At the start of my lesson, yesterday, on combining short sentences to improve writing, Jade mentioned that it would be neat to create a hinge on the 3D printer for Sebastian's box and lid.
About 10 minutes into the lesson, Carter's hand shot up as he announced that he knew how to create the hinge. It turns out that while I had been teaching, a number of students were solving the problem of the hinge in their heads.
Today, Carter came to school and informed me that he had spent several hours last evening designing the hinge.
He wanted to know, however, before printing the entire hinge whether the printer would print a hollow cylinder.
We ran a test.
Success! It has been wonderful observing Carter analyze, problem-solve and prototype as he develops his hinge. He is going home tonight to refine his design and tomorrow we'll print.
About 10 minutes into the lesson, Carter's hand shot up as he announced that he knew how to create the hinge. It turns out that while I had been teaching, a number of students were solving the problem of the hinge in their heads.
Today, Carter came to school and informed me that he had spent several hours last evening designing the hinge.
He wanted to know, however, before printing the entire hinge whether the printer would print a hollow cylinder.
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| Tinkercad Design |
We ran a test.
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| Uploaded to Makerbot |
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| Hollow cylinder with raft to stabilize it during printing. |
Success! It has been wonderful observing Carter analyze, problem-solve and prototype as he develops his hinge. He is going home tonight to refine his design and tomorrow we'll print.
3d printers are fantastic! The prototyping is invaluable, but we've also wandered into the undiscovered country of 3d printed sculpture. Our design-tech teacher is currently experimenting with 3d modelling student heads with a Kinect and then printing portraits. These things are wild! https://plus.google.com/117734894810172222859/posts/UmBxGPw3mkv
ReplyDeleteI showed the designs to my students. They were impressed and curious.
DeleteOh, and to make it even cooler? Our printer had a breakdown... we are printing the parts we need to fix it!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Timothy,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your comments and sharing what's happening at your school. I am astounded by how quickly the printer has changed how many of my students see the world around them. The ability to prototype and learn from failures has been invaluable. I can't wait to see what they do next!