Description: These 3D printed models are designed to visually and physically demonstrate the two fundamental types of welds—T-joint and butt welds—in an educational setting. Each model showcases how two pieces of metal can be fused together, with different colored filaments representing the weld bead and penetration. The models are ideal for teaching students about welding techniques, proper joint setup, and common welding errors in a hands-on, engaging way.
Educational Use: These models serve as valuable teaching tools in high school and technical education classrooms, particularly for engineering, CAD, and welding courses. By using these 3D printed pieces, students can:
In addition, these models can be integrated into lessons on welding theory, pre-welding preparation, and quality control, giving students a comprehensive understanding of the process from setup to inspection.
Included in This Project:
Whether you're teaching introductory welding concepts or advanced techniques, these models are perfect for creating interactive, hands-on learning experiences that make the technical aspects of welding more accessible and understandable for students.
Update:
As a teacher, I know how handsy students can get and how rough they can be on models. With this in mind, I am making new variations of the welds that are held together with internal magnets instead of the dovetails. With the internal magnets, you will need to add in a pause to the print at just before the top layer is printed over. In Prusa Slicer, you scroll down the layers with the bar to the right to the final layer that shows the interior magnet holes, right click on it and select ‘Insert Pause Print’. Let the print cool for a minute, then add a tiny dab of superglue and place the 6mmx2mm magnets into the hole (it will be a tight fit but you should not need to apply much downforce at all to get them to slot in). Then resume the print and you will have interior magnets to hold your two pieces of “metal” together in a safe place where kids cant mess with them. This should greatly increase the longevity and reusability of this tactile model.
Here are the magnets I used, but any 6x2 magnets should work.
The author marked this model as their own original creation.