This website explores the innovative use of cardboard as a material for rapid prototyping in educational settings, specifically aimed at elementary and middle school students. The integration of TinkerCad, a user-friendly 3D design software, with the Xtool D1 laser cutter (or any laser cutter), provides a hands-on, multidisciplinary learning experience for students, encouraging creativity, problem-solving, and technical skills development. Through this approach, students can design, prototype, and iterate on their ideas efficiently and effectively.

I got a laser cutter for my classroom about a year ago.  We dabbled in it a little, but I couldn't wrap my head around how I could really get some use out of it with my students.  Wood is expensive and many items don't allow you to fail very often without incurring significant expense.  I wracked my brain all summer while working in my classroom and getting things ready for the school year.  I had some cardboard boxes in my room and an idea formed.  "What if I tried using cardboard?"  So, I began trying some simple cuts, learning what settings would work for cutting cardboard and not turning it into charcoal.  I moved on to engraving.  Cardboard behaves much like wood, you simply need to adjust your settings to account for the "softness". Increasing the speed worked the best for me. 

After a while, I felt comfortable enough that I began to explore ways to integrate this into my classroom.  I was excited that, for my students, failure was now a viable option.  Why?  Because the laser cutter is much faster than a 3D printer and cardboard is free (for the most part)!  My students could design something, test it out, learn from their failures, and try again!    There is a lot of power in the ability to prototype and learn from your mistakes as you develop something.  Cardboard makes this easy and possible for my classroom and hopefully for yours!

David Trask - STEM Teacher, Vassalboro Community School