3D Printed Panda - Tinkercad vs Minecraft

Challenge: To create an authentic Minecraft animal using Tinkercad

Background: Prior to our School Market Day one of the projects that we looked at in-depth was the creation of Minecraft animals, creatures and locations (such as buildings) using the medium or tool of Tinkercad to create it.  There were a series of prints that were created - nearly all of these we 

One of the stand out early designs was the Dolphin which was so successful it ended up as a item being sold at the School Market Day as an item (when converted into a keychain).

The other standout was this Panda.  In this instance the student used Tinkercad and coloured the different parts of the design to create the famous black and white pattern.

The figure looked fantastic as a design and worked extremely well as a AR/VR creation that the student was able to project into the classroom and around the school in different locations.

The final step was the printing of the design and looking at what might be completed or have the print turned into something.   This was completed when the students had finished the design, checked on its viability and then printed it out as a physical print.     

Level of Difficulty: Medium/High.  This student choose deliberately a challenging animal to create in Tinkercad - which had distinct features and a very distinct colour combination.   This lent to a discussion about the students using two different colours to complete the print in future (using black and white).

Size: Printed as it was designed the print measured 70mm across was 60mm deep/wide and was 80mm high,  A key factor in determining the final size will be the purpose of the print once the students have assessed it.    

Cost: This was printed on the Bambu H2D as part of the software for printing we are able to determine that the print used 28g of filament and cost $0.75 to produce.

Timeframe: This was completed on the Bambu H2D.   It took one hour to print - if we had used the Snapmaker machines there would have been considerably more rafting, less detail and the print time would have been approximately double.

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students: This print would have absolutely benefitted from a different colour scheme and as a result we are intending to reprint it once its purpose has been determined.   The creation was completed by an eight year old.

If you would like to see additional ideas from our students with regards to cross over designs you can click on the links to further Minecraft vs Tinkercad designs here.   You can click on this link to see our students combining Tinkercad, their iPads and Pic Collage here.

As always a reminder that you can use the search bar top right to use keywords such as 'Minecraft' and 'Pic Collage' to see the designs and creations that our students have been working on and various projects from the last ten years.

3D Printed Miniature Bee Challenge: Earrings

 

Challenge: To use a craft bee to create a print that interacts or complements it

Background: As we have now completed our 2025 Market Day projects and our follow up work it is allowing us to concentrate on other projects that we have been exploring or looking at during the term.  One such example was the previously detailed 'Miniature Bee Challenge' at the time we used the Tinkercad App and the AR/VR option as many of the design as possible as this was the 'publishing' for the students in this instance once their design was completed.

One such instance was the ear rings that are shown above.  The student worked on the size of them on the basis of the bee, which was only 10mm long and created a honeycomb themed earring, which was then duplicated to produce a matching pair.   As part of the project in general the student had researched honeycomb and was looking at the different shapes that are associated with it.

We have featured earrings several times this year as a way to produce something in high quality that the students can personalise that is also realistic to print in quantity - ie for a classroom.  You can search for many examples on this blog by using the search bar top right and including the words 'earrings' in the keyword.  We also have created an overview slideshow and video detailing all of the elements of this process (from a teachers perspective) which is located here.

As per nearly every design crated by students this year the process was using their iPads for research, then using the Tinkercad App to create the design, followed up by AR/VRing the object into place (again by using the app (Tinkercad) and the students iPads).  In this instance we also followed it up by printing the design on the Bambu H2D.

Level of Difficulty: Low - this is an entry level task for students which was completed by an eight year old completely independently of the teacher using the materials listed above.  

Size: The earrings measured 40mm across at the wide point were 50mm high and were 7mm thick.

Cost: According to Bambu studio on their detailed cost analysis the print used 8.6 grams of PLA filament and cost $0.21 for the creation of the print.

Timeframe: 37 minutes - ideal given the potential scale of the project.

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students: With some slight modification this task would be ideal to feature as a potential item for the 'Christmas Cracker' challenge.

Christmas Projects 2025: Updated 3DPrintSchool Ideas Slideshow

 This slideshow has been updated for 2025 - it includes a selection, ideas and projects that were originally published on this blog, with links details etc.  It is designed to give you some options or ideas relating to the use of technology in your classroom.

All projects were created using Tinkercad and an iPad by students who are between seven and twelve years of age.   If you have any questions about any of these projects as always you can contact the person who is responsible for this blog at: myles.webb@gmail.com

3D Printing Christmas Cracker Challenge

 

Challenge: To produce the 'item' that you might find in a regular Christmas cracker.

