Week 2# - Journal

Ideation

Tell us about your assignment's idea for this week. Why do you care about this idea? What inspired you? (Please include images or links to sources of inspiration)

This week’s assignment was to create our own phone holder on fusion, that consists of at least two parts. I searched for some inspiration on 3axis and tried to choose a design that fits the technical requirements but also could have more than one function or at least has a fun design. In the displayed pictures you could notice that the selected designs fits the criteria. Also this week’s content was really amazing and the best so far because we learned how to draw the objects , make t-slots, extrude and assemble them so I personally didn’t struggle with my assignment .

Tool Chain

Which software/machines/materials did you use in the assignment? Why?

We used fusion 360 which is a software that gives you the opportunity to visualize your final product by assembling 2D designs. We used fusion to draw the surface of our design in different orientations ( z-x , x-y , y-z) , then we learned how to browse through the plane using ( pan , zoom in/out , orbit ). After that we started to learn how to draw on fusion using different tools and some shortcuts for them for example line (l) , circle (c) , rectangle ( r) , trim ( t ) and to move the object (m ) . we also got to see some functions like mirror, sketch dimension (d) , fillet ( to create curves on the corners) which could save you a lot of time while drawing your sketch . let’s say the sketch is finished, you can easily see it in 2.5D by extruding those sketches and assembling them using joints (j), but if after finishing you discovered some mistake in the dimension or something , no worries this software has this really cool feature (timeline) so you can get to a certain point in the process ( sketch , joint , etc ) , edit it and your edit will be applied to the final step you had reached .

Design/Preparation Process

Explain the design and/or preparation process of your assignment. How did you use the tool or software to design and/or prepare your assignment before fabrication/implementation?

My design has three faces (the elephant side, back/front, bottom) and in each face I used different tools while drawing. In the elephant side, I first draw a big rectangle to make the slots of the tabs and the circle for the screw on it , to draw the slots I used centred rectangles ( 10 x 3.2 mm) , then I draw a circle that is at same distance from each rectangle , to save time I mirrored them onto the opposite side . to create the outer curvature shape of the elephant I used a three-point arc and trimmed the excess parts. the legs of the elephants were rectangles tangent on the arc but I smoothed the corners using fillet. the easiest way I could find to draw the nose was by using conic curve.

The back and bottom face are the same design with a slight difference in the dimension. First , I draw a rectangle two construction lines dividing the shape into four , then I drew two tabs extended from the rectangle . the critical part here was to get the T-slot from previous design and move it using point to point ( this point is mid distance between the two tabs ) . to have the shape symmetrical and save some time I mirrored the tabs and t-slot onto the opposite side.

To assemble the shape

- I extruded the sketches , and copied two faces by clicking on the component’s name from browser then simply ctrl+c , ctrl+v .

- Then we use joint from the middle of the edge to the middle of the same edge on the other surface when constructed

Development/Implementation Process

Explain the development/implementation process of your assignment. How did you use the machine/tool to manufacture or implement the design of your assignment?

I prepared the design for laser cutting by making each sketch in dxf format ( it’s done by right click on each sketch separately from the browser list and selecting - save as DXF ) . now I am finished working with fusion and I started importing each surface on Laser work. To utilize the sheet efficiently, I changed the layout of surfaces as best as I can. i added text to one side of the front and made it in different colour( red) than the others surfaces . I assigned the red colour to engrave mode and change the ( speed to 300 , power to 25 ) . for the black colour , i chose the cut mode and changed the power to 65 and the speed to 25. To save my work , I clicked on save and made sure the extension is .rld .

Fabrication steps

I opened the laser cutter

put the plywood sheet
adjusted the nozzle
clicked on track frame so that I would know where the cutting is going to take place on the sheet
clicked on worktime preview to know the estimated time for the cutting .
selected run and closed the deck of the machine for safety .

Community of Learning

Did you ask for feedback? What are the ideas that others have contributed or suggested? What was someone else’s idea that you built upon? How did you help your peers? How did your peers help you?

i reviewed my practice designs with my instructor and fellows , one thing that really stood out was the dimensions of the T-slot wasn’t correct because I didn‎’t know that T-slot has a standard dimension. Also in some curvatures that aren’t really an arc , I was using fit point spline which is difficult to custom so someone suggested to use conic curve that is much easier. Something else is that there was a tube shape in the chair ( practice design ) , I made the shape using two circle and arcs but someone hinted that there is already a tool called slot to save time .

Overcoming Challenges

When you got stuck, what/who did you turn to? At what point did you have to pause to research or learn more before moving on? What are some mistakes, pitfalls, or challenges that others can avoid if they were doing this assignment?

I had a lot of small problems while using fusion , I will mention the problem and the solutions that my instructor provided in case it might help someone else and save you time .

1- If you get confused as me while selecting the orientation of the surface, you can select (top – bottom – right/left) from the box at the far up-right then click create sketch

2- To select the only the shapes you have fully covered with the selection box make the selection from left to right . to select all the shapes touching the selection box from right to left

3- Another important note , is to put the joint on the middle of the edge not anywhere and the other joint on the opposing edge of the other surface when constructed .

Final Project

How can you use the skills and knowledge that you've acquired this week in your final project?

I can now draw my design in 3D and know if the dimensions I assigned would fit or if there are some edits, I need to add.

WOW!

What is the coolest thing that you've learned this week? What is something that you will never forget from this week?

I think I was the most surprised when I started extruding the files and assembling them , it feels kind of like a reward to all the hard work you had put in the drawing of each surface when you see the final assemble completed

Assignment Design Files

mobile holder.rld

Page updated

Report abuse