8P3-3D Printer Redo

I was very excited for this project because I love 3D printing, and I was eager to improve my last design that did not work. For this project, I used my old mechanical pencil design and modified the problems of it. At First I was able to have the Stl. file ready to print rather quickly, however I had not solved the problems with my design. Once that one was printed I looked at my design again and fixed it a little more. When that was ready to be printed me and my teacher agreed to not print with supports, making the tubes actually hollow. On that print my outer tube had fallen over, but it was printed fully and thankfully did not break. The 3D printer also did not print without supports so the inner tube and the top of the pencil needed to be printed again. They were printed correctly and I assembled them to make my mechanical pencil.

What I learned in this project was how to use a 3D printer, I took out the SD card and watched my teacher download onto the card, then I put it back in the 3D printer and watched a classmate select the Stl. file to start printing. Don't think I would be able to do it on my own just yet but I am now familiar with the process. With having to print my inner tube without a support, and it being tall I had to watch the first part of the print to make sure it did not fall over. When watching that I learned how the 3D printer moves. The bottom plate moves forward and backwards while the piece that heats up and carries the filament goes side to side. I am very impressed how well that can follow a code with difficult patterns.

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 Empowered Learner because I ran into quite a few problems, but at the end, my project looks like I was planning it to. In order to meet this standard you must use online tools, for this project I used Tinkercad, an online 3d design website.

A challenge I overcame in this project was making a pencil that would be hollow all the way through. I tried this print several times before, however none worked because the design was so thin that the machine needed to print supports inside of it. My teacher was able to turn this feature off, but that meant that for the first part of the print I needed to sit and watch it to make sure the pieces did not fall over. Another challenge I overcame was that as I was transporting the pencil to and from school, it broke. I thought about reprinting the piece that broke but I just glued with a hot glue gun instead. 

If I was given a chance to redo this project once again, I would know that I need to make the hole at the top of the pencil for the led to come out much bigger. I also may try a different form of mechanical pencil, like a twist-up or a regular #2 pencil. I really enjoy working with the 3D printer and I could do this project over and over again until I got it just right.

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. My project is very closely tied with other careers having to do with CAD. (Computer-Aided Design)