Dial Caliper Practice- Blue Block Activity for Engineering, Science, Technology

Do your students learn to use dial calipers? Do you have access to a 3D printer? Then this activity is for you! You can view the video preview here!

This self-scoring Google Form presents students with a dimensioned orthographic drawing of "The Blue Block", except that the dimensions are mysteriously missing... Students must use a set of dial calipers to collect the 12 missing measurements from the 3D printer blocks and enter them into the form. This will require them to use the full range of the dial caliper by taking measurements with the outer jaws, inner jaws, depth gauge, and step faces.

The form instructions include a drive link to the Blue Block .stl file so you can print your own blocks. "Correct answers" in the form can be edited to fit the tolerances of your blocks. Students can enter their measurements using a checkmark grid instead of short answer response, which allows for easy auto-scoring. The form also includes video instructions and a video explanation, so students can see how to correctly use the caliper for different measurements. Check out the preview video to see how it works!

This activity connects well with other technology, engineering, and design topics, such as rapid prototyping, reading dimensions, orthographic projection, and tolerancing.