7.P9.

Construction

List of 25

Rick Roll
Flag/Banner
Doorstop
Box
A Platform
Sign
Big Box
Water Bottle
Small Box
Lump of trash
Tree
Very Nice Tree
Flower Pot
Coin Bank
Coin Sorter
A comfy Blanket
Something useless
Something Useful
Book
Coffee Mug
Thermal Mug
Dog
Rotary Fan
Door Handle
Chair

Planning Questions

Are you working by yourself or with a team?

For this project, I will be working by myself.

What materials will you need for your project?

For this project, I will be using a 3D modeling platform called Tinkercad. After I have finished modeling my project on Tinkercad, I will use a 3D printer to print my creation.

What is your plan to create in this project?

For this project, similar to the last 3D printing project I did, I will be making a bonsai tree. The last time I did this project, there were a few small details that I wasn't quite satisfied with, and I hope I can improve in these for this project.

What unique qualities will your project have?

Much like last time, I will be using real-life skills to create a virtual bonsai tree. As I've already stated, I will be working to fix problems I previously had, as well as improving in technique.

Reflection

Using Tinkercad, a 3D design platform, I created a bonsai tree. I made a bonsai tree mainly because I was looking forward to another chance to redo a previous project that hadn't quite turned out how I wanted it to.

During this process, I learned how to manage supports while 3D printing. In my last 3D printing project, I spent a long time removing supports. My project even had to be shrunk down by 50%! I was relieved to have found a way to better manage that problem in this project.

The 7 standards of the class are Empowered Learner, Digital Citizen, Knowledge Constructor, Innovative Designer, Computational Thinker, Creative Communicator, and Global Collaborator. My project ties most strongly to Empowered Learner. This would be because, for this project, I had made many plans, and set several goals that I planned on meeting, and that is what being an Empowered learner is all about.

A challenge I overcame on this project had to do with supports. As I've already mentioned, The last time I did a 3D printing project, I had way too many supports, and I found it a bit stressful to deal with. For this project, I had to find a way to prevent too many supports. I overcame this problem be making the leaves on my tree a whole separate piece, which would attach an afterward.

Given a chance to do this again, I would change the colors of my project. Our 3D printers only print in one color at a time, and it makes it a bit difficult to add vibrant detail. If I could, I would definitely invest in a way to make the printers print in multiple colors.

Hastings High School Career and Technical Education Program offers Agriculture, Business Management, Computer Programming, Construction Trades, Culinary Arts, Digital Multimedia, Engineering Design, Finance, Insurance, Marketing. My project most strongly ties into the Engineering Design CTE program at Hastings High School. This would be because making things with 3D printing plays a very large role in Engineering Design. Careers involving these skills could include anything involving 3D design, perhaps even in the medical field.

Building the Tree

For this project, I will be using Tinkercad's new community created shapes to model a few parts of my tree, such as the leaves and moss.

For the first step, I need to make a pot for the tree. In order to avoid the problem I had last time, where the legs were cut short, I made the legs on this pot flat on the bottom. I made the rest of the pot with inflated cubes.

Now I will start constructing the actual tree. I just decide to add the standard iconic curve that most bonsais have. I did this by connecting a few cylinders. I also added some dirt in the pot.

Unlike the last bonsai tree I made, I decided to add additional detail by adding roots sticking out. I am very glad I made this decision, as it added so much more than I could've expected.

Now for the foliage. Last time I really struggled with this part, but thanks to the new community-made section in Tinkercad's library, I was able to make some much more realistic leaves and brush using spiky asteroid pieces and a preset terrain.

To avoid a problem that I ran into last time, I decided to print all the leaves separate from the rest of the tree to avoid too many supports. I put together a connector that could snap in place.

And now I'm done. After seven hours of printing, and a half an hour of removing supports, here is a short video of the finished product. Enjoy!

IMG_0005.MOV

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