Background: This challenge was based around the concept of the students developing something that by its nature needed to be small.  The item needed to fit inside a cracker to meet the success criteria to be printed - if it was too big too fit in, it was 'out'.

This really refined the students designs as early in the process the students typically went too big and when they then adjusted the size to meet the criteria the purpose could be lost.  To ensure that it was correct I purchased a small amount of crackers from the dollar store, this gave the students more spatial awareness of what they were dealing with and how they were also challenged.

An early example came left in the form of this tree.   

Level of Difficulty: Low - this was a whole class activity and a range of responses were expected while some would clearly hit the mark easily the restrictions on size caused a challenge that some students really found more challenging than they should have.

Size: The tree measured 50mm high, was 30mm wide and was 10mm deep.  It was designed as a ornament to hang on the tree, although there was a hole in the star that was supposed to allow a thread to be passed through it to allow it to be tied.  This hole was too small for this purpose so it had to be sent back to be redesigned.

Cost/Price:

The dimensions of this print meant it used 4g of PLA and had a cost of $0.10 NZD.

It is one of the selections of 3D Prints that the students designed that looked fantastic as a Tinkercad design, looked wonderful when AR/VR around the classroom and in position as a tree but possibly lost something in the translation of becoming a print.  It would be possible to make this multiple colours potentially.

Timeframe: 17 minutes this was a situation where the machine warming up, starting the process and preparing to print took longer than the print itself.

What we would do differently/Next Steps for the Students: The student met the brief however there are adjustments that are required - the connection to the way to hang the decoration at the top of the tree being the most obvious.   The print would be a great example of something that could be used for a bunting etc as its size and time frame means the potential of the printing could be completed en masse.

3D Printed Christmas Decorations: 2025 Edition

 

Challenge: To produce an original Christmas decoration suitable for display.

Background: As we have been producing projects and ideas with and from our students using our iPads and our 3D Printers since 2014 we have a large and significant bank of examples that have been created from the past which we can sometimes use as a starting point for design tasks.   In this instance the design shown left was part of a group of designs that were first published here in 2022.  The idea at the time was really simple, using Tinkercad, the Tinkercad iPad App  to create something simple but that had the recognition factor.   Importantly since this print was conceived and developed the quality and speed of the prints that we are using have improved considerably.   The basis of the design was the same - it was the 'scribble' option from Tinkercads main interface (for the leaves) combined with three geometric shapes and finally a ring to allow the object to be hung.   As we had one of the originals in the classroom to act as a guide for the students it took a seven year old under five minutes from the start of the build to the completion of the design.

Level of Difficulty: Low - this was designed completely independently by a seven year old and was completed in a very short space of time - they are a talented designer and this was easily within their abilities.

Size: This print measures 100mm across, and was 100mm high.  The print had a width of 5mm.   This was slightly larger than the original that was 60mm by 70mm (and also 5mm thick).

Cost Price: The previous version was not produced at a time where we had a Bambu H2D at school.  There was not any rafting with either version, in this one the printer used 16g of PLA filament and the identified cost to complete the print was $0.42c (NZD).   

Timeframe: The original print three years ago took slightly under ninety minutes to print.  This revised version, which is larger took fifty minutes to complete.  The finish, which is visible somewhat in the photographs with the Bambu H2D is clearly superior to the original with a smoother finish.

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students: This was a very straight forward project by adding additional details the project could have had a longer focus.  Obviously the design could be tested and put in place with the Tinkercad App and the AR/VR option for it.

As we have stated we have an entire slideshow related to student Christmas themed projects (which is shortly going to be updated for the 2025 'season' available in the Guides/Special Projects tab on this blog above.

3D Printed Trophy: Junior Exemplar

Challenge: To produce a 3D Printed trophy suitable for end of year prize giving. 

Background: This project has been detailed in three previous posts on this blog and has now been updated as it has reached its finishing stage.  The challenge came originally from the school principal in a whole class AR/VR challenge which is listed here.

It continued with a development of the first physical versions of this print which were detailed here.  As this was something that we were looking for a very refined print, it was adjusted several times and a second major reshaping took place and was posted about. on the blog here.

These refinements have allowed significant progress and contributed towards a more polished finished to this print.

The completion of the process took a bit of a back seat due to the 2025 School Market Day however since that event has now been resolved it has allowed us to return to projects that were in the works prior to that.

