3D Printed: Pencil Sharpener Holder Challenge

 

Challenge: To produce an original 3D Printed design that would be suitable to hold a pencil sharpener.  Student is restricted to create an original design from scratch and not use an existing or pre-made print.

Background: We have attempted variations of this challenge before, where the students have been tasked with taking an object and building it into a 3D Print.  You can see examples of this here on our blog.

You can also see a version of this design which incorporates a VR/AR version and one that has various filters applied.

This design came out of the process while this student is a student from the junior school this student has proven consistently to be someone who has grasped the concepts and ideas of 3D Printing and 3D Printed designs utilising a variety of techniques and excelled with her ability.

The scale of this print is larger than some of the smaller concept ideas of this version are smaller than a students finger.

The 'Dog' themed design was an original for the student.

Level of Difficulty: High - there are a number of component pieces that need to work in order for this print to be considered a success.  The legs need to balance, the tail needs to be feasible and the facial features of the dog are particularly important.  While importing many of these aspects would have been possible such as previous examples here, in this example we wanted the student to design them for herself to ensure that they were unique and she pushed herself with the design concept and idea.

Size: The print measures 140mm in length, was 50mm wide for the majority of the base and 80mm wide with the ears.   The design was 40mm high for most of it.  While the dimensions of this print is rather large it was intended to be this way.

Timeframe: This print took four and half hours.  Given the dimensions that were expressed above there was little that we would do to reduce or increase this time.  There was limited 'rafting' that took place at the base of the design.

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

The student is happy with the overall design, aspects like the tail but she felt that the details in the face, which is conceivably the hardest to reliably create, she has stated that she wants to develop this particular aspect of the design further to make sure that it reflected a design that she was happy with.    Once this first print was created she felt she could have included additional details into the print to ensure that it would hold extra material such as a USB stick or a pencil.  Usually students are content with their prints, this is an example when a student wants to spend time and care to create a print that she is happy with. 

Printing Projects Currently Underway in Junior Classroom

As detailed previously on this blog our term three students started with a series of challenges.  The challenges graduated in difficulty starting with a pair of earrings, a phone stand based around a template from the main Tinkercad design panel and a third challenge.

The third challenge involved creating housing for a pencil sharpener.   The initial prints based around a shape, however now the students are refining and testing their ideas and working on a next level.   In the example shown left the student has completed successfully the base part of this project including a location to insert a pencil and space for the shavings from the pencil to be held in once the pencil sharpener has been used.   The student has started to experiment with different versions of lids that could then lock onto complete the project.  The student has also determined that she can create an additional layer on the lid of the box (so in this instance not to have a single, simple flat design but to build something into the project to further personalise it or add detail.  There are a large number of examples that have been featured on this blog which can be located by using the search bar right and searching the codeword 'box'.

Name Badge: Next Level Developments.   In this example shown left the student has the idea of a basic name badge and attempted to add layer and details to it to make it stand out more.

The student has opted to build layers to create a scroll like affect with the design, added a ring for the connection (which in previous examples would typically be a hole through the base of the design) and finally has added a flourish at the bottom of the design to further heighten the presentation (before it was subsequently spray painted to decorate the entire project).   This print took two and a half hours to print which was primarily based around the size or width of it while not obvious this measures 20mm across.   The student then decorated it as shown.   A issue potentially to be discussed is the ring used to attach the badge.   It currently is built on top of instead of inside the print - and there is a question of how robust this will make this for the gear bag it is intended.

Shown left are two designs from the range of phone stands that the class are working on.   There will be a seperate post about these items as they are the second in a series of challenges that have been put forward to the students in the classroom.

The size of some of these has been worked on and engineered by the students to try and work out the size that is still workable but also allows the stand to function to hold a phone.  

