**I’m an Educator in the UK (Maths teacher for 11-18s) who has spent the last year learning to use 3D printing with a view to use this as a method of introducing students to Design, Rapid Prototyping and Engineering - a gap at my current school which has no Design and Technology department, but owns a 3D printer. This has taken various forms for different year groups, but most notable has been the creation and trial of an engineering challenge for sixthform students (17-18) where from a standardised chassis (with lots of different fixing options), they were challenged to work as a small team of 2-4 students to create an autonomous solar powered line following robot (more detail below + videos + materials) which includes 3D design and printing of IR mounts and a solar panel mount. This introduced them to a range of skills not taught in the classroom, requiring them to develop skills in 3D design and 3D printing, as well as electrical/ mechanical engineering, programming and project management for the full project delivery. I’m passionate about multi-disciplinary integration in engineering and view 3D printing (and rapid prototyping) as a key element of this.
The biggest reason this competition would help for me, is that in September I have taken a job at a new local school and whilst I hope to continue the project, unfortunately I won’t have the same access to 3D printers at my new school so winning a K2 Plus Combo or Ender-3 V3 would transform my ability to continue and develop the project. Assuming continued success (and refinement of the project) in the longer term I have aspirations to extend the project to other schools in my local area.**
**2. The K1 Max is currently discounted in the back to school sale to £639 in the UK (£859 at full price) **
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Forum post here - Further photos of full model to follow at the end of the week - 25 Aug (I’m currently away on holiday), but a short video and photo from my phone included here as an initial example.
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I’ve posted the STL of the standardised chassis (with friction fit lid) to the Creality Cloud in case anyone is interested and/ or wants to use. I also include a pdf of the project briefing document below and some examples of the student submissions that have been received in this trial year - again comments and feedback welcome.
Posted Creality Cloud (STL files provided) -Engineering challenge chassis v3 (friction fit) + … From user5681115635 Engineering challenge chassis v3 (friction fit) + mounts | 3D models download | Creality Cloud
Further detail: Engineering Challenge - design and develop an autonomous solar powered line following robot
Last year saw a successful trial of the engineering project with four teams using the school’s 3D printer to produce the chassis’ and print the students designed parts – solar panel mounts + their design for mount of IR sensors. They learned lots along the way, with lots of trial and improvement, and developed a range of key engineering and team working skills.
For a little more context please review the attachments provided – you’re welcome to use but please do include me as a reference on this. I’d also welcome any thoughts, feedback or development suggestions.
The whole project has come about as a response to my current school having no Design and Technology department, but a strong STEM cohort of students. Many of these were applying to University or for apprenticeships to study Engineering or practical science degrees, but the lack of practical experience available through meant they were struggling to get through the application process. The engineering challenge was an effort to address this practical skills gap.
Examples of student produced materials:
Engineering challenge - Project Charter student example.pdf (297.8 KB)
Engineering challenge - Student project presentation example 1.pdf (1.2 MB)
Engineering challenge - Student project presentation example 2.pdf (1.2 MB)
Project briefing document - Challenge 1 v2 Y12 Jan 24.pdf (264.4 KB)