Junior Masterclass: Monster Exemplar

 

Challenge: To create an original monster with storage as part of a classroom challenge.   

Background: This came as part of a general classroom challenge that was set for the entire class.   One of the students began to work on a design that was inspired by the Pixar Movie Monsters Inc.  The student used the main Tinkercad  interface for details such as the hands and the feet and spent considerable time ensuring that the creature had balance.   The hands were designed deliberately to complement the base of the monster and provide balance for the overall project.

Once the design was completed the student then applied the Tinkercad Apps AR/VR function to the design to their creation.  This allowed them to check the viability of the design prior to the 3D Printing.  As the figure itself lent itself to being comical the students spent considerable time placing the figure in a number of locations interacting in a range of situations and with others.

The final stage of the initial development was for the student to make decisions about the decoration of the print after printing.   The student wanted to spray paint the design, then spend time with the decoration of the eyeball as a dominant feature.   While this has yet to be completed the idea from the student is to use paint for the eyeball and then put the detail into the iris etc.

As shown left the student opted to change the colour of the red PLA by spray painting it lime green.    The student who created this design was a Y4 student making them eight years old - they have been designing for the second year using Tinkercad.

During the removal of PLA the teacher made every attempt to minimise the removal of the print itself, as it is always a delicate matter.   The print suffered some small damage with the horns and the teeth of the project.  

The teeth that were in the mouth also suffered some unintentional damage to some of the oversized teeth.   However enough structure was maintained in the model to make it a striking example.

The student was able clearly demonstrate as well that they applied a basic shape to the head which meant the the design had a purpose of storage and also reduced the overall print time.

Size: The main base of the print measures 100mm long is 70mm high and 60mm deep.   The arms as shown are 30mm across and 70mm long.    The print dimensions could work in a variety of sizes however this was intended as a large size for the storage purpose.

Timeframe: Six hours the arms needed support as did the base of the design around the feet and the teeth.   This was unavoidable in this instance but needed to maintain the integrity of the print.

What we would do differently/Next Steps for the Students: The student was thrilled with the result, it goes without saying however there are additional things that they want to focus on.  The horn has already been mentioned, needing to be more robust, the teeth suffered some damage when the rafting was removed - both these would need to have a slight increase in size.   The student has, as noted, made plans to change the eye of the design into a focal point.

Laser Cut 'Monster Box' Large

 

Laser Cut 'Monster' Storage Box.

This product is one from our senior students as part of our 2025 Market Day Event.    This box is a general storage box.   It has been laser cut in MDF and then spray painted by students.

The box was printed in five seperate pieces and then glued together with wood glue and was produced using 3mm MDF.   The design was located from an online source.    The time to laser cut was ten minutes.

The box measures 300mm across is 10mm deep and 10mm wide.    The looping at the end of the lid creates a hinge that the box uses to open and close.

This box is similar to a design that featured in our 2023 Market Day although this version has significantly larger dimensions.

Combing Laser Cutter and 3D Printing: DPE Highlights

 

We have posted previously about our senior students during our DPE program.    Our DPE program is our Year Seven and Year Eight program involving a range of programmes one of which is laser cutting.

One of the core tasks in the program is the creation of a 'Monster Box'.   This box is created by having it cut into sections, which when assembled and glue show the design left.   This is produced in MDF.   Once it has been completed students have experimented with a range of decorations.   In the past some of these have been spray painted but we have also had students use a basic stain to produce a wood finish.

The finish with the basic wood stain is shown left.   However the next stage is for the students to consider the designing of an insert to go into the box to allow it to be separated into compartments and then have this 3D Printed combining the two technology machines together.

The design of the Monster Box is something straight forward (and there are a multitude of variations available online along a similar design).   The inserts into the box was able to be produced by using the students design skills and create an insert which in turn divided the box into different sections.   

Boxes have been popular items for the students to produce overtime - so amazing examples using just the 3D Printers include this amazing example from 2017 an exemplar that still looks incredible today.   

The printing of the entire box isn't something that is realistic for every student to complete.  In the past we used 3D Printers to complete the speakers as part of our DPE program - but this was back in 2015 with the first classroom projects that we were printing with our seniors students.

