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.

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Teaching and Learning

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Jan 18 / 3:09pm

I've moved!

I have unfortunately had to move my blog to another platform.

But the good news is that I can now be found here... http://3dprintineducation.wordpress.com/

Like the new name, eh?

Why have I moved? Nothing sinister, it's simply because I use the Blogsy iPad app to do most of my blogging and since early December 2012 Blogsy has not been able to access my blog through the Posterous API.

My apologies to those who regularly visit my blog (and there are quite a few of you according to the analytics).
If you are a regular visitor please update any favourites or bookmarks to my new address, and if you are a new visitor please add this link to keep up to date with the news http://3dprintineducation.wordpress.com/

Filed under  //  Teaching and Learning   dt   education   media   printing  
Jan 16 / 8:31pm

Designing, prototyping, 3D printing... and augmented reality.

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3D CAD is fantastic and students using it can use it to design their products with relative ease. Even better if they output their designs to 3D printers or CNC machines. But there are times when visualising the designed object in the "real environment" can be difficult. Visualising the object "in situ" before committing to printing or machining can be useful in determining whether the design is correct, suitable for purpose or "looks right".

Ok so it is possible to "Photoshop" an image of the CAD design into a photo of the environment but wouldn't it be better if this could be done in 3D?.... With augmented reality this is possible and using an iPad and a suitable app relatively easy to do.

The photo attached to this post only shows half of the story... Its not possible to show a 3D scene using 2D media! The object (a model 3DTouch 3D printer) is 3D, moving the iPad around this virtual object does actually allow you to see it from above, sides, front, back, etc.

Yes the object viewed using augmented reality is still a "virtual object" but as a method of "testing" ideas before actually prototyping or making the object is another tool available to designers... Used in isolation I'm not certain how useful augmented reality actually can be, but as a first check in an iterative design process I can see some potential for some students in some design projects.

I have a feeling that teaming augmented reality with 3D printing could be a powerful combination. I hope to try this out with students soon and intend to get them to design objects, test them with augmented reality and modify their designs before 3D printing them.

If you fancy giving it a go then you might be interested in trying the iPad app "Augment" https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/augment/id506463171?mt=8 For a free app (at the time of posting this) it is really powerful, a range of 3D formats can be imported (.stl, .3ds, .obj etc) and of course these can be designed in CAD or downloaded from sites such as Thingiverse. Imported objects can be scaled, rotated, moved, photographed etc. And to get you started there are a number of lovely sample files available in the app too.

Filed under  //  Software   iPad   teachingandlearning  
Nov 4 / 12:56pm

Wind tunnel project for 3D printing

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A new Teaching and Learning resource for 3D printing on the BfB wiki...

Design and make a Wind Tunnel... This resource suggests ways to make a small wind tunnel using 3D printed parts and a few other odds and ends to test the aerodynamic forces on different models. Different models can be 3D printed and tested to compare their efficiency. This project will be suitable for Design and Technology, Science and maybe Mathematics.

http://wiki.bitsfrombytes.com/index.php/Wind_Tunnel

 

Filed under  //  crosscurricular   education   resources   teachingandlearning  
Sep 25 / 9:28pm

3D printing with Adobe Photoshop!

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Yes, you did read that correctly! It is possible to create 3D objects for 3D printing using Adobe Photoshop. It came as a bit of a surprise to me too. I suppose I have had my head buried in the more CAD approach of PTC Creo and Autodesk Inventor to notice that Photoshop has this capability.

So, how did I "discover" this capability? ... Well this evening after school I had the pleasure of meeting up with some guys from Adobe (Senior Product Managers, Digital Imaging Architects and the like) together with one of the Directors of Bits from Bytes.... All to discuss 3D printing in education.

I suppose I really aught to apologise to everyone, our 1 hour meeting stretched to well over 2 hours and they had to travel up to Birmingham from the Bristol area afterwards, as usual my enthusiasm for this technology got the better of me and I bombarded these guys with examples of how we use our 3D printers and how this all fits into our D&T curriculum.

So, what's next.... I really must find out more about how Adobe Photoshop works with 3D objects and see what can be done in schools as I can already see how a different approach (other than CAD software) could be useful for students designing in schools and colleges.

Filed under  //  education   software   teachingandlearning  
Sep 4 / 8:49pm

3DS Cubify web apps... In education?

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As most people who follow my escapades in 3D printing in education will have probably gathered I a great fan of the 3D Systems / Bits from Bytes machines... currently RapMan kits and the fantastic 3D Touch. But I Also keep an eye on what is happening in the 3D printing world in general. So unsurprisingly I came across Cubify and the Cube printer (unsurprisingly because it is part of the 3DS portfolio of machines). Anyway, one of the impressive things about Cubify is that they are supporting the use of their machines with web apps to generate parts that can be printed on any 3D printer (they export as .stl files).

At the present time there are web apps to create bracelets, earrings, tags, rings, defenders, UFO's, robots, licences and crowns. The apps can be accessed here http://cubify.com/apps.aspx

Now I'm very keen for students to 3D print their own designs but the Cubify apps open up all sorts of new educational opportunities. Now students can easily customise basic designs using the apps that are very easy to use and then print their own ring, bracelet, tag etc. So exposure to 3D printing technology need not only be for those students who have a working knowledge of 3D CAD software! And of course this also means that we can capture these youngsters at an even younger age.

