Abstract Bridge: An Art-Engineering Fusion

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UPDATE V1.0.1 I've finished printing the bridge, but to view the full picture, you will have to go fullscreen In the old days, all the great abstracters like Picasso had to confine their ideas to their canvasses. In the old days, prototypes of bridges took diligent workers weeks to obtain. Now, in this presentation for teachers and makers alike, I present... Abstract 3D Bridge: An Art-Engineering Fusion This little beauty is a creation with elements of design, art, and engineering all incorporated into one mighty model. It can be found online to edit at Abstract 3D Bridge on Tinkercad. Challenge your students or yourself to improve on this basic bridge. Improvements you could make include changing the bridge to become a suspension bridge and creating a realistic, print-in-place shaking bridge! Also, a great challenge is to tell your students to redesign the bridge as creatively as possible, trying to incorporate as much art as possible. Combining the free, awesome design of Tinkercad with the power of Makerbot 3D Printers can create truly wonderful things. Print Settings Printer Brand: MakerBot Printer: MakerBot Replicator 2 Rafts: Doesn't Matter Supports: Yes Resolution: Doesn't matter-but go for higher res Infill: 20% Notes: The prints should come out nicely. The above printer brand is what this model is optimized for, but not my printer. Post-Printing Testing the Bridge After your students print their files, inspect each one minutely. Are there holes where one could fall? Does the bridge provide space underneath for passing vehicles? Is the bridge made with minimal material? How creative are the side designs? Those are just a few of the possible ways to examine the printed item. How I Designed This Designing Above is the first part of my project-the art. Soon after I designed this, the model evolved into a bridge. As you can see, there are only relatively basic design elements. All you need to clone this is an abstract base, which you can see here, and also a bridge-over, seen below. How to Make Something Like This Feel free to use this as a baseline! Explain how to design it from scratch to students. For more information, refer to the "Steps" area. Project-3D Engineering Art Bridge Objectives Students will learn: -3D Designing -Engineering -Art Audience Optimized for... -Middle Schoolers (Grades 6-8) -Ages 10-14 -Beginning designers Preparation Students should have... -Access to a 3D printer in school -Filament -A reliable Wi-Fi connection -Ample computers Instructors should... -Have a basic knowledge of Tinkercad -Be comfortable answering questions You may want to split the class into groups of two or three. Steps The below text describes how to design and print a bridge similar to this from scratch, but feel free to use this as a baseline. You will want to create the base. Choose your desired base ("Box" works well), place it on the work plane, and scale it. Abstract the base! Add items, create holes, and get creative! Clone the base. Right-click (or control-click), and press either command-C on a Mac or ctrl-C on Windows. Move the clone an appreciable distance away. Create the bridge by using a box or cylinder and expand. At this point, this is where you are when you use my bridge as a baseline. From here on, just customize and reiterate your designs. Download the .stl file from Tinkercad (under "Design"). Download a slicing program. For this example, I will use Cura (search "Cura download" on the web). Open the slicing program. Configure the print settings (for this Printrbot Simple example, I will use 0.1984 mm layer height, Pronterface UI under "Preferences" and a printing temperature of 208°C). Select the load function and choose your .stl file. If you have a tethered printer, read on. If not, you should search the web for instructions. Attach the USB cable to the printer. Select the "Print With USB" function. For ABS, Heat hotend to 250°C and turn heated bed on. For PLA (what I use), heat hotend to 235°C Clear gunk and hit print! Sit back and wait. Let heated bed cool down. Voila! In 18 steps, you have had your students design AND print an abstract art/engineering project! Results Students should now know slightly better 3D design, have a .stl file or finished print, and have gears turning in their head about engineering, art, and 3D printing.