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The CREATE Education Project would like to thank Joseph Fox, 3D Hub Technician at Chatham & Clarendon Grammar School for sharing this project idea.
The project was developed for the AQA 8552 Design Technology 2017 GCSE Specification, but it would be suitable for any of the KS4 GCSE or Scottish Higher Design Technology qualifications. This project could also be used for relevant FE courses.
The aim of the project is for students to use CAD and 3D printers to design and manufacture a chess piece, students could also work in teams to design a complete themed chess set.
Download the Project Guide which includes a complete overview of the project, project structure and AQA 8552 Specification links/references.
Project Links
This Project Idea was developed by Joseph Fox, 3D hub Technician at Chatham & Clarendon Grammar School.
The Project was developed for the AQA 8552 GCSE Design Technology qualification.
Many chess piece 3D models can be accessed here to use for research and ideas generation.
See how the project worked in action with example student outcomes in the project blog.
Incorporating 3D Printing
Performing this activity/project will have students look at and use: CAD software, ergonomics, tolerances and 3D printing technology.
Using CAD and 3D printers will allow all kinds of shapes and sizes to make up chess pieces. Each student depending on the number of students will have their own chess piece to design which will make up a set and at end of the activity a set should be possible.
Templates and inspiration can be found online using Thingiverse and GrabCAD. Using these existing examples will help create the right sizing and help understand what sort of shapes can be created to be 3D printed.
Due to the size of chess pieces this will allow quick prototyping for development and foreseeing problems such as dimensions/ergonomics. As well as being quick this project/activity won’t use much filament keeping overall costs low.
Performing this task will improve CAD skills and an understanding of sizing parts to suit a purpose, as well as, allow freedom in creativity. Also, using 3D printers will create a better understanding of 3D printing which will help in future projects. If organised well a personalised chess set could be created by the class which will give a sense of achievement.
About Project Ideas
“Project Ideas” are a series of ideas shared by the CREATE Education Project to provide inspiration and a starting point for students to develop their own projects that utilise 3D printing for prototyping and/or to enhance the final solution.
Many of the ideas shared would provide suitable starting points for students in Further or Higher Education who are undertaking their own personal projects, allowing them to adapt and extend the projects to develop new outcomes. Some of these projects could also be tackled in a similar way by high school students undertaking individual project work.
Alternatively suitable projects could be selected by teachers and assigned to teams of students in a project based learning approach. A series of editable templates and resources have been developed to support the project based learning approach. These include:
- Project Planning Templates – A series of editable templates for course leaders or teachers to use when planning student projects.
- Presentation Templates – A series of editable PowerPoint slides for course leaders or teachers to use for presenting project stages to groups of students.
- Student Project Worksheets – A series of editable worksheets for individuals or groups of students to use for planning and documenting their projects.
These resources can be downloaded by clicking the links in the right column.