Lesson Overview:
In this activity, groups of 3-4 students will collaboratively design, build, test and modify a series of 3D printed containers that minimize heat loss, or maximize cool temperatures for a given volume of liquid.
Evaluation Criteria:-Overall object height should be no taller than 25 cm.
-Final designs should have an overall capacity of at least 355 ml. -Designs should consist of one main body and a removable cap. Group Bonus:Final design includes a component that can steep ingredients and infuse flavour, minimize print time, minimize filament usage. Individual Bonus: Final design includes a storage compartment of some sort. |
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By the end of this project, students will:2.1 - Follow established safety protocols for using heating appliances and handling hot materials.
2.2 - Investigate the effects of heating and cooling on the volume of a solid, a liquid, and a gas. 2.3 - Use technological problem solving solutions to identify ways to minimize heat loss. 2.4 - Use scientific inquiry/experimentation skills to investigate heat transfer through conduction, convection and radiation. |
By the end of the lesson, groups will:
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By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:
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Materials Required:
Resources:
These videos are representative innovative bottle design. Effective reusable bottles should be insulators and that means they should not only be capable of keeping hot things hot, but cool things cool. Both the Swell bottle and ALEX are great examples of how simple designs are sometimes the ones that are the most sustainable.
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There are extensive resources available on heat transfer that would be pertinent to this unit. Understanding the basics is important and serves as the foundation for more complex concepts innovative design work.
Lesson Plans
Getting Started:
List on the board or in a hand-out the ‘Specifications’ which each group must meet to complete their design for the proposed structural mechanisms. This list can be modified to suit different classroom setups, evaluation objectives, time, and available materials.
Each group will:
Creating The 3D Model:
Students can use any available 3D modelling software to design their objects. For a first experience -- or when loading software onto classroom computers is prohibitive -- consider a browser-based solution such as TinkerCAD (www.tinkercad.com) or Onshape (www.onshape.com). For career building, professional-grade software such as SolidWorks, Fusion or Inventor are preferred if these don’t add undue time pressures or licensing cost.
Introductory lessons for both TinkerCAD and Onshape are available as tutorials inside the respective software. It is assumed that for this challenge project that the students are already familiar with some form of modelling software.
3D Printing:
When a group’s 3D model is complete to specifications students will upload their files to the Cubicreator software, slice and print.
Students will need to be careful to ensure that models are properly supported, have adequately designed-for overhangs and are sized correctly to fit the build plate. Students will also be required to adjust for outer hull thickness (aka “shells”), infill density and infill pattern. Students may be permitted to print multiple iterations of each design depending on the availability of supply materials and printer time.
List on the board or in a hand-out the ‘Specifications’ which each group must meet to complete their design for the proposed structural mechanisms. This list can be modified to suit different classroom setups, evaluation objectives, time, and available materials.
Each group will:
- Allocate different jobs for each member of the group
- Create mind maps and drawings on newsprint of possible ideas
- Individually design multiple solutions, then collaborate and discuss benefits of each
- Collaboratively select the best design solution for the thermal mug
- Work effectively in a team to complete peripheral tasks quickly
- Output their selected 3D printed objects then evaluate and iterate through testing
- Individually and constructively evaluate other peer contributions to the project
- Discuss and document group successes and challenges in both teamwork and solution
- Discuss the benefits of experiential and experimental learning
Creating The 3D Model:
Students can use any available 3D modelling software to design their objects. For a first experience -- or when loading software onto classroom computers is prohibitive -- consider a browser-based solution such as TinkerCAD (www.tinkercad.com) or Onshape (www.onshape.com). For career building, professional-grade software such as SolidWorks, Fusion or Inventor are preferred if these don’t add undue time pressures or licensing cost.
Introductory lessons for both TinkerCAD and Onshape are available as tutorials inside the respective software. It is assumed that for this challenge project that the students are already familiar with some form of modelling software.
3D Printing:
When a group’s 3D model is complete to specifications students will upload their files to the Cubicreator software, slice and print.
Students will need to be careful to ensure that models are properly supported, have adequately designed-for overhangs and are sized correctly to fit the build plate. Students will also be required to adjust for outer hull thickness (aka “shells”), infill density and infill pattern. Students may be permitted to print multiple iterations of each design depending on the availability of supply materials and printer time.
Assessment
As suggested above in the “success criteria” section, instructors may evaluate this project based on any criteria required. However, it is suggested that the following be heavily considered as part of the overall success metrics for each group:
- Overall object height should be no taller than 25 cm.
- Final designs should have an overall capacity of at least 355 ml.
- Designs should consist of one main body and a removable cap.
- Group Bonus; Final design includes a component that can steep ingredients and infuse flavour, minimize print time, minimize filament usage.
- Individual Bonus; Final design includes a storage compartment of some sort.