Further innovation has been developed by students completing tasks such as pushing a shape through the design to the other side as shown by the position of the heart in the design on the right.   The lettering is slightly more of a challenge as the font have elements in the capital 'M' and lower case 'm' that need to have the sides removed while they stay intact.  This is very challenging to do as the removal of the rafting (by the teacher) usually results in the removal of some of the key elements of the lettering.  We have again been using some of the previous examples contained here on the blog as points of discussion related to this project.   You can see information about these prints by clicking on the search box or looking at examples here.

3D Printing: Junior Classroom Challenges

 

Challenge: To create a unique holder for a pencil sharpener.

Background: This term has just started.   To introduce the students again to Tinkercad and thinking about CAD design and projects we started with the earrings project described in a series of prints which are featured on this blog.   The next step challenge for students who have completed these is to make a pencil sharpener holder.   We have had students attempt this challenge before, some of the results of which you can see from projects such as this and this.

The teacher of the class is always looking for objects which can used or help with 3D Printer Challenges.   One in the past that has been successful was the purchase of pencil sharpeners from a local dollar store.  These objects, shown in the picture below, are typically able to be purchased for a small amount of money.

These items tend to wear really quickly, as you see from the example left.   The idea here is to create a replacement piece to work in conjunction with the pencil sharpener, to ensure that it can be still be used.   
The print shown here on the left is the first draft of a print by a student who could be described as capable.  She wanted to have a double heart to help with the design.   The consideration with the object is to ensure that there is a suitable hole for the inserting of the pencil and also for a exit hole for the pencil sharpening to exit.   

This is an ideal task for a classroom of students to complete in a relatively short space of time as the casing does not need to be particularly large to complete the task successfully.

Level of Difficulty: Medium - although the size of the object is not particularly challenging some of the fine details can be - the students need to balance between having the object housed successfully but still have it functioning.

Timeframe: This is where this challenge stands out to become manageable, the example shown in this post took forty minutes to complete printing, and with some minor adjustments (see below) the task is complete.

Size: This example consisted of a design that was 20mm high, was 60mm across and had walls of the design that were 5mm thick.

What we would do differently/next steps for the students:   The pencil sharpeners came in range of shapes with the rectangular ones being the ones that the students were the most confident in designing.  This student undertook to use a heart shaped object because she felt the challenge would be better but the obvious part of this is what is the purpose of the second heart shown in the design and to consider how it links to the main part of the design? Is it needed or should the student remove it?

3D Printed Pencil Sharpener Holder - Advanced

Challenge: To design a print to hold a pencil sharpener.

Background: We have challenged a group of students who have shown an aptitude to design to look at more complicated prints to challenge their design, problem solving and think about creating something that has a distinct purpose.   This print idea has been used before and featured a number of times on this blog in the past.   You can look at some of the examples on this blog by using the search bar here on the right - or you can click on the link here.

This challenge involves the students accurately measuring an insert into a design to house the sharpener, which can typically be purchased in bulk from a local $2 store.   We have usually started the process by giving the pencil sharpeners to the student to kick off the process.

The print shown left really shows off the progress of 3D Printers over the last ten years.   This design was completed with a minimum amount of rafting - the entire sphere design shown here was printed as a single print without any waste PLA waste.  

The print is medium level length wise but brings the ability to challenge the students thinking to introduce a significant cavity into their design.

Level of Difficulty: Medium.   There are a number of parts that need to be considered when making a print like this work, including the students considering the exit of the shavings from the pencil being able to be removed and balancing of the pencil sharpener.   

Size: The base of the print measures 120mm across and the print is 100mm high.   For the size of the pencil sharpener intended to house the design these dimensions would need to be a minimum.

Timeframe: Eight hours.   There is some potential for a reduction to increase the size of the cavity for the pencil sharpener without decreasing the integrity of the print.  

What we would do differently/next steps for the students: The student is intending to decorate this print and is pleased with the design and details.   Once this is completed we will be discussing the design with the student and looking at ways to alter the design.  A key consideration will be making sure that the design is functional with the sharpener, and given this students design ideas they should have considerable scope for revision and redesign.

