School Event: Dance Machine Student Challenge

 

Next Monday here at Auroa Primary School we have our next major technology event - another Dance Machine Challenge this one as shown on the poster left.   We will be live streaming this event (via Youtube) and broadcasting it to the school and community.

This involves using our Step Master Dance Machine which was a significant school project when it was built - you can view the construction, behind the scenes video here.

In addition to the machine we add media to the machine each year in the form of music videos which are created by the students which are then used in the competitions, such as examples like 'The Golf Guys - The Golf Masters'

We hold yearly competitions for the students using the machine you can click on the link to view this years live stream or click on this link to see last years competition.

We will post additional details about this competition (including the link) as we get closer to the event.   If you would like to view the media associated with our school from our amazing Mr Bloor you can click on the link to his Youtube page here.

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.

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.

Laser Cut Seniors Music Player Project

 

The seniors (Y7/8 at our school, 12 and 13 year olds) once a week have our DPE (Design Production Engineering) subjects including laser cutting.

Laser cutting involves using our school laser cutter as we have detailed in previous posts on this blog.  

As another group of our students are nearing the completion cycle of their work they have been completing their new range of designs.   An example shown left is this MP3 player.    The unit is housed in a MDF laser cut rectangular box.   The student wanted to include some personalisation with the design the first aspect of which is the ears shown and the placement of the speakers to give the impact of eyes.

At the end of the box the student took a photograph and used the laser cutter to burn the image into the wood.

The box measures 280mm across is 140mm high and 140mm deep.

The student designed the dimension of the box, carried out the laser cutting and then used wood glue to glue the joins together.

The box can be further stained for a finish.    Additional details could be added by using the school 3D Printers or sticker machine to add decals.

Previously we used 3D printers to construct the speaker housing, which you can view via a post from 2015 here.

3D Printing 101 - Beginners Teacher Project: Earrings

This is intended as an instructional slideshow that explains the process of 3D Printing from the perspective of a teacher who is exploring the process of 3D Printing.   It is intended to have some basic concepts and ideas and share some progressions that could be used for a series of lessons with outcomes.

Non Printing 3D Printing Projects

 We have recently updated our slideshow featuring ideas from this blog which follow the design process and use Tinkercad to create however the end product in these cases is not to have every project 3D Printed or made into a stand along project.

3D Printed Trophy - Second Physical Prototype

 

Challenge: To produce a detailed alternative for the school awards prize giving at the end of the school year.

Background: We detailed this in a previous post on our blog which you can read by clicking on the link here.  The challenge was for the class, which everyone initially designed and this was our second choice to print.   This was completed on the School Bambu H2D printer.

It was designed by a Y4 student on Tinkercad so the student is eight years old.    The design was completed independently and was submitted for printing.

Level of Difficulty: Hard.   This is a challenging project that would test the limits of most of our junior students.   It has been revised several times by the student under the direction of the Principal with the student working in an extended capacity. This is going to continue to be revised and reworked as this is something that will need to be of a particularly high standard to complete it for the purpose that it is intended, which would go home to award winners.

Size: The dimensions of the print as it stands has a base that is 120mm wide and 90mm long.  It is currently 10mm thick.   The award is 130mm tall from this base.   At this stage this may require some revision to ensure it is realistic to print enough of these to ensure one can be issued to every prize winner at our school.

Timeframe: Four and a half hours.  As noted changes are anticipated as a result of the completing of the process.   This was with the Bambu H2D printer.

What we would do differently/next steps for the students: This is version two point of of this project.  This student is been motivated to complete this task and it is going to be a significant project for our school involving our Principal who envisaged it and is regularly meeting with the student to ensure that it meets expectations.