3D Printed Furniture - First Student Examples

Challenge: To make furniture for a Dolls House.

Background: We have been posting about the process of using our technology to combine juniors and seniors looking at the process of re-establishing a dolls house, including all the furniture.

There are a number of reasons that this task is proving popular.   Firstly the students are basing the furniture on their own knowledge and designs, including those who have had experiences with toy furniture.

Secondly the size of the designs as we are building for a smaller size dolls house has meant that the prints shown, including the chest of draws and the bed are both under two hours to complete which is achievable if we are intending to complete a number of prints.

The junior school students have completed the design for this independently using Tinkercad, they have then in turn conducted tests on the viability of the designs by using the Tinkercad 

The design shown left has come from a seven year old student, and was modelled on working in conjunction with the figure above, the bedside table was created by another student.

Size: The bed shown left measured 40mm across and was 60mm long.   The legs were 10mm from the floor and the entire bed was an additional 15mm.  The chest of drawers measures 30mm high was 40mm across and had feet of 10mm.

These were designed to work in conjunction with the figure shown in the first photograph.  The student will need to scale them when the two are put together (ie can the figure realistically lie down in the bed or would that be unrealistic - is the pillow the right size etc.

Timeframe: the bed took slight under two hours and the chest of draws was ninety minutes, the student needs to have the objects to work in conjunction with both the dolls house and the dolls themselves to ensure that they are to some kind of scale (although as has been pointed out sometimes dolls houses are not). 

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

When you place the figure with the bed as shown left it doesn't look to scale, but it also has to be considered that the figure itself is not to scale.

The chest of draw has a top draw, however the second draw was too close to the design and therefore the detail there did not print, the student needs to ensure that it is able to be recognised and printed.

Tinkercad AR/VR with Dolls House Furniture

 

We have detailed how we are involving ourselves in a long term project, looking at having a combination of machines and technology from our school.

We have already used the laser cutter to start rebuilding parts of the structure that we cannot repair.   We have also started to use Tinkercad to design furniture which we are going to print and then place inside.

Our original designs were created using the Tinkercad software.  The next step for the students is to start printing the prototypes but also look at ways that we can engage all the students while this is being carried out.

We have talked about the use of the AR/VR option with Tinkercad  and the students iPads.   The students have taken the designs that they have created and then projected them into the rooms that make up the dolls house.

This has given the opportunity for the students to see the designs and what they might look like in a location where they could be placed - it also has allowed several students to refine and remake their designs as they have not looked correct or have needed adjustments to ensure that they have the correct features.

We also gave the students a figure and instructed them to apply the AR/VR of their design to fit so that it was the approximate size for the figure.   In the example of the bed shown left, the figure is the plastic M and M figure holding the fan, the bed which has been already attempted and matched with the dolls house, as shown above.

As it is recorded with an iPad you can obviously VR/AR the shape in an outside environment so you are not restricted by using a green screen.

We also wanted to give the opportunity for the furniture to be run through some of the pic collage

filters to further develop the designs.

This is a bed, designed in Tinkercad, then having a pic collage applied magic camera feature (with obviously a Christmas theme) which allowed the student to present something independently of being 3D Printed.

Again the intention was to allow the students to use their Tinkercad designs to produce something that did not necessarily lead straight away to 3D Printing.

We have started the process of including other examples such as this, in this slideshow.

3D Printing Furniture for a Laser Cut Dolls House

 

We have detailed that this year we are looking at students undertaking several long term projects - the first of which is rebuilding the dolls house that was rescued prior to it being dumped in a rubbish bin.

The Y8 students who are working on this are using their design skills to use the laser cutter to rebuild as much of the base as possible.

As much as the intention was to repair the damage to the original house, the main wood that was used to put it together was untreated MDF which has in a couple of places been wet, causing considerable damage.

After finding examples online that showed some ideas that could be used in the design (such as the shutters on the windows or the faux brick work) the students were able to use inkscape to design the ends.

