An Upright iPad Stand

Our Elementary students use iPads to film with the green screen. They have been using various methods to hold the iPads upright for filming, because their covers hold them at an angle.

We designed a simple upright iPad stand in Blender, added "Learning Together" by adding text, extruding it, converting it to mesh, and then using it to do a boolean difference modifier on our stand.

It's not perfect: the section of the model that was at the front of the build plate by the door buckled up slightly. Out theory is that the plate is losing heat during the print process, so in the future we will use a cover on the printer to keep the heat in.

The stand works, and a little bit of blue tac makes it as stable as it needs to be.

What are your design ideas? We'd love to print them!

We've printed our first student design!

When Emil heard that we have a 3D printer and students can print, he immediately opened Google Sketch Up and made a design. He made the sign of the Deathly Hallows from Harry Potter. Then he followed the instructions here to send his file for printing.

What will you design for printing?

Emil and the Sign of the Deathly Hallows

How to create a 3D design for printing

There are lots of different programs that enable you to create or download 3D designs.

My favourite 3D design program is Blender. I like it because it's free, you can also create 3D scenes for photography, and you can create 3D animations. This program feels overwhelming at first, but there is no limit to what you can achieve. There are loads of tutorials online and I can also help you!

AutoDesk has various program for different ability levels:

• AutoCAD is also free, very popular, and an industry standard for architects. Mr. McCallum is a skilled user of this software.
• TinkerCAD is easier than AutoCAD. :) Mr. Matt in Elementary can help you with it.
• 123D Catch is an app that lets you take a 3D scan of an object or person by taking a series of photographs.

You can download designs from Thingiverse, and for many designs there are modification and remixing options. You can also create an account and upload / share your designs. You can see my designs here.  I'm a beginner :)

What programs do you use? Share them in the comments!

Have Printer, Will Print: How to make a 3D printing request

We now have a 3D printer and we are ready to accept print jobs! It's time for you to get designing.

Our printer is an UP Mini. Maximum print size is 12cm x 12cm x 12cm. Files must be in .stl format.

These are the colours we currently have available. 

If you have something you would like to print, you need to complete this form and upload your file in .stl format to this folder. Your file should be named with your name and the name of your print job.

All print jobs must have a good and clear purpose. We cannot guarantee that all jobs will be printed. Priority will be given to print jobs in the following order:

1. designs made for a class and connected to the ISPP curriculum
2. designs made by learners for personal learning
3. designs downloaded and customized by learners
4. designs downloaded by learners

All prints will be featured in our blog.