Create a Blockhead

thingiverse

After completing the initial tutorials at tinkercad.com, I have my students create a personalized blockhead that represents themselves. I give them complete freedom to express their creativity and design their blockhead in any way they like. Overview and Background I use this lesson as an introductory example for students to learn the basics of creating their own object using a 3D program. This lesson can be adapted to work with any 3D modeling software, not just tinkercad. Lesson Plan and Activity: Creating a Blockhead Step 1: Open and sign in to Tinkercad. Step 2: Add a block to the middle (head) of your workplane that is 45mm^3. Step 3: Add a second block (body) that is 33mm^3 and place it on top of the first one. Step 4: Click on the head block. Step 5: Hold shift and click on the body block. Step 6: Click Adjust from the tools menu and then Align. Step 7: Click the middle dot on the bottom edge. Step 8: Click the middle dot on the edge of the side. Your two blocks should now be centered. Step 9: Click somewhere on the workplane to deselect the blocks. Step 10: Add a third block (legs) that is 28x28x5mm and place it on top of the body block. Step 11: Align the legs block so that it is in the center of the body block. Step 12: Create an arm using the box shape 23x8x8mm and a wedge 8x8x8mm. Step 13: Attach the wedge to the end of the box. Step 14: Group the box and the wedge together. Step 15: Copy and paste to create your two arms. Step 16: Attach the “arm” to the body block with the wedge on the “head” end. Step 17: Center all three blocks on top of each other. Step 18: Attach arms to either side of the bodyblock 31x8x8mm. Step 19: Add a C to both sides for ears (they should lay flat against the head). Step 20: Add a logo to the chest (your initials, a symbol, etc…). Step 21: Add eyes and a mouth. Step 22: Add any other items that you wish to your blockhead. Step 23: Save it by clicking on Design - Download for 3D Printing - STL. Materials Needed A 3D printer A computer with internet access Tinkercad.com Duration of Lesson The entire project, depending on how creative the students get, usually lasts between 2-3 hours.