Since then our use of technology has increased drastically as the machines that we have used for 3D Printing has improved.   We initially had Ultimaker Machines, followed by various updates and add ons before shifting to Snapmaker machines, until last year when we made the switch to Bambu.   In the case of projects in the last near year or so we can show quite clearly that the printing times have at least halved, the waste PLA is considerably reduced and the detail that the machines themselves are able to produce is continuing to show significant improvement.

If you wish to have further details about our school DPE program you can find them on our school website or email us and we can put you in contact with the teacher in charge directly.

Cyclops Challenge Revisited 2026

Challenge: To create something based around the eyes from a regular craft set.

Background: Regular visitors to this blog will recognise this challenge from last year it was one based around the use of a prop or third part challenge and the goal for the students was to incorporate the item into the 3D Design.   We have previously proved successful in doing so with pencil sharpeners (which you can see via this previous post here or inputing this into the search box top right hand corner)

This challenge focussed on the craft eyes shown left.  They were purchased from a local chain store from the craft section for $5.00.  Each of the eyes has an adhesive sticker on the back of it to fix it into place onto paper or cardboard as we are ultimately mounting it on plastic PLA which would mean that we would be gluing it in place with some form of strong adhesive.   As we have mentioned in the past we have a range of previous prints from this site collected over the years for the students to use as an inspiration point for students- one of the featured prints is the series of 'cyclops' prints from last year,

Last years design came in a range of designs with the inspiration for this year being the design shown left (which is printed in pink glow-in-the-dark filament).

To ensure that this years designs were original, and not simply a copy of the example shown left students were challenged to create a design that featured multiple eyes - with a minimum of at least two, however we specified to the students that they needed to ensure that they were not 'traditional' that is they were not placed adjacent to each other like we would expect to see in a regular face.

We started by having the students sketch a 'monster' figure and designing it on regular paper.  We then had the students exchange plans with each other and have students use Tinkercad to create the digital image object of the other students idea.  Once they had their creation checked they were then encouraged to add depth and details to their original design.

This design (shown left) cane out of the process.  Of note is the detail that the student was able to create into the design - the hair in particular was something that was possible with the detail provided by a regular nozzle on the Bambu H2D.    The student opted to meet the brief provided with the eyes by producing two slots one at the top on the top tier of the 'snowman' design.   

To further provide a point of interest this print was printed in green glow-in-the-dark as we have been using some material left over from last years Market Day.

The biggest challenge for this task for the students is allowing for specific measurements for a range of 'eyes' for the print to work in conjunction with.  They provide a striking contrast to the print filament itself but to ensure that it works effectively they cannot really be glued in place without any kind of insert or opening for the eye.

This monster will be featured in an additional post on this blog.

3D Printed Projects in Action: Weekly Summary

 

Five and six year olds at Auroa Primary School are 3D Printing, well they are with the assistance of the experts in our classroom.   We are continuing to buddy up with a range of younger students and start the CAD design and creation process with these 'new' students.    Our students are taking on a mentoring role and starting with the basics.   The students are of course using Tinkercad combined with the Tinkercad App and either our Bambu H2D or P1S to complete a range of short term original projects such as the one shown above - with a thirty minute print time and a $0.35c price point using regular PLA.

We've also starting exposing students to using AI in a positive way as a filter - by taking the Tinkercad design of students, AR/VR the design and then posing with a photo, of the design before the final touches are applied using a filter, in this case Pic Collage however of course Chat GPT is also a viable alternative.

In the example shown left the 'hearts' featured in the design is the 3D CAD Design via Tinkercad.  It has then been projected into the arms of the student who is on the slide in the playground.  Of the playground the only part of the image that has remained is the slide and the poles either side of it.  This is the same slide that was featured in another range of AR/VR work that featured the Ooshie stand although in this example the background was completely different.

We also have set our students another design concept or challenge one that involves the school laser cutter.  Our senior students (Year 7/Year 8) have their Design Education Production (DPE) and as part of it produce this Monster Box.   the print has space for an insert and so the challenge for our students is to use their 3D Design skills to create something that can form storage or an inside of a box.  It needs to be obviously measured accurately and carefully.

It could potentially used to store smaller objects and items (currently thinking is based around jewellery, Ooshies or earrings).

Our students have the MDF chest and will be again using Tinkercad, the Tinkercad App and their iPads for the design.

