Year 12 Product Design – 3D printing module

Topic: 3D printing Module

Year Group: Year 12

Focus: 1. Computer Aided Design (CAD) skills

What we will be learning

• This is the second module that students complete in year 12 and links very nicely to module one as students will initially 3D print some aspect of their project that they developed in module 1
• Students will learn CAD skills that will be essential for any kind of complex problem solving that they need to attempt in the future.
• They will first learn how to use all of the basic commands that are essential in Onshape as this will help them to model their sketches on the computer in 3 dimensions.
• Then they will send the piece to be 3d printed. When they have completed their first 3d print they will test it and decide whether they need to complete another one until it is both aesthetically pleasing and functional

Why is this important? Where does this link to future/past learning?

• 3D printing is a quick and effective way of testing out ideas and bringing 2d sketches on a page into reality. Therefore, it needs to be in the armour of any A level Product Design student
• Most a level Product Design students have some experience of using a CAD software package at GCSE but not all. Depending on the prior knowledge and capabilities within each class lessons will be tailored so that all abilities can be catered for
• This will help all students as they progress through their A level Product Design studies and in particular when it comes to testing possible solutions during their A level NEA coursework.

How will this topic be assessed? Formative and summative

• As students may have no prior knowledge of this kind of software it is important that this module is all about formative assessment, effort, feedback and improvement. Therefore this module will count predominantly towards their effort grades rather than the attainment grades that they will receive during the Christmas report.

What make a strong piece of work in this topic, and what can I do to stretch myself in this topic?

• A strong piece of work in this module shows improvement from model to model
• It also shows independent work at home and a student who is eager to learn and to get better. A student who is eager to use more advanced tools rather than just the extrude and extrude cut commands
• A student looking to stretch themselves should spend time using the Youtube explanation videos as everything that a student could ever want to do is easily accessible and explained clearly online