8P2-3D Printer

For this project I was able to choose what media I wanted to work with and what I wanted to create with that tool. I first needed to choose what classroom material that I wanted to use, I chose the 3d printer because my project last year with the 3d printer went well and I had a lot of fun. I then had to figure out what I was going to print. I happened to be looking at my mechanical pencil while thinking of this and decided that, that would be a fun challenge. I went to https://www.tinkercad.com/ and designed the pencil. For this I had to do lots of deconstruction and measuring of the things inside the pencil. 

What I learned in this project, was how a mechanical pencil works. There is a tube inside the colorful outside of the mechanical pencil that holds the lead and at the top, connects to a very complicated and small piece. This piece has a small slit at the top that is covered by a ring around it that still allows the slit to move up and down. There is a spring on the outside of the inner tube that feeds the lead to the complicated piece so that you can write. It was exciting to make a mechanical pencil of my own. I also learned that tinker cad is a very easy website to use, I was able to make the shapes I needed, and combine them to make very specific parts of the pencil. 

Of the 7 standards that Michigan Integrated Technology Competencies for Students has set (Empowered Learner, Digital Citizen, Knowledge Constructor, Innovative Designer, Computational Thinker, Creative Communicator, and Global Collaborator) I chose the Standard Empowered Learner. This is because at the beginning of this project I set a goal of creating a functional mechanical pencil. Although I ran into problems I kept looking back at my goal to make sure that my solutions fit with my original idea. I also used a digital tool called tinker cad for this project, which is required in meeting this standard. My teacher is experienced in 3d designs so he gave me some suggestions that I used to improve my design. 

There were multiple challenges within this project, some of which I was not aware of until my design was printed. I was struggling with finding the measurements for my the smaller interworking pieces of my pencil. My teacher had a very useful measuring device that allowed me to get the exact measurements for each piece. Another challenge was being aware of how small my project was going to be while printing it. I did not realize it until the pencil was printed, but the pencil was going to be to small to work because it was breaking. 

Something that I would do differently if I had the chance to redo my project, would be, make the pencil pieces bigger. I think that once they are actually strong enough to not break, my pencil could work. The other thing I would do differently, is how quickly I work on my project. I would spend all of class working, but I would not get very much done because I was focused on things that did not really matter. So I will be more efficient next time.

The Hastings High School Career and Technical Education Program offers Agriculture, Business Management, Computer Programming, Construction Trades, Culinary Arts, Digital Multimedia, Engineering Design, Finance, Insurance, and Marketing. My project best fits with the careers in Digital Multimedia. With the things I did in this project I would be able to have a career in Graphic design, 3d animation, Architecture, and 3d printing technician.