This is being produced by the senior students at our school, although our junior school students can see the project and have been informed of its intention, which is to give it to the junior school for them to use in the Y1 classroom, where our five year olds are.

We thought about how our own juniors, who are slightly older, seven and eight year olds.  We wanted these students to be apply their design ideas using Tinkercad to create something to compliment the dolls house.

The first designs that the students created were using Tinkercad's main interface.   These had minimal creation from the students, but the idea was to use these as inspiration for students to create their own versions.    In this example the student combined the table with the lamp and then used the size of the table relative to the size of the dolls house.   We have a rule with the students thats typically we ask the students to design their own version of items rather than use ones that are commercially available.

An example of an authentic design from a student is shown left, the students design is based of course on a bed, with the student using the design to create the basic features.

We have also considered how we might be able to use other technology available to our students - the idea is to use the Roland Versa Sign Maker to construct the stickers for the base, and then use potentially the students to hand sew the blankets to fit the base.

3D Printed Extension - Reworking a 2024 Money Box Design

 

Previously this design was created and originated by a student who is now in another classroom.   In the example shown left the student was looking to create a money box. 

The student had wanted to improve the design and had thought about adding a way to remove the coins put into the bank.   This year we are having a school Market Day one of the students from the class this year wanted to create a money box as a potential item for sale.  They looked at previous examples from our class blog and located one of the examples.   We spoke to the student concerned who had now moved to another classroom but we had retained the classroom page and student pages with their designs.

The key issue to improve the design was some kind of opening or way to ensure the removal of coins placed inside.   The students idea was to produce a door as shown.   The student who is currently ten years old found an online tutorial for the process and then completed the design addition.

There are issues with the design as it stands - the student has created the base, but the balance at the bottom will be something that they need to refine.  They have proven however to be one of the strongest designers in our school in recent years, and this is something that they should master in very short order.   

This student has shown since the start of her time in the junior classroom (as a seven year old) to be capable of designing a series of projects that I would consider as good as our senior students.

Update: Upon printing the revised version of the print, including the opening at the bottom the student was able to determine that the mechanism for opening was not working as she had hoped.  There was no issue with the placing of the base, and the balance was retained by the two aspects of the design.

The student was not happy with the 'pin' aspect of the design that was she wanted it to work and lock in place, however it didn't work as intended.  She has asked to take home the prototype to be able to redesign the pin in a way that it will work successfully as intended.
   

3D Printed: Ten Minute student challenge

 

Challenge: Y3 and Y4 classroom students using Tinkercad are given ten minutes using their classroom student account and their iPads to create a pair of ear rings that would be suitable for someone to wear.

Background: We have created these before, using the same process with the idea that the print time varies between fifteen minutes and half an hour.  Students in this instance had to develop them independently from the teacher, the teachers role was simply to arrange printing of the designs when they were complete.

The students needed to asses their designs in terms of suitability for hanging/wearing and needs to ensure that it is robust particularly the connection or join point between the ring or the loop and the design itself.

While each of the designs are somewhat unique and their size and print time varies in most cases it was under thirty minutes and the length of the prints in total and including the loop was no more than 60mm.

Each of the students was able to put their own spin and design on the ear rings.

We are also mindful of a significant event that is taking place later this year, that is our school market-day.

This event is significant for Auroa Primary School we have an expectations that our students are creating, innovating and designing and making something that would have value in the community.

We have had businesses run by students who have to look at something that they could potentially sell.   One of the things that make this activity ideal is that the printer can produce something that is unique and student created and can be produced for a minimal cost, as we have with the laser cut ear rings.

With such a relative short print time the entire class can realistically have their designs completed over the space of several days (that is a class of twenty six students). and then printed out.

This allows the students to check their design, check their viability, run tests and then finally make adjustments.

There are several pairs that will be printed later and there will be a second run of prints which will be posted for additional ideas.

3D Prints: Will it Float? Applying it to Boat Designs

 

We took all of the first wave of 3D Printed boats and placed them inside a container in the classroom that was filled with water.    We had tested the viability of the designs via the motion part of the Tinkercad program, which suggested that there was some issues with the design.

