The Arizona STEM Acceleration Project
Electric Cars Lesson 3 of 4 - 3D Printed Base
Electric Cars Lesson 3 of 4 - 3D Printed Bases
A 6-8th grade STEM lesson
Linda Slade
11/28/23
Notes for teachers
Tinkercad provides great tutorials for students on how to create a chassis for their 3D printed car. Most of my students were more interested in creating their own. https://www.tinkercad.com/projects/Project-Based-Learning-How-to-Engineer-a-Race-Team
When students are in my class for Tinkercad, I was able to access their designs, and print them from my computer.
In Lesson 2, students created cars out of recycled materials.
Disconnect the batteries to break the circuit. Some of my batteries started smoking.
List of Materials
Standards
6.P4U2.5 Analyze how humans use technology to store (potential) and/or use (kinetic) energy.
8.P4U2.5 Develop a solution to increase efficiency when transferring energy from one source to another.
Developing and Using Models: A practice of both science and engineering is to use and construct models as helpful tools for representing ideas and explanations.
● Use and/or develop models to predict, describe, support explanations, and/or collect data to test ideas about phenomena in natural or designed systems, including those representing inputs and outputs, and those at unobservable scales.
● Develop models to describe unobservable mechanisms.
● Modify models—based on their limitations—to increase detail or clarity, or to explore what will happen if a component is changed.
● Use and develop models of simple systems with uncertain and less predictable factors.
● Develop a model that allows for manipulation and testing of a proposed object, tool, process or system.
● Evaluate limitations of a model for a proposed object or tool.
Objective:
Today students will design a 3D prototype as a base for their electric car.
Agenda (2 sixty minute sessions)
Students will design their 3D Printed base for their car.
The designing process will take about 1-2 hours. Students were not allowed to make a solid rectangular base.
I have 2 printers and I printed my class of 30 students. It took several hours.
Students will have to assemble the base of their car to a new set of wheels and use the motor assembly from the last lesson. Remind them that they must complete the circuit to make the car work. They may have to use a few recycled materials to complete their car.
Intro/Driving Question/Opening
What did you learn from building your car from recycled parts? What were successes you experienced and what were some things that could work better?
Hands-on Activity Instructions
*Students will login to Tinkercad and create a 3D design for a car base.
*While students are designing, encourage them to create a design that is not a solid rectangle.
*Students may pair up to make base. They will use one motor and assemble the car.
*Students could also design a mount for the motor and battery.
*If they finish early, they can design parts for their car in Tinkercad.
*3D Print the base of the cars. Have students build the car and attach the motor. Have students mount the motor and battery and test the cars.
*Students will record the data on the recording sheet.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zofqWMpjAQK-Gyht1yXVfS-y8sNt2S1HZaMga76h3H4/edit?usp=drive_link
Assessment
Monitor students during discussions, and building the circuits and cars.
Have students give each other feedback on the designs.
Collect the data recording sheet.
Differentiation
Pair students up for support.
Provided step by step directions.
Remediation
Extension/Enrichment
Create an advertisement for the car.
Think outside the box, what other energy sources could be used to create an electric car. Make up a new technology and describe it in detail.