Unfortunately I couldn't get the app to work on my iPad, so I'll have to fire up my trusty old laptop and see how I get on with this. Hopefully in the near future I shall report back and share my experiences.

 

Filed under  //  education   primary   printing   software   student   teachingandlearning  
Jun 7 / 1:18pm

To baldly go... (3D Printing)... Part 2

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Following on from a previous post "To baldly go" Tim Rylands who visited D&T a couple of weeks ago has blogged about 3D Printing in the Design & Technology department here at Clevedon School. It makes a really interesting read, so check it out here http://www.timrylands.com/2012/06/07/3d-printing-at-clevedon-school/

Thanks Tim for the brilliant and very complimentary blog post!

Filed under  //  D&T   Product Design   media   news   teachingandlearning  
May 31 / 9:54pm

D&T erupts into Geography

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It was one of those days today where a "magic moment" happened in school. Isn't it just wonderful when this happens. One of my students who helped out with a presentation about 3D printing for a visitor earlier this week (see the earlier post "To baldly go") came to see me about his Geography homework... Really strange as I'm a D&T teacher! It turned out that he had to do a project homework about how a volcano works.

This student had started to make connections in his mind. He now knows a bit about 3D printing and he did some independent research and stumbled across the teaching and learning resources I published on the BfB wiki http://wiki.bitsfrombytes.com/index.php/Geography_-_Mount_Saint_Helens_Volcano ... So he downloaded the files and asked if we could print them... How could I refuse?

... And his Geography teacher was really pleased to receive models of Mt St Helen's before and after it erupted.

Filed under  //  crosscurricular   printing   student   teachingandlearning  
May 30 / 8:23pm

To baldly go... (3D Printing)

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If you take a look at the pictures in this post you will see what I mean... And I'm not being rude to Tim, I unashamedly "borrowed" some of the title for this post from him... And as you will will also see we are an almost matching pair!

Anyway, to get to the point... On Tuesday (29th May 2012) we were visited in school by Tim Rylands who was on a fact finding mission about 3D printing in schools for his keynote speech at the West of England ICT conference at UWE (University of the West of England) on 4th of July 2012. And where better to go than the D&T department at Clevedon School.

During Tim's visit we were able to get a small group of year 9 (13 years old) students to lead him through the whole process from 3D CAD design through creating the g-code that drives our Bits from Bytes machines to actually printing their products. For a group of students who have only had about 10 hours of experience of Creo Parametric and a couple of hours on 3D printing they were absolutely fantastic. They gave a very clear and concise explanation and some very perceptive insights into the use of this technology in education.... Couldn't have done better myself!

We also managed to squeeze in a bit of time explaining how we are looking at using iPads to create 3D virtual objects for 3D printing and also for laser cutting... There are some wonderful new apps available now, that do 3D scanning so "watch this space", we could be one of the first schools doing this!

And finally...

So, who is Tim? ...With over 25 years of classroom experience, in the UK, and beyond, Tim is now much in demand for training days, conferences and seminars around the world, presenting the results of his work in an inspiring, practical and often humorous way.

“Tim Rylands is an extremely gifted and inspirational teacher, with a love of the creative potential of technology and an excellent rapport with pupils”.

www.timrylands.com/

 

 

Filed under  //  dt   education   printing   student   teachingandlearning  
May 1 / 12:44pm

#3Dprinting video at Clevedon School

A few weeks ago a film crew from UWE (University of the West of England) came into school to make a "Breakfast TV" style program about 3D printing... Of course, where better to go than Clevedon School to interview Mr White and one of the GCSE Product Design students.

The program not only shows 3D Printing at Clevedon School but also some of the research taking place at UWE.... Can you believe that they are actually printing 3D objects with ice cream!

Anyway, here is the video clip... Watch out for Tyler and Mr White about half way through the video.... Enjoy!

And thanks to the guys at UWE for letting me use this clip.

Filed under  //  dt   education   printing   teachingandlearning   video  
Apr 22 / 2:23pm

LED Lights and 3D Printing

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The other day I came across some inexpensive LED panels that are really intended for replacing conventional bulbs in cars. This got me thinking about how these can be used in school. We have some display cases in the D&T department that are used to display work done by our students and there isn't any lighting... Hardly the way to showcase outstanding work... So something needs to be done!

I needed to try out these LED lights and then it struck me, an application that would try out the lights and help keep Mrs W happy with all the 3D printing I have been doing. Mrs W always complains that our kitchen is too dark, so what about using these light for under cupboard lighting?

The LED panels come with a sticky pad on the back and after trying these out for a couple of days I found that the heat and steam in the kitchen made them fall off... So this is where the 3D printing comes in!

I quickly designed a bezel or surround that would contain the LED panel and had screw fixings to attach it to the cupboard... You can see the designs, 3D prints, and the final solution in place in the attached pictures.

Mrs W is very happy with the results and now I'm wondering about how students can incorporate these in their D&T project work... And of course do the lighting for the display cases in school.

Filed under  //  dt   printing   teachingandlearning