A clear example is the first version of the 'Titanic' which when floated by the students, as shown left, clearly showed that the design was not balanced and tipped to one side.

The more recent update of the Titanic, shown left, successfully floated.  It included four life boats (the original had twenty) and the typical four funnel stacks.

The decks and the top of the boat were balanced and as a result the ship floated comfortably in the water.  The student concerned wants to add additional feature to the ship, in doing so they want to ensure balance, so if they add something to one side then they indeed doing something on the other side to match.

This was the design which featured the name 'Emily' on the first page of first wave of designs.   It included four funnels and two decks, but no additional features.   The student wanted it to be used as a basic boat that floated and was able to achieve this with the design.  As with the others that are in series the student is currently working on adding additional features that she can include with the design to make it more realistic.  Again with the other prints and designs in the series the student wants to base the design on the template of the Titanic.

One design that strictly speaking did not work was the design shown left.   It did float - however the design is top heavy in that the weight of the design cause it to topple over, and while the student felt that it met the brief, that it floated it did not float as desired.

Which then started another discussion with the students would a regular print float or sink?

We looked for some designs that we had from our example box and selected several items - and posted the question to our students, literally, will this float? Most of the students thought that the tree would sink to the bottom of the container, but it didn't like the others, it maintained its floating ability and stayed on the surface.   An attempt to cause it to sink by placing a light amount of force on the design, and pushing it to the bottom simply caused the design to remain on the bottom until it was released, as noted by the students this is similar to the fluter boards that we have recently used for swimming and water safety.

The original junior Christmas tree print was located here.

The final stage of the testing was to find a range of designs and prints, many of which have featured on this blog.  

Without exception all of the prints floated - one or two of them floated at the top of the waterline but all of them remained buoyant.   

The students by this point were able to determine that all of the prints were able to float as a result.

3D Printed Boats: First Wave of Designs

 

We have detailed in a previous post how the class of students are currently working on several challenges.  One is to produce a range of boats - we have experienced success in creating these previously as is detailed in our this post.

Follow the success of the first design students have been working on a range of designs, and creating and bouncing ideas off each other.  The Titanic is a 3D Print that is available in various guises on a range of sites, and we have printed it in full in the past.

Hence the design shown above has four funnels (our students loved locating fact that only three of these were legitimate and the fourth funnel was in fact a prop!)

The first design measures 180mm long was 55mm wide at the mid point and 70mm high.   The funnels were part of this, being 20mm high.  The ship in this case took four hours to print.

The second design (shown left) had slightly different dimensions - and took slightly longer to print.   This was four and a half hours.   It measured 160mm long was 60mm wide and featured two distinct decks - the student wanted to add details to this design so attempted to look at ways to have windows or cabin windows on the side of the boat.   The student wanted the funnels to stand out significantly, so in this incident had the four (again inspired by the Titanic) at the top of the design. 

There is another important lesson in this boat, which is called 'will it float' and the answer is no! The student in this case has built the funnels too tall and the weight of them causes the boat to tip, when it is placed in water.   This is a vital engineering lesson to the students - which can be illustrated by placing the boat in water.    The student is going to be given the opportunity to address and redesign this, which should take place easily using Tinkercad.

Its one of those things were the fact that the design is completed but it only with printing that the student can identify a fault - and also we will go back to the 'motion' animation to look if it is sustainable.

The final design that we would like to show is the boat shown left.  The student has again opted for the four funnels, has included an oversized flag (we have discussed the idea of using decals for the boats, potentially created using our sticker making machine) and there was a clear using of a personalisation - this student had used the idea of sinking the lettering into a design as we had been working on with the lesson to upgrade the display of the badges of the name plates.

In this case the design measured 150mm long was 60mm wide and 55mm high.   This design was suitable size wise and the student was thrilled with it - it also was very balanced relative to floating.

We are going to give our juniors a choice to look at testing this boats, seeing which ones that they like and also which ones they are able to float or race against each other.