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Movement under control: a slider with stops

The pupil designs the slider's path on a worksheet, then draws a 100 × 50 mm PLA base, a 40 × 20 mm slider with a finger hole and two guides on feet. After a dry fit, the guides are welded only at the feet, with 3 mm clearance. The pupil tests the movement, corrects the cause of jamming and identifies the fixed part, moving part and stop. Faster pupils add two stops.

Age
11–13 years
Length
approx. 45 min
Level
Medium
Where you teach
School
Purpose
Educational
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How to run this session

Stages and timing
  1. Pattern ready under the mat
  2. Base
  3. Slider with a finger hole
  4. Two guides
  5. Guides with 3 mm clearance
  6. First movement
  7. Ten movements and the cause of a jam
  8. What stays still, what moves, what stops it
  9. Optional: first stop
  10. Optional: second stop and test

What gets built

A working manual PLA slider mechanism (base with two guides, slider travel about 40 mm; faster pupils add two stops) and worksheet W2: movement path and stop positions, a prediction and its test, a record of ten movements, the cause of jamming and a correction, part labels and a sentence about the role of stops.

What it practises
  • Setting the movement path and range on a drawing at 1:1: the stop spacing is the slider length plus its travel.
  • Building a simple linear mechanism from flat PLA parts, with at least 2 mm clearance and welds outside the path.
  • Distinguishing the fixed part, moving part and stop, and the roles of the guide (movement direction) and stop (movement range).
  • Testing function with ten movements, recognising the cause of a jam and correcting it.

Success criteria
  • The pupil moves the slider ten times from end to end of the guides without jamming or leaving the path. If it stops, they identify and remove the cause.
  • The pupil identifies the fixed part, moving part and stop (on the extended model, demonstration model or planned position on W2), explaining that guides set the direction of movement and stops set its range.
  • The pupil explains the stop spacing (slider length 40 mm plus travel 40 mm, giving 80 mm) and why clearance is needed between the slider and a guide.

What you need
Filament
PLA
Colours
navy
Also
1.4 m of PLA filament per pupil (one type, one dark colour, no filament changes during the lesson), EDUstick 2.0 3D pen with stand (1 per pupil), Transparent mat (1 per pupil), W1: 1:1 pattern: base with guide lines, slider, guide × 2, stop × 2 (A4 printout from the package, 1 per pupil), W2: worksheet: movement path and slider test (A4 printout from the package, 1 per pupil; keep outside the work area while the pen is on), Pencil (1 per pupil), Ruler (1 per pair)

Files

The files for this plan are part of full access

Anyone can read the description. The slides, instructions and worksheet open with full access to the Creators Club. Choose a plan in the shop, then enter the code from the email in your account. Access starts when you enter the code.

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Version ce640c6d-9757-4fde-a63c-69dfde8e7a28 Updated 2026-10-13

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