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Week 8: CAD Foundations

Oct 11

This week we will begin talking about design with CAD tools Rhino and Fusion 360. We will survey a few different CAD tools with the goal of understanding some of the similarities and differences in workflow. There is no single CAD tool that does anything and everything. The most power workflow I can suggest comes from working with a variety of 2D/3D tools to realize an idea. As with most tools we encounter as designers, each one has a learning curve with some aspects being steeper than others, but with practice, they will become easier to use.

Assignment 6: The Box Project

Objective: Design a box with purpose.

  • Purpose: What is the purpose of the box?
  • Design: What is a box and what does it look like?
  • Category: How would you describe the box?
  • Material: What is the box made out of?
  • Fabrication: How will the box be made?

Thoughts on how to accomplish this:

  • Spend time sketching out ideas on paper or making something physically with paper, cardboard, or other materials. Attempt to model the design you put together with CAD. Explore the resources in Geometry as needed.
  • In class we worked through some basics of two CAD tools: Rhino and Fusion 360. Use this project as a jumping off point to get familiar with one of these tools.
  • If you use a tutorial to guide the design process, make it a point to deviate from the instructions to make the design your own.
  • Simplify your design to make use of basic shapes you know how to manipulate. Then increase the fidelity.
  • Measure something real and physical to get the dimensions. Attempt to draw something that matches the specifications with CAD.
  • Read the documentation or manual for the CAD tool you are using.
  • WORK TOGETHER! Make time to work together outside of class and share modeling tips.

Deliverable:

  1. In a blog post, describe the project goals, design process, challenges, and outcomes. Be sure to embed and include any supporting media and references to resources used.
  2. Utilize any media necessary to explain your ideas. For example, diagrams, screenshots, screencaptures, renders, images, animation, and video.
  3. (Optional) Export a mesh (STL File) of your model and upload it to Sketchfab (You will need to make an account). Once uploaded to Sketchfab, embed your uploaded model into your blog post. Here's a tutorial about how to do this. This is the same as embedding a Youtube video into a blog post, but with a 3D viewer window containing your model, which you can manipulate and tweak visually! Cool eh!? Check out these examples from past students.

Submit a link to your blog post on Slack #cmstudio.

Due: Oct 11

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