Student Creation: Money Holders

Above: Student design shown to scale

Challenge: Previously students had designed boxes to hold classroom cash as designs from the student.  These boxes had times ranging from 35 to forty hours for the base.  As an alternative the student concerned designed a holder that was a single figure.  This is the same student who had previously designed and created the 'pencil topper' print and design.

Background: The task was to create a holder for the students 'classroom cash' that are rewarded to students for excellent behaviour.  Previous designs were based around a full sized box.

Task: Students to create a workable print that was original and creative.

Original Design in Tinkercad with insert clearly visible

Level of Difficulty: Medium on the basis that the design was up to the students and the detail was dependant on the design.  This is shown further refinement from the 'pencil topper' design.

Issues: None.   The student was able to produce a limited amount of rafting with the project and the print was completed in a single print run.
Size: Length of 6cm (high), width (5cm)
Timeframe: Six Hours on Fast print setting.

Above: front on final print

Process: The student (who is ten years old) has shown the creativity to create original designs from scratch using Tinkercad and a laptop as creative tool.  He is confident and enjoying the process.  He is developing his ideas around geometric shapes and applying the problem solving.  Design from scratch using Tinkercad, converted to Cura for 3D printing and printed on an Ultimaker 2.
Recommendation: The student has been pleased with the quality of the print and the design of the animal.  There is a clear evidence of his progress using Tinkercad to create animals/shapes and the student is becoming recognised by his peers as a problem solver.  The print time would mean that the print is realistic as a holder for a variety of objects and could be easily modified to hold other objects depending on the needs of the students.

3D Prints: Student Improvements and Refinements

Above: Token Box version 2.0

Above: Token Box with tokens.

When the students start utilizing the technology they are showing consistently that they can improve designs that follow later in a sequence.

Already we've recently documented on this site projects such 3D Printed Student Token Box, since this print another two designs in the sequence have followed - the latest of which is shown on the right.

Above: 'Fish' Designed Cookie Cutter

The shape has changed considerably from a box like shape to a circular dish, also the lettering which was sunken in with the initial design has now evolved into having it standing out from the print.     The size and most other details contained with the original post are all still relevant and therefore we will not be posting this in its entirety.

There are a number of 'Cookie Cutters' currently in production.   The first of these was the 'Golf' themed Cookie Cutter detailed in a previous post.   Following this initial production a group of students have produced different themed versions of this creation, which have allowed the students to be creative and also produce something unique.  There will be a separate post on this material, featuring a range of student designs shortly.

Finally as previously described the students who are competing in the Junior Robocup Competition involving Lego NXT/EVO3 Robots have been utilizing the 3D Printers to create props for the performance.   Following the initial creation of a few props students have started to realise the potential of the machines and how to integrate them successfully.   The latest prop to appear is the sign featured to the right.  The sign design initially was created by having the students write onto cardboard and then have it sellotaped up.  Upon seeing some of the props that were being produced the students created this sign for the performance.   It was created by a Y5/6 student, using Tinkercad and the regular production process.  The sign is 15cm long, 12cm high and was produced on 'fast' setting over a five hour print.  The sign is requiring to be re-printed as the lettering was produced individually on a ledge, without rafting.   The lettering was put together individually and dragged out of Tinkercad and as a result isn't uniform in size.

3D Printed Token Box

Slot with token being inserted

Challenge: Students to design a token box suitable for holding the school reward for behavior tokens.
Background: Behaviour for students is rewarded by a coupon system.  The coupons are rewarded for positive behaviour and used as an incentive during assembly.  At the end of assembly student house leaders collect the tokens.  Currently this has been done by using a cup.   The intention was to involve the older school students (Y7/8) 12 and 13 year olds to design something practical that would make use of the printers.

Slot visible with ruler for scale

Task: Students to create and 3D image a design that had an opening to allow the tokens to be placed into the box, a lid to allow the removal of the tokens after assembly so they could be placed in the larger token box, and something to represent the house/section of school.

Name of the house in rear

Level of Difficulty: Low - students had seen the 'classroom cash' boxes created in the next door class so they knew that they could complete these relatively easily.  Given that the numbers of tokens is varied from assembly to assembly the size of the slot was the major variable and the ability of the lid to slide on and off.
Issues: None - the finished product managed to meet the brief and fulfill the designed role.
Size: 10cm width, 9cm depth, 10cm height - for base the lid was printed separately in same print run and was essentially just a 3mm thick sheet to slide into the slot of the top of the box.
Timeframe: Forty hours on a fast print setting this included the box and the slide on lid.
Process: Influence by some of the boxes produced in the next class the idea came together following a creation in Tinkercad which was converted to Cura (Ultimaker 2 Software) and then to GCode for Printing.  For additional recognition for the Whanau the name of the house was sunken into the back of the box.  The houses have four primary colours however this is 'blue'.
Recommendation: As a high visibility use of the 3d Printers that has a regular use, potentially for a significant amount of time.   Perhaps the filament could have used that was matching the Whanau colour (although technically it could be painted, realistically it won't be as to get a decent finish it would need to be spray painted).

