3D Printed Tags for Roses in Garden

Challenge: To produce tags suitable for the garden to identify roses when planted.   

Background: The 3D Print was identified as the best resource to produce this as it would allow the production of something that was durable and would not suffer from weathering.   This student was well versed in 3D Printing having produced in recent years several key prints that were featured on this blog.   Some of these have been complex designs of the highest level of student work.   If anything this was something that the student was more than capable of doing and could have added to it in terms of its complexity.    

Degree of Difficulty: Low - the student was capable producing detailed complex design, this was something easily within her skillset.    Of note the top of the three designs was printed incorrectly, it was intended to have lettering on it, but the student had not grouped the design correctly so it came out as a blank print, however the student was able to convince the teacher that they felt the need for an option to have a 'blank' label which could be written on using permanent maker.   The student thought that it would also be possible that this would allow the label to be written on the tag and then have the tag adjusted as the rose was going.

Size: 30mm by 120mm.   The lettering for the naming on the two plates raised 20mm from the plate.

Timeframe: Four hours for the duration of the print of three lables.

What we would do differently: This print, while in theory would work in the short term is questionable in the long term.   The rose plant that these were designed for are expected to grow significantly as with that expectation of growth the labels would not be able to constrain the base of the plant.   If  there is one specific issue that could be addressed it would be the label either needs to be temporary in place or would be adjustable so that it could be expanded or removed (in the worst case scenario it would 'ring' the rose when the plant was growing and the label had not been removed).   This concept was something the student was able to achieve successfully however with completion of the project it was felt that additional design features could be added. 

3D Printed Stationary Holder: Advanced

Challenge: Student wanted to produce a stationary holder that was themed for her Dad.  

Background: Student had experimented with 3D Printing in the past but came up with a specific print that she wanted to theme around her Dad.   She wanted to feature an opportunity for a stationary holder that was personalised and themed, in this case the two key pieces were the '#1 Dad and the farm house that would serve as the way to hold the pens etc.   There was one attempt to create this prior to printing when the print was viewe and feedback given, which related to the size of the objects and their suitability to hold stationary as the original design was too big with the stationary.   The student was able to respond with minimal direction and adjusted the print and design accordingly.   The student then completed the print and was thrilled with the result.   As the PLA used was white there was some discussion about using spray paint to decorate the piece however the student felt that the design looked fantastic with the white and opted to leave the print as it was.   

Degree of Difficulty: Medium the design had some key aspects which needed to work in conjunction with each other.  The student had the composition of the elements correct, therefore the design worked well.   Had this been out of balance the elements could have been more challenging.   The barn design was located on Tinkercad the student concerned then just had to hollow the design out to support items being put inside it.

Size: 120mm wide, 120mm long.   The lettering at the front was 10mm raised off the base, the base itself was 3mm thick.   The house that forms the centrepiece of the design was 70mm to the top of the roof.    For the design and how it was intended these dimensions were extremely successful.   Other than the rafting on the door there was minimal waste plastic that was produced by this print.   As it was with this print no changes needed in hindsight.

Timeframe: Ten hours to complete the entire print.   Not to sound repeditive but we are using a Ultimaker 2+ which has been reconditioned which as a machine is now five years old.   Given the age of the machine and recent improvements in hardware over time using a newer machine would reduce this time.   We use as default a 20% infill on the print as standard and a 8mm nozzle.   Both these could be modified.

What we would do differently: Nil - this project was originated by the student, the student was able to come up with the concept, create the design, refine the design and oversee the print.    Tick.

3D Printed (and Laser Cut) Stamp

Challenge: For student who had worked on previous projects to produce a working stamp for a design business (for an adult).   The print was divided into two parts - the stamp itself was produced by using a laser cutter (which is onsite at our school) to cut specifically the stamp design.   The base and the handle of the stamp were then custom made and produced using a 3D Printer.

Background: This student had considerable experience with 3D Printing in the past, and had produced a number of projects in the past, which have been used as prints and examples on this site.   With this print the student was very pro-active in using the printer.   They had the entire design in mind, and having previously seen the examples produced using just a 3D Printer (featured here on this blog) the student was keen to use rubber specific to the task.  We had previously ordered some of this from a commerical supplier located in New Zealand.    Once the component parts were put together the design followed.   The entire project was completed in a morning at school, the time involved with the design was minimal and the results, when used with an ink pad, were extremely positive.    A very successful project.

Degree of Difficulty: The key aspect of this was the collection of the required gear specific to the print.   The stamp specific print has produced a nearly professional quality print which is much more even than the paint and print versions that have been created directly by 3D Printer (see posts about this on this blog).   The actual print for the base of the stamp and the handle was extremely straightforward, just a basic rectangle increased in size to mount the stamp and a handle to.

Size: The base of the stamp is a rectangale 13cm across, 2cm thick and six centimetres long.   The handle part of the stamp extended a further 5cm from its base.   

Timeframe: Three and a half hours to print the base, the laser cutting of the stamp from the rubber took less than fifteen minutes.   Given the goal of the post/project this was an excellent result.

What we would do differently: This was a student driven project that was created with a specific goal in mind, was student driven and completed and the teacher had minimal input into the process.

The completed design, used with stamp ink was able to produce the stamp shown on the left when combining the 3D Print with rubber.