Finally we're always encouraging the students to bring in objects that we might be able to personalise or adapt not just because they make interesting projects but we also have in mind our upcoming School Market Day (which will be held next in 2027)

One such project under consideration is the moment in replicating this rugby kicking tee - as it is plastic it is close in composition to PLA however the students of course have realised that they can produce their own kicking tee with their individual players name - designed into the side of it.  Further updates for all of these projects will follow.

3D Printed Ear Rings - Refinement and Adaptions

While we are continuing to work on the various projects that are running at school as we head into the last week of term for term one, 2025, we also have a number of students revisiting some of our previous projects to ensure that they have mastery of the task or in some cases have further refined their designs.

In the case of the ear ring task that was detailed previously as the students have been using Tinkercad we have a classroom space set up via the website.  This allows students to have multiple projects running up also allows us to think about the events that are coming up later in the year - specifically our school market day.  

Realistically this type of project would allow us to print a range of individual designs for the market day and allow each student to have their own creation that could be used to showcase their creativity.

There has been no input from the teacher with these students designs they are creating them independently and identifying for the teacher when they can be printed.   As the size of prints tends to be in the 30mm to 40mm range the print time for a pair of ear rings tends to be under one hour.   They are an ideal task for students to be creative but also have a realistic about printing, including designs that do not work or need to be reworked.

We also have allowed students to use the search bar from #tinkercad to alter and adapt the pre-made designs.   Usually this is something that we restrict with the students ideas having more of an emphasis placed on them, but in this instance as the designs are relatively small we want to be able to allow the students to create something, have it successful and be able to celebrate this.

A good example of this line of thinking is the monster feet design shown left, this has been accessed via the search bar, the student was required to just connect a ring to the shape, group it and the design was finished.

We have in our classroom on display the Dolls House which is the actual rebuild that we are attempting.  We have been completing prints, adding them on and then discussing with the students how they look and what else we can make.   In the photograph left you can see early examples and attempts at flooring, currently just created by laminating basic screenshots however the intention is decals and vinyl coverings of the wall and the floors using the Versa Sign Maker.

We also have encouraged the students to think about their designs during the upcoming New Zealand School Holidays.    It will allow us to print a volume of material and projects and do to also consider some larger scale projects that students have worked on that will potentially involve a longer span of time.   It is too early for students Market Day projects at this stage although we want them considering and thinking about the possibilities coming up.

3D Printed Pencil Topper - Junior School Printing Challenge.

 

The concept for this idea came from a student bringing an object into the classroom and into school that we were able to use as a model or inspiration and apply some of our design and creation techniques too.

A student brought a comedy monster figure, that was wrapped around a pencil and was light enough not to affect the writing for the student.

We felt that our students given the opportunity would be able to replicate this design but put their own spin on it.    As a project the print time for each of the prints that the students develop would be minimal which would allow the project to be completed with the students being able to produce a print each (remembering of course that there are 27 students who are present in our class).

The PLA as evidence by our first prints has held up quite well.   One of the issues that has been coming up already is the balance between having the prints snug and allowing them to clasp onto the pencils.   We want the design to be able to used across multiple pencils depending on the students wish.    

As we have been doing when its appropriate as our students use iPads they have the option of using Tinkercad to AR/VR their designs into place how they could potentially look, which allows them to check their viability prior to printing.   In the example shown left the student was able to create a design and then test how it might look by placing it on a pencil as an example.

One of our tasks at present is the preparation for Market Day 2025, we discussed this design with students but discussion at present showed a limit to thinking that this could potentially be a business.   While there is some variation in the amount of PLA and print time it is amongst some of the shortest or smallest designs that we have featured for a while - with early examples taking twenty minutes or so.

In the coming days we are going to look to the students to refine their designs.  We have the example, we have the ideas but we would be looking for expression, details, characters and exaggerated features.   In addition to the regular PLA we also have some special PLA like rubber, which would perhaps be ideally suited for something like this.

Students also need to consider features of the pencils like erasers or how the tops can sometimes differ.  The key to this task is precision measuring to ensure that everything fits.    

Some designs like the one shown left have a spiral that fits perfectly but the star that is going to be at the top of the design certainly needs to be more robust or have strength to survive repeated use and changing of positions, which the student has already completed.

3D Printed 'Cyclops' Challenge: Masterclass

 

Challenge: Given a toy eye the students in the classroom were told to create a build/project around it.

Background: This is the finished version of the first initial print.  The process behind the design for this print was detailed in a previous print on this blog.