Student Creation: Pencil Topper

The Print before it was removed

Challenge: Student brief was use the 3D Printer to create and design something that was of practical use in the classroom.
Background: The classroom mentioned has been where a lot of the recent featured work on this site is coming from.  The students are showing increased aptitude with the 3D Printers and are feeding off each other to produce creative and interesting designs.   This task started as a isometric design in Tinkercad with an oval for the base, the features of the chicken came as a consequence of applying shapes.  The final stage was to determine while the print was finalised what the purpose would be.  It was decided the most practical use was as a 'pencil topper' an object to sit on a regular student pencil.

Note egg shell on the head of the chicken

Task: Students to create a project for the 3D printer that was original and innovative.
Level of Difficulty: Low - the design was original and a free task.
Issues: The eggshell design on the top of the design didn't print as anticipated, however there was no attempt at any rafting.
Size: 10cm by 15cm
Timeframe: Four hours on a fast print setting.
Process: This print came as an organic creation process involving a design with Tinkercad - as mentioned the brief  was a creative design that originated from the students, to use the printers.
Recommendation: This process should hopefully lead to another group of students to utilize the printers and to do so in a more creative manner.  This is a basic introduction task as a stepping stone for more complex tasks.  By having it in the classroom in a visible place it would work as a conversation starter too.

3D Printing Site: Maker Club

For those of you who have not seen this site linked on the right hand side of the page I would strongly recommend that you check it out.

It has some fantastic practical examples of 3D Printing student projects that can be completed and some excellent resources and material.  You can click on the link on the right hand side or on the link here.

3D Printed Cookie Cutters

The Print fresh off the machine

Challenge: For students to produce a working cookie cutter capable of producing cookies.
Background: The teacher was looking for a task concerned that would allow students to create a unique and individual piece, with a practical use, that would be allowed to be printed over a short time frame.  Previously I have seen numerous versions of this task based around the print time.
Task: Student to design and create a 3D model for a working cookie cutter, then convert the model to 3D printed GCode and then print the piece.
Level of Difficulty: Low.  While the shape allows for individuality and the student needed to print it in reverse this was an excellent introduction to 3D printing task that would produce something straightforward for the student in a short time frame.
Issues: None.  The first print run produced a working prototype.  The only considering on viewing the print would be the width of the cutter outline.  It was set to fast print setting and would appear to be not very robust in a couple of places.   Consideration would be given once it has been fully tested to expand the width of the print and improve its strength.

Reverse of the cookie cutter

Size: 20cm by 15cm with a depth of a centimetre.
Timeframe: Two hours on fast print setting - consideration for a 'normal' or thicker print.
Process: A straight forward print that followed the process outlined in task - the use of the item will determine whether the process needs to be refined.  As mentioned in numerous other posts the process of Tinkercad/Cura/Ultimaker2 was followed to complete the process and finish.  Again as noted on this blog, the students are anticipated to be refining subsequent prints in the series once the idea has been discussed and the prototype in the series has been fully tested and use.  This is anticipated to be the first print in a series of classroom items following this theme.
Recommendations: This would be a good introduction task for students to 3D Print.  It allows the students individualism with the design (this student is a huge golf fan) and above all the projected print time would mean it would be possible to print an entire class during the period of a week.

LEGO NXT/EVO3 Robotics Extension Task: Golf Club

Club with the gaps for the pins visible

In a previous post we explained the creation of a series of golf tees that would be created using 3D Printers.  The second part of this activity was the creation and the design of the golf club. 
Challenge: To create a golf club for a EVO3/NXT Robot that would allow the Robot to play golf.
Background: Our Y7/8 students have technology (DPE) once a week.  We have been looking at activities or options that integrate aspects of technology, robotics and 3d printing.   We've previously detailed our 100 hour print speakers from 2015 as part of this process.  Students are capable of programming the robots to complete a variety of tasks - in this variation students have to program the robot to swing a golf club allowing it to hit a ball, with the goal of having the ball move into a target flag.  

Alternative design with rafting

Task: Students to plan, create and design a workable golf club to work in conjunction with a NXT Lego Robot.   Golf Club needs to be able to have the stability and strength to move an actual golf ball.
Level of Difficulty: Low (Golf Club) however it needs to be noted that the programming of the robots is a potentially extremely challenging and without the students having this knowledge the task could not be attempted.
Issues: None - the task was completed in a session with a successful print the holes for the link to the robot was the major potential issue.  However, again it should be pointed out that the programming of the robot will be a complex task further complicated by the size of the golf club and the motion to move or swing the club to successfully move the ball.
Size: 20cm (handle) 10cm head (there are two designs featured in this post of similar size).
Time Frame: Three hours.

Club attached to robotic arm 

Process: The students had involved themselves in designing the Golf Flags in a previous print then spent time programming the robots.   The final part of the process was the design and creation of a working golf club.  Tinkercad was used to design the club, it was then converted to Cura (Ultimaker 2 Software) and G-Code for a 3D Print.  The code was saved to a memory card which was inserted directly into the machine (as is standard for all of the projects featured on this site).  This is the first attempt at completing this task for students from our school.  On the basis of every time the printers have been used these designs and details would be improved on during subsequent print runs from the students.