Word is getting around and the wands are starting to wander! (No? You think of a better ‘wand’ pun then.)
Here are some photographs of 277Q at 311 students creating 3D printed plastic bubble wands. The templates helped.
One Word
23 May 2022 Leave a comment
in 3D Printing Tags: plastic
A classic, right?
And here is another classic: Adventures with Plastics, by Louis V. Newkirk, Ph.D., copyright 1947.
It seems that making bubble wands out of plastic is not a new idea. Dr. Newkirk’s book has a page dedicated to the art (and craft) of making “bubble rings” out of acrylic plastic. His method entails the use of a clamp, coping saw, plane, scraper, sand paper, dowels, and heat gun. No problem, I will just get them out of the closet.
Need bubble juice? You can make your own solution using glycerine mixed with sulphurated petroleum (MP-189), manufactured (back in the day) by the Du Pont chemical company
This book was originally housed in the Stuyvesant High School library, where it had an impressive run of over fifty check-outs between 1950 and 1982, the last by Patricia O’Conna (?) in 1982.
Enjoy a glimpse inside the world of 1940’s plastics.
Have Pens, Will Travel
16 May 2022 Leave a comment
in 323, 396K, 3D Printing, bubble wand Tags: 3D Print, 3doodler, bubble wand
I took my “pen and plastics” show on the road, this time to my alma mater, as it were, my “COVID-deployment” school. I am referring to 396K, where I taught science to developmentally-disabled k-4 graders — in person, during the “everyone-else-stayed-at-home” COVID year of 2020-2021.
I was welcomed with open arms and good wishes by the staff and students I knew from the previous year.
Here are students making bubble wands and more.
Wand Designs
16 May 2022 Leave a comment
in 3D Printing, 811Q, bubble wand Tags: 3D Print, 3doodler, bubble, wand
Making Sonic
16 May 2022 Leave a comment
in 3D Printing, 811Q Tags: 3D Print, 3doodler, sonic
Using the 3Doodler printing pen
Bubble Wands at 811Q
13 May 2022 Leave a comment
I brought the 3Doodler printing pens and the plastic filament; the students brought their imaginations and bubble-blowing skills!
The activity started with a demonstration of how the pens work, including how to feed the filament in, how to charge the pens, how to turn them on and off, and how to start and stop the extrusion.
Next, I drew a small rectangle on a piece of paper, to use as a template to trace over with the pen. The melted plastic sticks nicely to the paper, and cools in a couple of seconds, so it can be easily peeled off.
It was the students’ turn. They drew shapes on paper, chose three favorite colors of filament, turned on their pens, and pressed the orange button! The trick to getting the plastic to stay true to a design is to press the end of the pen right onto the paper.
Some students got the gist of it right away and started working on their bubble wands.
Other students designed their favorite characters…Sonic anyone?
The students made a variety of wands, some from their imaginations and some from screen shots of wand designs that I had printed from off the internet. 3Doodler has some great 2D and 3D bubble wand ideas.
Here are wands the students made:
The last step was to go outside to the school yard and test them out. I am happy to report that there was 100% success rate for the bubble wands. We used Five Below bubble solution ($1.00 for a big bottle!) and the kids had so much fun!
Thank you Bonnie Glass for these photographs.
3Doodler Start Pens – First Try
13 Apr 2022 Leave a comment
in 36K, 3D Printing, STEM Tags: 3D Print, 3doodler
When the students first started using the 3Doodler 3D printing pens, they had mixed success:
- PRO: I had exactly 12 pens, so each student could use a pen.
- CON: The pens took about an hour to charge, and had to be recharged often.
- PRO: I had three powerful usb chargers and there was a good surge strip in the room
- CON: The filament was old and brittle. It had not been opened during the 18 months of covid/remote learning. Subsequently, two of the pens became jammed when we tried to use the filament, and all the filament had to be tossed.
- PRO: When I explained how, because of covid and remote learning, we had not been able to use the kit for almost two years, the company replaced the two jammed pens and the whole box of 1200 filaments for free!
- CON: The company did not include the light green color filaments in the replacement.
- CON: Waiting for the replacement pens and filaments pushed the project start time back by two weeks.
- PRO: The kit provided plastic templates that had circles on them, so students could trace the circles with the pens.
- CON: Circles are really hard to draw and the filament did not stick to the plastic, but instead kept lifting off = frustrating to the students.
- PRO: The students “drew” on paper instead. The filament stuck much better on paper, and could be peeled off when cool.
- CON: Students did not press the filament onto the paper, but held the pens ever-so-slightly above the paper. Because filament was above the paper, it formed strands that did not stick in place and tended to buckle.
- CON: It took many sticks of filament to fill in even a little shape, so the students were not just making flimsy outlines.
- PRO: The students made flags, plates of spaghetti, abstract designs, scribble scrabble, their signatures, pyramids, etc.
- BOTTOM LINE: The students LOVED it!
3Doodler Start Pens – First Try – video
13 Apr 2022 Leave a comment
in 36K, 3D Printing, computer lab Tags: 3D Print, 3doodler
We finally charged up the 3D printing pens, made by 3Doodler. A coworker had purchased a complete 3Doodler Start set (the beginner version of the pens, that uses a unique cool filament) and then retired, so I am using them with the students.
The difference? The students loved the pens, though it was really tricky at first….
Here are videos of students (and staff) using the pens for the first time.
Makerbot Views
27 Jul 2018 Leave a comment
in 3D Printing Tags: cereal, view
I attended a 3D Printing workshop at the Makerbot HQ at the Metrotech center in downtown Brooklyn. Here are some views from the 21st floor.
The last view is of cereal boxes in the staff room. Cocoa Pebbles!
3D Printed Cards for DD
21 Jul 2017 Leave a comment
in 3D design, 3D Printing, developmentally disabled Tags: blind, cardboard
We visited a shop that made concept and object indicators out of cardboard (plus whatever the actual object was). These clever cards can be used as prompts, as labels for storage bins, for the visually impaired, for the developmentally disabled, etc.
It would be cool to 3D print them, although they would have to be hand-painted afterwards.
Occasional Observations of Traveling Technology Coach 