Parakeet Toys

One day, one of my students saw this contest while working in TinkerCad, and he asked me if we could enter for this contest, because this year they learned to use TinkerCad. So they started working. They all together decided to make something for my pet budgies using 3D printing. They knew that I love Star Wars, so they tried to make something that was Star Wars themed, but still worked for the birds. They made 7 different things which includes a swing, playground, a chewing toy, food and water feeders, a nest, a shower, and rods. I honestly was impressed when I saw all their designs! I am proud to show off their designs in this Instructable! All of the designs are on my account and will be shown in each step. This Instructable won’t have very specific instructions, just a brief overview on how to make it. Hope you like their designs! This entry is for the Silly Solutions Contest!

The only supplies you need are an electronic device (computer, iPad; but preferably a computer!), some general knowledge on how to use TinkerCad (combining shapes, resizing, etc…), and a positive mindset!
(And maybe be a fan of Star Wars!!!)

Link to TinkerCad- https://TinkerCad.com

Link to my Account- https://www.tinkercad.com/users/9WinB8Jmtp3-joshua...

(Here you can see their designs!)

These are a list of all of their designs in order…

Their Designs:

1. Death Star Nest

2. Lightsaber Swing

3. Escape Pod Shower

4. Resistance Transport Food and Water Feeders

5. Star Wars Themed Playground

6. Star Wars Hanging Chewing Toy

7. Lightsaber Rods

This is a nest that one of my students made. He was looking for ideas on the Internet and found a nest made from a coconut. He decided to make something similar, but the nest would look like the Death Star. He pretty much used a sphere and made it hollow. Then, he added the details to the nest to make it look like the Death Star. After that, he made the hole for the birds to go into and then added a hook to hang it on the cage. This is a simple design, but works perfectly for Star Wars themed parakeet toys.

One of my students loves Star Wars and has their own custom lightsaber. So they decided to make a swing which looked like a lightsaber. They decided to chose the Jedi Guard Lightsaber, which is double sided, which would look nice because it’s long enough. The rods that attach the lightsaber to the hook were made using long cylinders and moving them diagonally. Then, she attached a rod the same thickness as the diagonal rods to the top to connect it all together. Finally, she added a hook so it would attach to my cage. This is a detailed design and took her the most time to make the lightsaber part.

This escape pod is based on the pod from the separatists. It is a nicely detailed design and is pretty straight forward after you make the pod. I don’t have clear instructions for making this, because it is more of a sophisticated design, which has lots of details. I can tell you that after he made the pod, he took a cone and turned it upside down. Finally, he made it into a hole shape and combined it with the pod to make the shower. All you do is put water, and the bird can then bathe in it. It is certainly one of the more detailed designs out of all of them.

The Resistance Transports were used in the Force Awakens. This students used that ship in order to make food and water feeders. The design is pretty straight forward. The ship has a hole in it to put the food/water, and has a perch for the birds to stay on. First, they made the ship. Then, they made the hole to hold the food/water. And then, the made the perch from a cylinder and a dude resized into a rectangular prism. I like the design and I think it will look very nice in the cage.

This is probably the most useful design and one that the birds will most likely play with, because it’s a stable design that won’t really move. Since the birds are fairly new, it will be less likely for them to go on things such as the swing immediately. The playground is more stable. The base is fairly simple, just a rectangular prism and smaller prisms to make the walls. Then, using cylinders, make the ladders and the perch so the birds have somewhere to play. Then, make the small Star Wars ships. Then, attach them to some small hooks that fit over the cylinders. Also, this student took it one step further, and made the base look like the Death Star Walls. This is overall my favorite design and probably will be the birds favorite too.

This is one design that my students made. It is a hanging toy that the birds could chew on. Each of the chewing blocks have one of three designs; The Rebel Alliance, The Resistance, The Empire, and The First Order logos. I haven’t had a chewing toy in my cage, so I don’t know if the birds will play with it much, but even if they don’t, it will still look nice. The main part is built from one rod, and attaching other rods that protrude outward from the main rod. It also has a hook at the top so it can hang on the cage. The blocks are made from a rectangular prism with the logo, and a hook attached to it. It is a fairly simple design, but looks nice in the end.

On my cage, their are some rods that act as perches for the birds to stay on. But this student wanted it to look better and not as boring as a wooden rod. This was the same student as the one that made the swing. They took the same Jedi temple guard lightsaber and added a yellow blade. Then, they took a hole cube and stretch it to make the square holes in the side so it fits in the cage and stays there. I like the overall detail and it’ll be nicer to replace the wood rods with this.

Thanks for reading this instructable! This is my third one I have made. I hope you overall liked their designs and hope this instructable inspired you to make something using 3D design. For the people without printers, don’t be discouraged! You can still show off your design! Thanks!

Link to TinkerCad: https://www.tinkercad.com/

Link to my first Instructable: https://www.instructables.com/id/Modern-House-Tink...