Y4 Extension - Pencil Sharpener Challenge Using Existing Designs

This challenge is a slight variation of the post from yesterday.   In yesterdays example the student concerned used the Tinkercad main interface to create from scratch a turtle design.  

In another design running at the same time from a different student who wanted to focus on using the existing library of animals from Tinkercad to then create a base/host for the pencil sharpener.  As the design was made available the student concentrated on adding the detail to include the mechanical part of the print.  This student wanted to include two pencil sharpeners hence the pair of bears that make up the design.

In the view shown above the first bear can clearly be shown to house the single pencil sharpener.  in the second view, shown left, the double pencil sharpener opening can be seen.  In the first example the entrance hole for the pencil sharpener is not located directly adjacent to the exit point.   The second matches however it needs to be tested with the pencil sharpener inserted.

Time for this print is currently at the four hour mark.  With some modification the print will be completed, however this will involve testing with the pencil sharpener and adjusting the print accordingly.

Y4 Extension Challenge: Pencil Sharpener Holder

Challenge: To produce an original 3D Design to hold a pencil sharpener.

Background: Its been a year in the classroom of using 3D Printers.  At the halfway point of the year we are looking to provide some extension challenges to the classroom, and particular students who have shown an aptitude to design.

This was a project that was first attempted in 2019 by a group of students.   This design was originally charged to a group of the students although the results were always requiring refinement.  Since then we have changed printers from Ultimakers to Snapmakers and the resulting prints have been significantly better.

The student working on this project is a Y4 student, so someone who is eight years old.  This is their first year of using a 3D Printer in the classroom.   This is an extension student who is achieving extremely well academically across all of the curriculum areas.   We instructed the students to create an original animal, but the animal needed to be able to house or have a pencil sharpener that could then be inserted or placed inside the animal so it would be functional.

The student worked around various designs and decided to identify Tinkercad.   They decided to use a 'turtle' themed design as they felt that they could replicate the key features using the basic shapes from the main Tinkercad interface.   The original design (shown top left) had a large insert for the pencil sharper however the student had not considered the exit of the pencil once sharpening was in progress or successfully identified, measured and placed the print to work in conjunction with the sharpener.

The refined version of the print, shown left included a reimagined housing for the sharpener and refined designs for the feet and face.

The student then also considered how to introduce an exit point for the pencil sharpeners waste.   This was devised by introducing a block into the back of the animal.  During printing this is filled by 'rafting' that is material that is designed to support the structure when it is printing to maintain its shape, which then can be broken or removed following the printing, when the print has set (the print effectively sets instantly).    The student was basing the design around the size of the pencil sharpener relative to the size of the turtle designed.

Level of Difficulty: Extreme.  This is not for the faint hearted.  We are anticipating that the student will revise this design again and again until they reach a completion that they are satisfied with and meets the brief.    This student has shown creativity and an eye for detail. 

Features like having an entry point and an exit point working in conjunction with a pencil sharpener are extremely challenging for older students in our experience and this is a relatively young student.

Timeframe: Five hours.   The dimensions have been dictated by the pencil sharpener and the desire to create an original creature/animal or design that matches with the housing potential.

Size:   The current design is measuring 100mm long 60mm wide and is 50mm high.   The insert for the pencil sharpener is 15mm by 30mm and is currently 40mm deep.

What we would do differently: This challenge has taken a couple of blocks of design and creation, the issue is now to refine what the student has made check that it works and makes the design brief and look at refining it in conjunction with the pencil sharpener.   

We are intending to keep all the models in the process to look at tracking the progression of the project to see what the student is going to develop with their ideas.   We would now be realistically at the testing phase as the student is happy with the design (although the turtle has a single eye if you look closely).

We are thinking that this will lead to more creativity and challenges for the student moving forward and as we are having another market day this year this finished version (when it is finished) may well be something that is original that we look to market.