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Print It with SOLIDWORKS Apps for Kids

SOLIDWORKS Apps for Kids is an ecosystem of apps designed to introduce children ages 4 and up to the principles of STEAM. The apps nurture their burgeoning engineering skills, taking kids through a child-friendly version of the design workflow process: Ideation, Creation, Enhancement, and, finally, Production.

In Apps for Kids, “Production” means Print It. The Print It app is where the models created and enhanced in the Shape It and Style It apps can come to life in the real world. With the ability to 3D print, 2D print, and cube print, Print It is a favorite among users of all ages.

3D printing with SOLIDWORKS Apps for Kids is simple. Once a model is ready for printing, users can switch to Print It and view their model in an approximately 8 inch/200 mm cube. From here, the model can be downloaded as an STL and used with any 3D printer. It’s super simple and compatible with all kinds of printers. We also have a partnership with Sindoh 3D Printers that makes 3D printing with SOLIDWORKS Apps for Kids even easier.

The dimensions of the Print It 3D print interface match that of the Sindoh 3DWOX DP201 printer. The 3DWOX DP201 is specifically designed for educational purposes, with a flexible print bed that allows kids, parents, or educators to easily and securely remove prints. Once connected, kids can print their models from anywhere using SOLIDWORKS Apps for Kids. If you have a different Sindoh 3D printer, don’t worry, now SOLIDWORKS Apps for Kids can print to any Sindoh 3DWOX printer. Your model’s size can be scaled up or down, and multiple copies can be printed at once. Cloud printing to a Sindoh 3DWOX 3D Printer is a breeze, and the sky is the limit with the educational mission of the 3DWOX DP201.

Don’t have access to a 3D printer and still want a three-dimensional view of your model? Cube print is an immensely popular feature in SOLIDWORKS Apps for Kids that does just that. By using cube print, six views of a model are arranged on a flattened cube. Once printed on paper, you can cut, fold, and glue or tape the cube together to make a 3D version of your design. It’s a great way to introduce kids to orthographic views, while turning their models into a fun crafting project and giving them something 3D to play with.

Sometimes, kids just want a cool picture to draw on or hang up on their wall. With Apps for Kids, that’s a piece of cake. In the Style It app, kids can paint their models with all sorts of colors and add scenic backgrounds to make their creations pop. Want to see that background in the real world? After shifting to Print It, users are able to print of a 2D image of their model in the middle of a scene.

With the 2D Print functionality, models can also be printed as color-by-numbers pictures, allowing kids to hand-draw whatever they want on their models and give them their own background. The model becomes an outline, and kids can use a number key to color in different loops and areas. Kids can get as creative as they want, building their own design and coloring to their hearts’ content.

Print It is a fun way to literally bring kids’ models into the real world. Kids of all ages have the ability to produce their own models and bring them to life.  The workflow found within SOLIDWORKS Apps for Kids is the best way to start your child off on their journey through design and engineering. Learn more and sign up on the SOLIDWORKS Apps for Kids website.

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Children Design Playground Equipment to Test 3D Printing and Virtual Reality Software

In a thesis entitled “Designing Playground Equipment with VR and 3D Printing,” author Christian Knaapen argues that virtual reality is necessary in designing objects in 3D. In CAD programs, he says, there is a disconnect between the 3D object on its 2D screen and the final object, which can be walked around and interacted with – hence the necessity for virtual reality. However, converting models made in virtual reality to 3D prints is not straightforward, as the 3D prints need to show a number of desired properties. These properties include:

  • The object should consist of one connected component that touches the printing platform
  • It should be able to stand without falling over
  • It should be structurally sound

For his project, Knaapen implements a program that analyzes these properties on models made in virtual reality. It is the first 3D print analysis program, he says, that works in virtual reality.

To test the program, Knaapen asked 35 children at a local school to design playground equipment in Google Blocks, after which the models were analyzed and 3D printed. The children worked in groups of two or three, forming 16 groups in total. The project consisted of three sessions: in the first, the children were introduced to Google Blocks and began designing their playground equipment. They finished their designs in the second session, and in the third session they used Knaapen’s software program to analyze their own models. The designs were then 3D printed and tested for the desired properties, and a winning design was chosen.

The prints were tested on connectedness, balance and strength. Connectedness was tested by seeing if the print remained in one part after the supports were removed, and balance was tested by placing the print on a flat surface in the orientation in which it was designed, and seeing if it remained upright. Strength was tested by performing drop tests from a height of 75 centimeters (the height of a standard table) onto a hard surface. If the print did not break or visibly deform, it was considered strong enough for everyday use.

13 models were connected and did not fall apart after the supports were removed. 14 passed the balance test, and seven survived the strength test.

“We can compare these results to the predictions of the analyses of our program,” says Knaapen. “We do this separately for each property, as seen in table 5.3. The connectedness analysis correctly predicted the outcome in 92.9% of cases, where the one time that it did not predict correctly was due to print accuracy and thin areas. We observe that the balance analysis correctly predicted everything. Still, we can not conclude it is perfect considering the sample size. We only got to test our program on 16 models which means there could be edge cases where that functionality is not sufficient. The strength analysis shows some issues and only predicted the strength of the physical print correctly in 50% of cases. Furthermore in cases where it did predict issues with strength, it often did not predict what part of the model would be weak correctly, as can be seen in figure 5.10.”

While further research is needed, Knaapen concludes, the project was a good first step in gaining understanding of what it takes to convert models created in virtual reality to 3D prints. Although not the purpose of the experiment, it was also a great way to introduce children to 3D printing and virtual reality by allowing them to design their own playground equipment.

Discuss this and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts below.