rapman-education's posterous

rapman-education's posterous

Dave White  //  A place for educators, teachers, lecturers and students to find "stuff" about RapMan,BfB3000 and BfB 3DTouch printers... The unofficial Blog by Dave White, Advanced Skills Teacher and Head of D&T in Clevedon School UK.

May 19 / 9:42pm

Autodesk 123D... Sketchup with attitude ??

123d

I'm always on the lookout for new software for creating new parts/objects and especially software that is both "powerful" and yet intuitive to use... especially for students to use. And even better if it was "free". Ok so there are other options available such as Sketchup, AOI etc but I've never been really keen on these for one reason or another. The other day I came across Autodesk 123D and although it wasn't released I signed up to be notified when it became available... today I received the email and promptly downloaded and installed it. Being a Creo elements/Pro (Pro/engineer) user I think it's going to take some time to get up to speed (it looks like Autodesk inventor user will get up and running very easily)... BUT... I quite like what I see so far.... sort of like "Sketchup with attitude".

I think you need a fairly decent PC to run the software (my old laptop is groaning a bit under the demands of the program) but it does seem to produce good .stl files. There is also a library of free standard parts (nuts, bolts, bearings etc) and you can purchase ready-made models. It's early days yet but it looks to be worth a try so if you are interested have a look here www.123dapp.com/

It is also worth noting that Autodesk 123D is geared towards "3D Making" with links to "Techshop" and "Ponoko" but even more interesting is the link to 3D Systems... AND Bits from Bytes machines!!!! www.123dapp.com/make

Anyway, here is a screenshot to have a quick preview

May 18 / 5:30pm

31 years ago

It was 31 years ago today 18/5/1980 that Mount St Helens erupted. So perhaps it is a good time to have a look at a teaching and learning resource about 3D printing a model of the volcano before and after the eruption.

Msh

The models in this project are created from 3D terrain satellite data downloaded from the internet and converted to .stl files that can be printed with Bits from Bytes RapMan or BfB3000 printers.

The full details can be found here http://wiki.bitsfrombytes.com/index.php/Geography_-_Mount_Saint_Helens_Volcano together with free downloadable pdf and .stl files for teachers and students.

Why not give it a go??

May 6 / 6:02pm

An alternative to sketchup?

Creating 3D designs for students … well there are several alternatives. Many schools will use PTC Creo Elements Pro (the new name for Pro/ENGINEER) under the “schools program”… this is absolutely fantastic as schools can use this free and students are able to install the program at home too. A similar scheme also allows students to use Autodesk software. However…

Both programs are “pretty full on” professional packages and students have a steep learning curve. The alternative is to use Google Sketchup (with the .dxf/.stl export plugin), and students seem to like the sketchy way to created their 3D designs ready for printing. But there may be another free alternative on the horizon from Autodesk – “123D” see http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/05/democratizing-design/ . Ok there are going to be links to Ponoko and Techshop but this may prove to be a useful alternative 3D design tool.

If you would like to be notified when this download becomes available try visiting http://www.123dapp.com/ and registering your e-mail address. Watch this space for more developments.

Apr 23 / 9:50am

Bits from Bytes on UK prime time TV

BfB spent some time last week at the Gadget Show Live demonstrating their 3D printers to the public. This event was aimed at letting people know all about 3D printing and how accessible it can be.

A spin off of this was the BfB3000 making an appearance on “This Morning” an ITV morning show in the UK. Here is a short clip from the show.  

A full write up can be found on the BfB Blog http://rapmanv3.blogspot.com/2011/04/seven-days-of-bfb-media-fun-and.html

And in case you missed it here is a clip from the BBC show "Inside Out" earlier in March 2011.  

Filed under  //  Media   Video   printing  
Apr 6 / 6:48pm

Kids' stuff -3D printing in a UK Primary School

This project undertaken by Bits from Bytes just goes to show that 3D printing can really be “kids’ stuff”… and just look at the quality of what these youngsters are producing. As an educator who thinks that 3D printing holds so much potential for developing our designers and engineers of the future I think this is a wonderful example of what can be done to “catch ‘em young”.