3D Printed Spray Painted Keyring

Design shown from above

Challenge: For a student to produce a unique personalised key ring.
Background: At times we are looking at ways to challenge students to produced original versions or variations of existing projects or projects that students have previously completed.   In this example this student wanted to produce a key ring that was uniue.   She wanted to use a 'dice' or cube design and have the five letters of her name.    The intention from the student was always to use spray paint from a spray can to decorate or change the presentation of the PLA.   The original PLA was white.     The print was completed essentially in two seperate parts. 

The first was to produce the dice which provided the basis for the print.   This was gained by selected one of the shapes from the Tinkercad main interface.   One this was completed the student measured up the results and then selected lettering.    While the concept was simple the execution of the print was also well thought out.   Once the lettering had been completed the two elements of the print were put together with superglue (by the classroom teacher).

Degree of Difficulty: Low - simple and effecive.
Size: The cube that is the base for the design is a cube that is four centimetres across.   The lettering varied slighlty in siz but was essentially a 20mm by 20mm regular sized font.   The students name was five letters long, so having it on the cube with the base blank or empty worked effectively.
Timeframe: Combined for the entire print was just over two hours, reflected in the design.
What we would do differently/next steps for the students: The long term viability of the print will be related for the ability of the lettering to remain in place.  As a high use item the super glue will need to hold.    The student only opted for a single coat of spray can paint to decorate they could have used two coats and used making tape to control the decoration.

3D Printing: Developing More Details with Work in Progress

 Left: Stationary holders [in progress].   The students have worked on producing more completicated and larger scale prints, and started experimenting with using spray paint to aid the decoration.  The other thing that we have been trying to instill with the students is the need to personalise the designs and make sure that they have a purpose for the design. 

In these instances here the studenet had met both of these key elements to his print.  He has utilized Tinkercad to use the pre-determined created designs but has included his name on the base, simply a matter of adding the text and also an emoji next to it.   Furthermore the student concerned has strong ideas about what he wants to do with the design and print to personalise it further.

Left: Oversized Key Ring
 In the second print the students were designing and creating an oversized keyring as a gift for a staff member to ensure that they didn't loose their classroom key.   The original design was created in white, the students hadn't checked the exact wording of the teachers name (hence the subtle adjustment).   They also made adjustments in the thickness of the print to ensure that it was more manageable.  We have printed designs like this in an effort to ensure that they were not lost or placed in a adult or teachers pocket.  This was not one of them.

3D Printed Unique Key Ring

Challenge: For a nine year old to create an original design from scratch.
Background: This student was keen to involve himself in 3D Printing and wanted a gift for a family member who had a specific interest in farming and diggers.   They were looking at ways to include design and challenge.    With this design the brief was for a farming digger. 

There was no basic digger design that was available for use from the student so the student concerned designed one from basic shapes available on the main Tinkercad Design portal.   The geometric shapes were linked together to create the image.   The student needed a specific shape for the scoop and having tried various combinations of regular shapes decided to use the 'scribble' icon to custom make the shape.   From here it was a basic addition of a font to label the design for the person it was intended for.   The rectangular shape of the base was intended to use the block as a child (three year olds) toy.   It was intended as something for the child to play with.   It was an introduction to show this particular student the potential creativity that was possible with the 3D Printer.

Degree of Difficulty: Low - this is the students first attempt of the 3D Printer.

Size: 140mm across, 160mm high.   The design is also 20mm thick.   In hindsight this part of the design could well have been reduced - the student who designed it was thinking about their cousins age and making sure the block was robust enough. 

Timeframe: Ten Hours - this is reflective of the size of the print.

What we would do differently/Next steps for students:
The student was very pleased with his first attempt to produce something with the 3D Printer there is much more complex designs and projects to come from this student.   They have simply used the printer to create soemthing with encouragement.

3D Printed Stationary Holder: Developing the next level of prints

Challenge: To take a standard 3D Printed stationary stand and combine PLA (prints) and add additional features and designs to increase the appeal of the overall print.
Background: Students are well versed in producing considerably large prints to serve as stationary holders or desk tidy items for the students.   The design of these come as premade or students are able to use Tinkercad to quickly take some of basic shapes and group them, creating a stand using the basic shapes (as shown in the photograph on the left).    The student responsible for this design is a nine year old Y5 student who has self taught himself to identify projects that he could complete with his developing skillset.   He is using Tinkercad in the classroom where appropriate but also in his own time at home to come up with designs such as this which he is subsequently bringing into the

classroom - the teacher role at this point is to check the prints, discuss the intention or purpose of the prints and press the print button.  It is not to create the project or direct the students. 

The challenge for the student is not to create in this instance - it is to challenge the student capable of producing a product like this and look towards combing PLA, spray painting the PLA and adding the addition of 'wow' factors.   The student is going to combine this print with PLA combinations, with spray painting and include LED lighting in the design.

Degree of Difficulty: High - this print design is going to be the first layer of the print, with a combination of as much as possible additional features.  The intention has always been to push this student who has shown talent to apply himself.
Size: The print measures 120mm across.   The print base is 10mm thick.   The tallest of the towers for storage of stationary items is 90mm high.    The smallest of the towers is 30mm.   

Timeframe: Sixteen hours to print this design.   This is the base of the design and does not include the time for the additional features that are going to be added.   Given the scale of the print this is the minimum sort of timeframe possible with this technology and hardware set up.

What we would do differently/next step for students: The student will be pushed to develop additional features and creative aspects of this design, not limited to different PLA, spray painting and adding LED lights to the design.