Learning how to use Fusion 360 was an incredible learning experience. From the very first tutorial, I quickly realized the amount of power this software had. Fusion 360 was truly a complete package for anyone who wanted to make. As you can see from the above picture the workshop I was involved in really let us go absolutely wild in terms of creativity. That ability to make whatever strikes mind is truly quite powerful in my opinion. Fusion 360 made it easy to start sketching, extruding, and finally rendering. It was so easy to create whatever the mind wanted.

Through the workshop and YouTube tutorials lessons in design and engineering were also passed through to us. Rules regarding shapes, grids, and how space interacts with physical objects. It was all quite a lot to come at us at once but I wouldn’t have it any other way. It was especially cool to see what exactly was possible with this software. Particularly, when there was a demonstration on how easily Fusion 360 could create natural amorphous shapes with the click of a single button.

I think throughout the workshop I realized just how much I took for granted simple engineering feats. Taking a simple water bottle the shape itself is complex enough but it actually has several parts working together to provide us with a coherent product experience. Without great designers with software like Fusion 360 we wouldn’t have most of the products in our world today. In fact, I tried my hand at making one such water bottle (cap) and realized just how difficult it is to make an object from real life (not even the whole thing either!).

To also make these objects to scale, ready for manufacturing, and testable/buildable in the real world must be quite the task for engineers and designers alike. I was astonished at the amount of focus, energy, and time it took to just create a simple mockup of a water bottle cap. Truly, though CAD software like Fusion 360 allows anyone to make what their minds think of. I think that alone is revolutionary.

To boot I think AutoDesk is doing extraordinary work in the student space. Allowing their core software to be released to the student public at no cost is amazing. Giving any student the ability to make, create, and model. AutoDesk is doing a great job of giving problem solvers the tools they need to make physical solutions to real life problems.

This week we started building models with Fusion 360. Fusion 360 is a cloud-based CAD/CAM design software developed by Audtodesk. It is a powerful tool for designers from all levels. During the class, we’ve explored a variety of functions in Fusion 360 with instructor from Autodesk. Fusion 360 provide multiple modeling forms, including freeform modeling, solid modeling, and parametric modeling. It also integrated simulations that allow designers to test the capabilities of the models. Besides, Fusion 360 is a cloud-based software that support a high-level of collaboration between designers. As we’ve discussed last week, collaboration is an essential part of human centric design process, and Fusion 360 is helping designers to work together in the second and third phases of design thinking processes.

Before the class, I’ve followed the tutorial and built a model for a part of a tool. What I found to be really interesting is how Fusion360 build 3D models based off flat graphs. The only design software that I ever used in the past is TinkerCad, which basically had all 3D figures prepared for users. Another feature that I think it’s really cool but not able to master is the design timeline. Based on the tutorial, designers can save a lot of trouble going back and forward adjusting the models by manipulate the timeline. However, I do believe it requires a certain level of understanding.

After the class, I build a model based off a hand cream. I thought the tube is hard to depict using traditional 2D method, so it may be a good illustration of the function of Fusion360.

https://flic.kr/p/S2AHB4

https://flic.kr/p/SdgFAX

I dissected model into three major parts:

• The cap: the main body of the cap is a cylinder. I noticed that the bottom of the cylinder has a small sinking area in the middle. Therefore, I constructed another cylinder and have it cut into the bigger cylinder. I also have the fillets for the rims.
• The closing end: the part that closes up the tube
• The tube: I built a loft with the two surfaces between. I couldn’t figure out a way to smooth out the lines on the side.

What I really enjoyed during the process is that Fusion360 allowed me to add details to the model so it doesn’t have so many edges. A problem I faced is I’m not sure how to construct the inner structure of the cap and I think there might be semi-finished parts in the part-shop.

Looking into the future, I think Fusion360 is able to help us achieve a lot of amazing things through 3D printing. Because one advantage of using Fusion360 is it allows designers to build components and then assemble them together. It helps the designers to solve one of the most important constraints when using 3D printers, which is sizing. If we are able to break down a design into small pieces, we are able to make much bigger things. Also, since the defection rate of 3D printing is also relatively high (for me 2 out of 3 so far), It is also much easier to reprint a small piece if there’s any defection. I’m looking forward to future application of Fusion360 in my 3D printing project.

#DesignForAmerica #DesignProcess #MakersForLife

Human-centered design is a new up and coming scene in which designers put into the account of the target user and design around that basis. In order to successfully produce a new product, one has to be able to identify the problem and the user to identify the situation at hand and then solve it utilizing creative problem-solving techniques. Limitless. This word accurately depicts the nature of our class session this week, where we participated in a lab led by the UIUC chapter of Design for America. Through a series of exercises, we were exposed to the processes and mindset behind ideation from a designer’s perspective.

