The Arizona STEM Acceleration Project

3D Printing & TinkerCAD

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3D Printing & TinkerCAD

A 6th-8th grade STEM lesson

Mike Amato

Sarah Genise�

05/01/23

Notes for teachers

Teachers need to create an account on TinkerCAD.com prior to beginning this activity.

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Additionally, teachers will need to give students the class code so that they can join.

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This lesson involves using scale modeling, but this lesson does not explicitly teach scale modeling.

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Alternatively, teachers can skip the scale modeling portion and assign the students the dimensions themselves.

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List of Materials

• Laptops
• Measuring tape
• Calculator
• TinkerCAD account
• 3D Printer
• Ultimaker Cura Software (or other slicing software)

Standards

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Standards

MS-ETS1-1 Engineering Design

Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.

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MS-LS2-5 Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics �Evaluate competing design solutions for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services.*

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6.RP.A.1: Use ratios to describe proportional relationships.

6.G.A.2: Calculate volume of a right rectangular prism with fractional edge lengths

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7.RP.A.3: Apply proportional relationships to solve multistep ratio and percent problems.

7.G.B.6: Solve real-life and mathematical problems involving angle measure, area, surface area, and volume.

Objectives:

• Students will be able to use mathematical reasoning and ratio to create a scale model of a garden bed.�
• Students will use spatial reasoning to create scale replicas in 3D on TinkerCAD. �
• Students will follow step-by-step directions to save their print, send to Ultimaker Cura, and begin their 3D print.

Agenda (50 minutes)

Introduction (10 minutes)

Direct Instruction (15 minutes)

Independent Practice (10 minutes)

Closure (5 minutes)

This lesson was designed for a 50-minute class period.

Intro

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Explain to the students that they will learn how to begin 3D modeling on TinkerCAD by creating a scale model of a garden bed.

Ask: Why might it be important to create a smaller version of something? Possible answers include: to be able to move the objects around during planning, to get a different perspective on a layout, etc.

Explain that purpose of modeling a garden bed for this activity is to get them started on making basic shapes, scaling the shapes, and exporting to print.

Hands-on Activity Instructions

• Display the image of the garden bed on the board. Explain to the students that the sides are measured in inches so that scaling them will be easier. Explain that for the purpose of this activity, all of our measurements will be in inches to keep it consistent. �
• Walk the students through converting the measurements on the diagram to scale. Explain to the students that these will be the dimensions of the garden bed they will be 3D modeling.

120 inches

60 inches

36

inches

Scale = 1:20

Hands-on Activity Instructions

• Log into TinkerCAD using the step-by-step guide on the right side of this slide.�
• Have students create their own account and allow them to join your class using the class code.

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• After students have logged in, allow them to explore for 10 minutes. In these 10 minutes, they can use any of the shapes, tools, and sizes. This part is just for exploring and getting familiar with the tools.

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Hands-on Activity Instructions

• Have students create a garden bed design using their scale calculations. Challenge the students by having them add different features to the sides of the garden bed (example: adding text, flowers, or other designs).��------------------------------------------------------

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• Display your screen and walk students through the process of saving their creation and exporting it as an STL file. From here, you can show them how the design will be transferred to the software Ultimaker Cura for printing.

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• Allow students the remainder of class to create their garden bed and support them while they export the file to the printer

Assessment

Formative assessment:�Use the following rubric for a real-time assessment before/during/and after instruction.

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Differentiation

For students who are struggling with finding scale, the teacher can assist 1:1, provide the scale conversions, or alter the measurements to a friendlier number.

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For students struggling with TinkerCAD modeling, allow peer helper or small group station. Or, have the student create the shape (without considering the measurements) and then walk the student through changing the measurements together.

Remediation

Extension/Enrichment

For students who do well with 3D modeling in TinkerCAD, allow them to design other structures for a new garden. Some possible structures include:

1. Swings
2. Benches
3. Tables
4. A greenhouse (students can learn about transparency in TinkerCAD)

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