This design is now shown with the eye firmly in place - without glue as the student was able to force it into the eye socket when it then expanded into place, held there by the design.    The design is used to hold a USB flash drive.

At the same time that this was being produced one of the other students wanted to create something on a more significant scale.   This student is a eight year old student who has shown creativity and aptitude with her designing work and skills.  She wanted to use a 'cyclops' theme to produce a unique storage location.   Tinkercad was used as the main design tool.

The design is shown left on the Tinkercad design page.    The student opted for a single eyeball which as shown was on a stalk, with two pods of storage either side of the main body.

Level of Difficulty: Medium - the design has a number of aspects and details in it.   For instance the spikes on the body and the boils have been created by adding small cones and circles at different locations and then flattened out or added.     The balance with the design was required and it also needed to work with the scale.

Size: This was a significant print in terms of size.    The print measured 170mm across and was 90mm wide.    The main height of the body of the print was 120mm.   The Pods were 70mm long etc.    This was intended as a significant print.    The stalk with the eye in the middle was a further 70mm high.

Timeframe: This print took four and a half hours and took place on the Bambu H2D Printer.   This made sense with the dimensions and also the details that we wanted to bring to the print.   There was absolutely minimal rafting that was produced with this print - if we had used our other primary machines, the Snapmaker then we would have expected significant rafting with this projects.

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students: 

The student has shown the ability to be able to produce prints such as this.   When the initial challenge was set to the students they were asked to incorporate an eyeball into it this student opted to move in another direction.    The student could have looked to use this with the design, as they could have opted to use the printer to change it colour.

The student could have looked for additional features and develop the design further.   While they put a considerable amount of additional features onto the design but they could have added further details.

We have used the 'monster' theme numerous times in the classroom as a design focus because it allows the students to not follow particular rules or details (such as when a cat is designed) 

Laser Cut Halloween Box - Maker Design Lab

 

One of the challenges for the DPE students is ways to unpack designs created by using the laser cutter.  In our tech time students have a range of prototypes that they can unpack and then design their own version of.  An example of this is the 'Laser Cut Halloween Box'.   This item is located here on the Maker Design Lab.  

On this site there is a full list of the equipment required, all the different parts etc.

The laser cut design measures 100mm across and 70mm across the design is 100mm high.

The design when the laser cut was completed was then put together with a combination of wood glue, sandpaper (for the finish).   In the example provided online the stain has been used to made the cut look more finished - our design has not.

While the design has a high decorative value it should be noted as MDF laser cut the design needs to be handled with a bit of care (ie it would be in trouble if it was dropped.   There would be potential to use a 3D Printer to design feet or legs.

The design was completed using 3mm MDF.   The site where it was located from has a full design page devoted to this print, its process and completion - detailing every stage of the process.

Our students have used boxes like this Monster Box as part of our 2025 School Market Day.

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 Printed Design with craft Eyes

Challenge: To create a unique design that incorporates the use of craft 'eyes' as part of the print.  Student was eight years old and used their iPad and the Tinkercad iPad App.

Background: As explained previously this year we have revisited several different tasks from last year including our cyclops challenge, details of which you can read here.

We've always looking at ways to extend the students thinking and using craft items that can be incorporated into 3D Printing and students design.

In this instance the student opted to go with two eyes but to ensure it was not the traditional pair of eyes in this instance the student opted to have them on top of each other on the shape of a snowman with additional texture provided by the hair.

Level of Difficulty: Low - the fact that the design was a monster allowed for it not to have traditional measurements or features - which meant there was no right or wrong answers for the design that the students created.   

Size: This design was 70mm across and 70mm wide as well as being 60mm long.   These dimensions meant that it was capable of holding a single pen, or stylus pen, rather than a group of stationary.

Cost/Price: The print used 26g of filament and had a price point of $0.65c.   This information was supplied by Bambu Studios as part of their software when  the .stl Tinkercad file was imported across into the printer software.

Timeframe: Using the standard settings on the Bambu H2D this print took one hour to complete.   There was minimal rafting, mainly around the hair at the back.

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students: The location of the two eyes could be more refined.  There is a small gap for the eyes however the smallest eyes required a slightly larger gap.  The design does not have a solid base and this has meant that there is something of a 'wobble' present which upon testing of the print limits what can be stored in it.  If the print was to be expanded and store more stationary then the base would need to stabilised.