Week 7

Computer-aided drafting and design 💻

What is computer-aided drafting and design(CADD)? 🤔

It is the use of software to draw and design physical components or to layout processes. CADD can be used to draw lines｜and shapes ⚪ easily and quickly. Content can also be copied, edited, saved and shared effortlessly. 

In addition, the software allows accurate calculation of dimensions and measurements. More advanced software can even estimate the kinds and amount of materials used, or the amount of manufacturing time needed, to facilitate budget planning. 

Fusion 360 📂

This week, we learnt how to use Fusion 360 by Autodesk to draw objects with the commonly-used features. Fusion 360 is an all-in-one tool that connects the entire product development process. which comprises of many fields, ranging from design to manufacturing.

First activity 📝!

The first object we drew was a keychain 🔑. This was to introduce us to the basics of Fusion 360, such as

• The sketch function, which is used to create a shape from scratch. We made a rectangle from this, using it as the foundation of our keychain, and also our imprinted names to be added on the keychain.
• Cutting, which was an operation of extruding. We used this to create a hole in our keychains.
• Filleting, which made parts of a shape smoother. We used this to make our keychain look more appealing, by rounding out the corners of the rectangular keychain, as well as the hole we created.
• Extruding, which we used to set the thickness of our keychain, and our imprinted names as well.

Using the functions learnt, we produced these sketches:

                                 Done by: Trisyia 🐌                                  

Done by: John 👽

Done by: Jun Ying 🚲

Second activity 📝!

Next, we were introduced to sketch constraints📏, which are limitations on a design. These include imposed limitations that we do not control and limitations that are self-imposed to improve on a design. We learnt about the various sketch constraints and other functions, namely:

•  The Vertical/Horizontal constraint, which is used to make a line either horizontal or vertical, depending on the user. We used this to make a random line we drew earlier horizontal.
• The Coincident constraint, which we used to set the center of a circle to an endpoint of a line.
• The Tangent constraint, which is used to make a line tangent to a circle. We used this to make a line tangent to two circles.
• The Mirror function, which is used to mirror an object. We used this to mirror the line that is tangent to two circles, making another tangent line on the opposite side of the circles.
• The Concentric constraint, which we used to make a circle share the same center as another.
• The Trim function, which is used to remove unwanted parts of our sketch, as well as some constraints.
• The "Eye" function, which is used to make certain parts of our sketch disappear or reappear.

By applying the sketch constraints, we came up with these sketches:

Done by: Trisyia 🐌

Done by: John 👽

Done by: Jun Ying 🚲

Last activity 📝!

Finally, our tutorial for this week was to design and draw the various parts that can be put together to form a photo frame 🖼 for a 4R photograph of size 102mm x 152mm. After discussing for a while, we came up with these dimensions for the parts of the photo frame:

• Front Frame - 170mm x 200mm x 2mm
• Glass part - 140mm x 170mm x 2mm
• Back part - 180mm x 150mm x 3mm

The sketches for the individual parts and assembled parts are as follows:

Front Frame

Done by: John 👽

Glass part

Done by: Trisyia 🐌

Back part

Done by: Jun Ying 🚲

Assembled Parts

Reflection 📜:

~Trisyia 🐌~

This week we learned how to use fusion 360. This was definitely something very difficult. I was very frustrated at first as I just could not figure out how to use the program. Since both the video given and slides given gave instructions for the older version of the program it made it even more confusing as the buttons and functions were all at different places. However, after trying again and again I eventually got there. After a while, I got the hang of it and carrying out the second activity was like a walk in the park. After that, my group and I had to work together to create a frame. We were given specific measurements for the picture we had to fit in the frame and the amount of material given for each part of the frame we had to create. We managed to do it efficiently. We managed to estimate the parts quite accurately as we drew out each part of the frame together to see if it fits. 

~Jun Ying🚲~

In this week, we learned about computer-aided drafting and design. We had to use Fusion 360 to create and illustrate our ideas and sketches to others. I was extremely unfamiliar with how the software worked at first. However, after a bit of fiddling around with the functions of the software, I had an idea of how to use it quickly and effectively. It was quite an eye-opening experience as I could use it to make many different objects of my liking. After the lesson, I tried experimenting to see if I could make everyday objects, such as my water bottle, or a plate. Unfortunately, I failed making the plate, but it was still a very enjoyable experience. I look forward to using this software in future lessons.

~John👽~

This week as definitely something very new to me as we are using a program I have never seen or heard in my life. This program was so hard to maneuver at first so I struggled a lot for the past 1 hour trying to figure out how to make the name tag as I had no idea what I was doing despite there being instruction on the blackboard so I had to ask for help from Dr Noel. After the help, it was like a new perspective and I finally understood how to use the program. I was so happy cause from there on it was quite easy. I had actually made a few name tag as I wanted to experiment on it after finishing the name tag that you saw at the earlier segment. After experimenting with the program, I proceeded to do a new one which seems like a key chain. Since I was relatively familiar with the program already, I was able to do the second activity with ease and that is when we finished the day. It was really fun making of all those designs and I can't wait for the future projects we will have that will involve this program.