3D Print School - Ongoing End of Term 3 Projects

 

In New Zealand we are approaching the end of the third of four terms in our school year.   It is an extremely busy time we have our 2025 Market Day approaching in October, Term Four.  We have also a significant number of class projects and general 3D Printing projects going on.    We are documenting as much of it as possible at the moment, and on this blog - we have also after ten years created a body of work that includes the most posts now in a calendar year for this site.

We are still, as always, interested in making contact with other schools, student and teachers who are posting about similar topics.   We have expanded our online posting to include Facebook and are going to expand out digital footprint in a number of ways.   

If you want to directly contact us you can do so by emailing myles.webb@gmail.com or visiting Auroa School Website.

An example is shown above left.   Thingiverse was used to download a generic public domain .STL design cake topper.   Tinkercad was then used to personalise the topper by adding an individuals name between the rods that connect the topper to the cake.   The design was then printed on the Snapmaker and took three hours.   The print was 5mm thick, 140mm high and 90mm wide.

We are continuing with our classroom challenges, where our class of 25 students are given a design task to complete.   Although the task can sometimes vary the usual progression is a challenge, a design in Tinkercad, followed by a VR/AR test, and finally test prints of selective project before revision.  We have recently documented this process and project with a basic 101 slideshow which is aimed at beginning teaching and delivering something to the classroom.   We would also like to point out that this is being completed by the four printers that we have school wide, our three Snapmakers and our Bambu H2D.

The earrings shown here are a final version measuring 60mm long, 30mm across and being 5mm thick.   The print time on the Snapmaker was 45 minutes - we also tested these with inserts to ensure that they hang well and that the prints have a small wow about them, in this case the print has been completed with glow-in-the-dark filament.  You can read further details about this process and view the slideshow by clicking on the link here.

DPE is Auroa Primary Schools Tech program with a range of rotations for the students.   During one of the blocks students use the School Laser Cutter to complete a bluetooth speaker which is then embedded into an MDF speaker box.    The students then have the option to personalise or create a unique project.   You can read further information about some of our projects here, or click on the link here to view some of our ideas from previous years including some of our students unique and creative designs.

Anyone wanting to travel to our school and witness this program first hand or contact our DPE teachers directly can do so via the email above.

Our Principal has set a challenge to our students to create a unique trophy for the end of year prize giving.   In this instance one of our class students (who is eight years old) has been working on a design, the latest version of which is shown left.   

There is a significant degree of precision in this project as ultimately the intention is to present a permanent trophy to our prize giving students, and is currently undergoing its fifth version as the student is meeting repeatedly with the Principal to look at options.

Currently the latest version is being produced on the Bambu H2D and is taking three and a half hours.   The print is measuring 120mm across is 120mm high and 5mm thick for the top and 80mm thick at the base.  You can view more details on this project by clicking on the link from its inception here and see further progress here.

Market Day 2025 is approaching fast.   Each student in our senior school (four classes) and our Y3/4 classroom has been divided into businesses of around four students.

Each business has been tasked with creating a product or series of products that has the key driver of innovation (one of our school values) and personalisation.    Although groups have varied a large number have opted to use our 3D Printers, laser cutter or sticker machine as part of the production process.   You can click on the tab located here or use the search bar top right to find projects tagged for our 2025 version of this event or look back on our last event in 2023.   We are more than happy to provide these ideas for you if you are a student or teacher for a school event.

Another of our class challenges is to produce a physical set of geometric shapes, labelled and identified as belonging to our school that could potentially be used to help students with their Mathematical shape identification

We have asked students to design eight of the core shapes, ensure that they are labelled correctly and have information on them.  You can read a more detailed description of the projects and see our first examples that the students have produced here.   Again this is a class run projects of twenty six students which we are attempting to complete while we also focus on our other projects.

As we have mentioned we are very much happy to discuss any of the projects that we have detailed here on this blog, we are happy to help out with anything if you want to drop us a line or need advice etc.   We have a number of students and teachers who have directly or indirectly contributed to this work and we can also put you in touch with the relevant person responsible.

Geometrical Mathematical 3D Shapes

 

Challenge: To produce Mathematical resources specific to the needs of students in the classroom.

Background: We are always looking for practical examples to allow our students to design and also to create something with a purpose and use.

We have previously produced counting blocks and counting rods, not really 'rubiks' cubes and geometrical patterns and shapes for competition.

In this instance one of our junior classrooms were doing work on the subject of Geometric and in particular looking at shapes and their characteristics or corners (vertices), edges and faces.   In a task that linked in closely with this we charged our students with creating a range of geometric shapes that could be used to allow students to have a physical object to manipulate.   We also insisted that we had a label or name on the object (and that it was sunk into the design instead of having the letter sticking outwards).   Furthermore to make it unique to our school we wanted to have it say 'Auroa School' on the reverse.   We did toy with the idea or providing the number of each of the criteria for the however we wanted to ensure that the print looked as clean as possible and with the added details the original designs looked somewhat clunky.

Size: The print measured 110mm across and was 70mm high, 70mm deep.   This proved a relatively large shape however this was a one off shape that was designed to be something that was constantly used available as a reference point for students.   This is something that would be printed in relatively small numbers.

Level of Difficulty: Easy a student who was seven years old was able to complete the task independently without the input of a staff member, they were able to simply complete the task and submit it for printing.

Timeframe: With these dimensions and using the regular print settings for the Snapmaker printer the print took six hours.   Obviously if it was completed on the Bambu we would expect it to take half the time.

What we would do differently next steps for the students: There is a clear spelling error on the example shown above with the incorrect spelling of 'triangular' also one of the ends of the prism has an end which should be flat, which is slightly extended.   The students also have eight objects in the series to complete.