The final two versions of the print are shown left.  The first (on the far left) was used several times before a final design decision was made to increase the size of the print so that the 'plate' piece at the front could hold more information.   In addition to this we printed it using a 'marble PLA' to give the design the look of a stone type trophy.   The plate at the front is interchangeable, being replaced and colour matched depending on the award that needs to be given.  The entire project has been created and actioned by a eight year old student using Tinkercad and their iPad to design and create and manipulate the details.

Level of Difficulty: High - this design has seen a lot of revision and a lot of work and the effort that the student has put in is not for the faint hearted.   While they are a Y4 (eight) year old student they have been using Tinkercad for two years and produced a number of detailed designs.   There has been several hours work put into this design to get it to this stage.

Size: The final design dimensions are the rectangle at the front is 95mm across is 30mm high and is 35mm deep.  There is a distinct edging for the inside plaque to be put which is 5mm around the inside of this.   So the insert will need to be 90mm by 25mm and 5mm or so wide.

The base of the main design is 130mm across and is 120mm high.  The main disc is 10mm wide as it the bordering pieces.

While slightly smaller versions have been created this was intended to have the balance between this and the smaller designs.

Cost/Price: Based around the Bambu Studio Lab suggestions this print will be using 105g of PLA to complete the print - this would mean that a regular 1kg roll of filament would be able to produce just less than ten prints - and that each one would come in at around $3.00 NZD to produce.

Timeframe: Using the Bambu H2D the print as a run time of just over four hours.  We would not consider using the Snapmaker machines for this print as there is considerable details in the lettering and we would be expecting a print completion time of double.

What we would do different/Next steps for the students: We would consider this project now complete as the original brief has been met.   This is not intended to be a mass produced item (or if it was it would need to be scaled down) the idea being to gift one to students for prize giving for the school.

3D Printed Junior Challenge: Miniature Bees

 

We have talked about in the past how were always looking for things that might combine from the 'real' world into a 3D Design challenge or a 3D Printing challenge.   Examples of this which we've covered this year was the cyclops challenge which was based around the use of an oversized eye as the starting point for a project that morphed into the 'cyclops' project, the dolls house project which started with our students looking to repair something local or our art stencil project where we asked our students to use Tinkercad and their iPads to develop their own stencil for use with art.

This challenge came in a similar vein - we were looking at bees for shared reading and this provided the theme.  We again source from a local dollar store a bag of 'miniature craft bees' we then presented them to the students and encouraged them to think about ways to build a design around the object.   Early examples from our seven and eight year old students had the students using Tinkercad to combine a bee shape (from the main interface, left) with a small group of the craft bees.   The student had some knowledge about queen bees and their role so wanted to show this was a queen and therefore used the 'scribble' feature to add a crown and some regal features.  The student then took their iPad and used the TInkercad app to project the queen onto a scene with the 'real' bees.

The student shown left had a different idea - they wanted to use the bee as an inspiration to create honey comb earrings - with the craft bee placed there for scale.

We have talked about the suitability of ear rings as a realistic project before in terms of print times and detailing.   We have also created a slideshow (for teachers) detailing the process of how to create such a project.   Again the student to display the creation used the Tinkercad app and its AR/VR ability to project the earrings into place so they could determine how they might look once they were constructed.

This design challenge also allowed students to work on their own bee designs and also have a conversation about the parts of an insect and its composition.   The colour matching on Tinkercad also included discussions about the stripes, the wings and the details.   The student not only then projected their own AR/VR bee next to a 'craf't' bee they also created an entire flower (right) and started to look at pollination and the different features of a flower (again which lent itself to another AKO or investigation).

We also had students who were a bit less confident use the designs repeat feature to build a scene like the one shown left.  This is typical of something that the students can create, then use for a purpose (in this case it was projected onto the floor of the classroom).

This featured the first 'queen' bee (from the top photograph which was then transferred between students for some to use again or put a different spin onto it.

This open ended challenge also allowed students who were operating at the other end of the design scale to share their ideas - as shown left.  In this instance the student has been experimenting with hinges and locks and wanted to print an entire box.

We are likely to break this down in seperate pieces and print it as a set.  In every case we are going to have a sharing session with the classroom where we can apply to the students the same questions that were a key cornerstone from our recent School Market Day - can you personalise the print? How can you use your iPad to create? How can you innovate or improve your design once it has been started?