Thanks to 3D Systems for this article taken from their blog http://blog.3dsystems.com/2011/04/bits-from-bytes-in-classroom.html

 

Bits From Bytes in the Classroom

Our own Bits From Bytes just concluded a partnership with kide™ to pilot a project at Thorpedene Junior School in the United Kingdom. kide™ is a unique teaching tool for schools that allows children to design and make 3D printed toys. By using the computers to design, the 3D printers to make, and the toys to play with, children create a link between the virtual and materialistic 3D worlds. This offers full customization and personalization of physical toys and encourages live interaction through a playful learning experience.
The 4-month project called kideville allowed students to create a city made soley of 3D printed houses that they designed. By undergoing the entire creative process, the students learned how to deliver a design project from starting ideas to finished models. The process simulated a professional designer’s process including research, brainstorming, teamwork,
sketching, technical drawing, CAD, hand models, 3D printed models, post-finishing and more. Our BFB-3000 3D printer was even installed in the classroom to teach the children how this amazing technology works and allowed them to see some of their houses being produced right in front of them in their own mini-factory!
The resulting kideville (see below) was produced by 66 bright, creative students from two classes. We were very honored to be involved with such an amazing learning opportunity!

 

Mar 27 / 5:53pm

Bottle Rockets

Bottle_rockets

Using an A4 sheet of paper a couple of 3D printed parts and an empty fizzy drinks bottle you can make any fly your own rockets!

 

The free resources can be downloaded from the BfB wiki http://wiki.bitsfrombytes.com/index.php/Bottle_Rockets

 

Based on an idea from "mindsets" http://www.mutr.co.uk/

 

 

Filed under  //  Resources   Teaching and Learning   printing  
Mar 24 / 7:56pm

Bespoke USB Stick Project

Usb_project

Another Idea for a 3D Printing project suitable for use in Design & Technology (STEM).

Design and make a "Bespoke USB Stick"... a 3D printed case for updating an old flash drive . A project that guides students through from initial design ideas to a 3D printed object. Students will need to be able to use 3D design software.

The project can be downloaded from the BfB Wiki http://wiki.bitsfrombytes.com/index.php/Bespoke_USB_Stick

Filed under  //  Education   Resources   Teaching and Learning   printing  
Mar 21 / 5:23pm

Mobile phone stands.. and more

In a slightly crazy way I decided I would try to do a 3D printing project with a whole class (rather than just a few students at a time)… I say crazy because I gave them a fair bit of freedom to choose what they wanted to design…. I pointed them in the direction of the Teaching and Learning resources on the BfB Wiki http://wiki.bitsfrombytes.com/index.php/Teaching_Resources and off they went. So, I have students designing for Clip-it, Keep it Safe, and Mobile Mate all at the same time.

Just to show some of the first prints from this group the pictures are of some mobile phone stands (funny how popular this project is). These are surprisingly elegant solutions for 13 year olds. More pictures will follow when we have printed some more projects.

(download)

Filed under  //  Education   printing  
Mar 21 / 5:13pm

Satnav for a bike part 2

You may remember some time ago I posted about a student project to convert an iPhone into a Satnav (see http://rapman-education.posterous.com/convert-an-iphone-into-a-satnav-for-a-bike )

I just thought you might like to see the finished result mounted on a bike…. Not bad for a 15 year old GCSE student

(download)

Filed under  //  Education   printing  
Mar 13 / 3:55pm

Chinese seals - a new Teaching & Learning resource

Seal

This project is for students who can already use 3D design software. The project suggests ways to use BfB 3D printers to produce Chinese seals. These seals are used for printing and they are used in place of signatures in personal documents, office paperwork, contracts, art, or any item requiring acknowledgment or authorship.

 

The project is freely available on the BfB wiki http://wiki.bitsfrombytes.com/index.php/Chinese_Seals

 

If you use this resource or any others from the BfB wiki please leave some comments/suggestions on this post or the BfB forum.

 

Filed under  //  Resources   Teaching and Learning   printing