Week 7: Product Development 1 - CADD

Moving into the next stage of Introduction of Product Design, we are being introduced to a computer-aided drafting and design (CADD) software, named Autodesk Fusion 360. This is a powerful tool for us to draw and design the physical components that can later be printed out using a 3D printer.

As a warm-up before the actual lesson, we were tasked to design a keyring with the aid of a tutorial video and instructional worksheet. In spite of having past experiences using Fusion 360, this quick activity was a good refresher for our group to recall the locations and uses of the different functions and the things to take note and avoid while using the software. To make it a more customised item, I used my name to distinguish it from other keyring. Along the making, I experienced issue in extruding the text. After some troubleshooting, I realised that only limited font types are allowed to be extruded. Thus, the problem was solved when I changed it to another font. Figure 1 shows the final design of the keyring.

Figure 1: Keyring done by Zhi Ying

Figure 2: Keyring done by Samuel

Figure 3: Keyring done by Pedro

Figure 4: Keyring done by Vivian

Summary of key functions that were used in pre-class assignment:

• Sketching a rectangle and circle

• Modifying the edges with fillets

• Adding of text

• Extruding the bodies

For the first class activity, we were taught to sketch the constraints. The difficulty level slightly elevated as more functions were involved in this exercise. I had problem sketching an actual shape instead of construction lines despite using the same keyboard function. The issue was resolved once I reopened the software. Figure 2 shows the final design of the constraints.

Figure 5: Constraints

Summary of key functions that were used in the first class activity:

• Sketching of circle and line

• Positioning of construction line with vertical/horizontal function

• Snapping of shape with the line using coincident function

• Drawing of tangent line using tangent function

• Mirroring the line to make it symmetrical

• Sharing of the same centre by different circles using concentric function

• Removing the undesired lines with trim function

• Extruding the bodies

For us to practice using the fundamentals learnt, we were assigned to make a 4R frame as a group. Among our group, we discussed about the dimensions and divided the parts so that each person gets to contribute. The sketches are as follows:

Figure 6: The outer frame sketched by Samuel

Figure 7: The transparent acrylic sheet sketched by Zhi Ying

Figure 8: The back of the frame sketched by Vivian

Figure 9: The middle support piece sketched by Pedro

Blogged by: Woon Zhi Ying