Week 2 - Journal

Assignment Overview: 

The goal of this week assignment is to design a pair of glasses that combines traditional and modern fabrication techniques. The design will feature a mixed style, blending classic and contemporary elements.

• Front Frame Design: The front frame of the glasses will be designed using Fusion 360 and fabricated with a laser cutter to achieve precise cuts and a polished look.

• Side Arms Design: The side arms will also be designed in Fusion 360 but will be fabricated using a 3D printer, allowing for more complex geometries and customisation.

I see this task is significant because it integrates different manufacturing techniques, highlighting the versatility of digital fabrication tools.

Inspiration: 

The inspiration for this project comes from my love of Harry Potter as well. The iconic design of round glasses worn by Harry Potter is instantly recognisable and has become a symbol of his character. The glasses I'm trying to build can tell a story, much like the Harry Potter series itself. Each part of the design could represent a different aspect of the story or character, making the glasses not just functional but also a wearable piece of art that sparks conversation. 

I used a combination of Fusion 360, laser cutting, and 3D printing to create a unique pair of glasses inspired by the Harry Potter series.

• Software: 

1. Fusion 360 for its robust design capabilities, which allowed me to create detailed and precise 3D models of the glasses. Fusion 360 was essential for designing both the front frame and the side arms, ensuring they fit together perfectly.

2. LaserCAD: used to enable precise cutting and engraving, which is essential for creating detailed and accurate designs like the intricate shape of Harry Potter's glasses.

3.  UltiMaker Cura to handle the 3D printing task. This open-source software takes 3D models designed on Fusion 360 and converts them into G-code, the language the printer understands.
   
   

• Machines:
  
  

  • Laser Cutter: The machine I used is "Malky ML64 CO2 Laser Cutter." which is designed to work with a variety of materials, mainly non-metallic and some coated metals. In this part I made use of a Plywood sheet for cutting the chosen design to fabricate the front frame of the glasses. The precision of laser cutting was ideal for achieving the clean, smooth edges needed for the iconic round shape inspired by Harry Potter’s glasses.

  • 3D Printer: The side arms were created using a 3D printer of type "Creality Ender 3 V2 3D Printer" which is versatile and can use a variety of materials but we made use of PLA (Polylactic Acid) as it's easy to print, biodegradable, less prone to warping. 

• Materials:
  
  

  • For the front frame, a Plywood sheet, which gave the glasses a traditional, organic feel. 

  • The side arms were printed using PLA (Polylactic Acid), a biodegradable plastic that is lightweight yet sturdy, ensuring the arms are both durable and comfortable to wear.

1. Design Process in Fusion 360

• Front Frame Design:

  • I started by creating a 2D sketch of the front frame on the XY plane in Fusion 360.

  • Using the Circle tool, I drew two circles, each with a diameter of 50 mm, positioned 65 mm apart to represent the lenses. 

  • I added a bridge between the lenses using the Arc tool.

  • Small rectangles were added on the outer sides of the circles with circles inside (of diameter of 3.3) to serve as connection points for the side arms.  

  • Building a construction line on the Y-axis to use it as a mirroring line

  • The iconic scar was built using Lines & Offset tools.

  • The Trim tool was used to clean up any unnecessary parts of the design of the face part.

  • Converting the 2D sketch into a DXF file, suitable for laser cutting on LaserCAD using Export tool.

• Side Arms design

  • I started by creating a 2D sketch of the front frame on the XY plane in Fusion 360.

  • Using the Rectangle tool, I drew two rectangles, each with dimensions of (120*6 mm) and (20*6 mm) respectively, the Arc tool was used to build an arc positioned between them. 

  • After finishing one of the arms, a construction line was built with which I used the Mirror tool to build the other arm "Both fully defined" then I extruded both of them 3 mm.

  • Next, I downloaded "Harry Potter's font" on my computer to add some sense of relevance, restarted Fusion 360 to make sure the font type were inserted. Moreover, I built another sketch to include all the decorations "H", "P", "9¾" and "Deathly Hallows".

  • Using Text tool in Create menu, I wrote the "H" and "P" letters, adjusting their dimensions to be 15 mm and extruding both 4mm. Using the same second sketch I built a circle with Text tool and  wrote "9¾". This circle was extruded as a new body for 3 mm. the "9¾" was extruded type of Cut for -3 mm. The 

  • "Deathly Hallows" sign was built using Polygon -with 3 sides- , Circle, line tools and offset the shapes; every on their own. The sign was extruded 3 mm as well.

  • The two arms were extruded 3 mm and I use Fillet tool for smoother edges. Making use of the Appearance tool I changed the arms colours to Coating - Black Oxide. 

  • The place where screws are supposed to be were designed to be a circle that is cut within the side arms -20 mm.

2. Design Process in LaserCAD

• • In LaserCAD for the face part, I used colours to define the operations: Black for cutting. Before exporting the file, I fine-tuned settings like mode(Cut), speed (10), and power (60) to achieve the desired result, then saved it as a DXF file.

3. Design Process in Ultimaker Cura: 

• Adjusting key parameters as: 

1. Orientation: Positioned the model to minimize overhangs and achieve a smooth finish.

2. Support: No support added. 

3. Layer Height: Set to achieve a balance between detail and printing time. (Resolution of 0.2mm)

4. Infill: Chosen to provide enough strength without wasting material. (10% and of type Lines)

5. Brim: Added to improve adhesion and prevent warping during the print.

to ensure the print was optimised. Once everything was set, I sliced the design to check that the print time stayed within the allowed limit, then saved it as 3MF file and a G-code file ready for the printer.

3D Printing Process

• 3D Printer Setup:

  • The design was printed using a Creality 3D printer with PLA filament, chosen for its ease of use and good surface finish. The G-code file was transferred to the 3D printer via a memory card and its reader.

  • The printer bed was leveled, and the filament was loaded before starting the print.

• Monitoring the Print:

  • The print process was monitored to ensure there were no errors like layer shifting or filament clogging.

  • The print time was approximately 86 minutes, during which the printer laid down layer after layer to build the Harry Potter's model.

I followed a tutorial video on how to draw the glasses, but it turned out that the shape wasn't fully defined so I decided to restart drawing everything. Although it took so long time but I really embrace the idea of this challenge.

Besides I built two fixed joints for the two arms to fit the M3 screw but after a discussion with our FabLab Technician Mahmoud and my instructor Yasen, I found that it will take lots of time to finish and supporting materials. So we decided to draw two circle upon the arms and extrude them Cut for 20mm to fit the screws.