student own unique piece of furniture.

Background: This is part of the Dolls House 2025 student project, where we have been creating individualised pieces for the house that we are rebuilding.

This student had already completed the first task when they used the pre-made items from the main Tinkercad interface to produce 

This students next step was to consider what she could then replicate using a basic block pattern and sequence which resulted in the design shown left.  The student was then able to have the design printed to compare it to the various figures that we are using

for scale to ensure that it fits into the Dolls House.

Size: The print measures 50mm wide was 40mm deep and the main base was 40mm high.   The back plate or splash back was an additional 15mm high at the back.  

Timeframe: Two hours

What we would do differently/next steps for the students: The door at the front was a blank piece that could potentially have a handle.   The gas rings on the stovetop are placed in a formation that appears a bit random, the student could potentially include alterations here that would not significantly alter the print.   Their was no fan extractor present at the top of the design.

3D Printing Furniture for a Laser Cut Dolls House

 

We have detailed that this year we are looking at students undertaking several long term projects - the first of which is rebuilding the dolls house that was rescued prior to it being dumped in a rubbish bin.

The Y8 students who are working on this are using their design skills to use the laser cutter to rebuild as much of the base as possible.

As much as the intention was to repair the damage to the original house, the main wood that was used to put it together was untreated MDF which has in a couple of places been wet, causing considerable damage.

After finding examples online that showed some ideas that could be used in the design (such as the shutters on the windows or the faux brick work) the students were able to use inkscape to design the ends.

This is being produced by the senior students at our school, although our junior school students can see the project and have been informed of its intention, which is to give it to the junior school for them to use in the Y1 classroom, where our five year olds are.

We thought about how our own juniors, who are slightly older, seven and eight year olds.  We wanted these students to be apply their design ideas using Tinkercad to create something to compliment the dolls house.

The first designs that the students created were using Tinkercad's main interface.   These had minimal creation from the students, but the idea was to use these as inspiration for students to create their own versions.    In this example the student combined the table with the lamp and then used the size of the table relative to the size of the dolls house.   We have a rule with the students thats typically we ask the students to design their own version of items rather than use ones that are commercially available.

An example of an authentic design from a student is shown left, the students design is based of course on a bed, with the student using the design to create the basic features.

We have also considered how we might be able to use other technology available to our students - the idea is to use the Roland Versa Sign Maker to construct the stickers for the base, and then use potentially the students to hand sew the blankets to fit the base.

Customised Toy Chair - Barbie Doll

Challenge: For students to make customised furniture for Barbie Dolls for students to use in the junior classroom.

Challenge: This was an idea to get students thinking about making something to scale that had a specific purpose.   In our junior school our students have specific play time and creative play.   With some of these activities there are play elements - and one of the junior teachers wanted additional furniture that could be made by our students.

The challenge was simple - to make a series of chairs and a table that could work in conjunction with a regular set of Barbie toys.    This was the prototype design was made first by students attempting to solve the brief.  The first print was designed to take twenty minutes to print, based on the teachers experience there was no way that this was going to be able to create the design, however the print went ahead as we wanted to see the results.

Level of Difficulty: Low - the basic design was a standard chair with four equal feet and a basic back. 

Size: This design measured 20mm long (high) was 15mm wide and 15mm deep.   These designs were discussed prior to the printing, however it was apparent early on that the dimensions would not suit the purpose relating to a Barbie Doll and furniture.

Timeframe: This print came in at twenty minutes.   As a consequence of this it was easily identified as being not suitable for its initial purpose, however one of the students was quick to point out that in the classroom there was a second set of dolls which were in the Pollypockets range, and they wanted to try the chair with these dolls.   When this was done, as shown left, the students felt that they had achieved the purpose and the issue was now resizing the chair to work in conjunction with the significantly larger Barbie Dolls.

What we would do differently/next steps for students: The next steps for the students is of course to look at increasing the scale of the design to work in conjunction with the larger dolls.   Once this has been mastered then the next step in the process is to look at what additional items of furniture can be created.   One of the positive aspects of this challenge and task is that the model for the creations can be items in the classroom and ones that the students are familiar with which should significantly help with the modelling process.