In order to give us a look at their design process and put us in a Design For America mindset, they facilitated a class activity in which we were handed 3 cards at random. One card gave the demographic which the product which we were designing for, the next gave what it will be used for, and the last card a constraint for out design. One of the group’s challenge was to design a way to make music for adventurous preschoolers and the constraint was that it should grow. They interpreted the constraint, “it grows”, as that the object expands. Their team came up with an expandable “laptop”, where it had 3 folds, one had a screen, the middle had buttons in different colors and shapes, and the last fold had a piano keyboard and a xylophone. The buttons would make noises when pressed and the screen can show cute characters dancing on the screen. The piano and xylophone allow the child to have a physical thing they can play with to make noise in case they do not like digital sounds.

As written on the website of Chicago Architecture Foundation, “The Design Process is an approach for breaking down a large project into manageable chunks.”

Although our workshop with Design for America had us create unrealistic products, the same concepts hold true. Before you can come up with a design, you need to have a specific population and a specific problem to solve in mind.  As you design the product, it needs to be realistic and be able to be manufactured, and it needs to be profitable.  Fortunately for us, our access to the Maker Lab and CU Fab Lab allows to rapidly design, create, and test prototypes.  Regardless, It is important for us keep desirability, viability, and feasibility in mind throughout the entire process.

Now, it was time to make the logos for the groups. Just seeing the logos printing made all of us so excited for what the future holds for us. What can we all create from nothing? There are still so many questions we need to ask ourselves before coming up with our final ideas and designs. I look forward to figuring out what the final products will be through design thinking.

If you want to know a more in-depth experience of each individual you go to the ‘Week 3’ tab.

We have Jeff Smith, the industrial designer at Autodesk, as our guest speaker this week. Although Jeff used his most of time explaining how to use Fusion360 and why it is superior to the other competitive products, Jeff’s self-introduction indeed contained a lot of wisdom. First of all, he called him a “dinosaur”, because Jeff was the in the last generation in his college that purely used “analogy design methodology” (not sure whether this is the terminology he said) and Photoshop was barely in beta version. It is crazy to see that what people learned in college might immediately be replaced by other advanced technologies nowadays. Does that mean we do not need to study hard anymore? Absolutely not, we still do need to master the subjects in our curriculum. On one hand, no one knows exactly when the new technology will replace the old one; on the other hand, the experience we accumulated by studying the old method will broaden our perspective when applying new technology. All in all, we need to keep an open mind to new tool/ technology all the time.

Jeff also emphasized the importance of network. Before working for Autodesk, Jeff worked for Autodesk’s competing company for decades. It would be a nightmare for anyone when he/she is informed to leave the company after he/she had worked for such a long time. Unfortunately, Jeff faced this kind of tough situation.  Though frustrated about his unemployment, Jeff found a new job with the help of his network in the following weeks. Jeff himself also said that he did not expect he would work for his original company’s competitor and his network would help him secure a new job when he needed most. These two episodes have nothing to do with 3D modeling, but I do believe we can learn a lot from these two events.

Fusion360 is a computer-aided design application for creating 3D digital prototypes. Similar to Cura, Fusion360 enables users to design prototypes or edit other’s projects. Under Jeff’s instruction, we have a quick overview of Fusion360’s user interface. Then, we start to sketch the basic 2D patterns such as line, curve, square, and circle. Then, Jeff introduced how to create 3D object like box and cylinder. Meanwhile, Jeff also demonstrated how to use extrude, revolve, and other functions to create new patterns based on these basic 3D objects. Finally, we learned how to use “Create Form” to create symmetric objects. The object I designed is my speaker. I used extrude function to create the control button on my speakers. It looks simple but it will work well. 😉

https://uofi.box.com/s/1wujdb2sq1iyl4c928426teqpej34sbh

Time to learn how to build! #Learning #CAD #Modeling #Fusion360workshop

Building things can be tough and building it on CAD software, you can imagine. It was time to get on with the whole 3-D designing, not beginners but fully advanced CAD software. Creating models on CAD is totally different from designs made on paper. There are so many things that you can do with your model. There are no limits, especially with the software that we were taught today by a highly qualified person from AutoDesk.

Before coming for the class we watched a video about how to make a part in Fusion360. This helped us all to get a hang of the software and know the basics of it. Jeffrey Smith from AutoDesk came today to give us a workshop and teach us how to use Fusion360. When he came he introduced himself to us and told us about his journey and how he ended up working at AutoDesk. His story was so inspiring, it made me realize that one should always keep trying and never give up. He then talked about the company and told us that it is located in Pier 9. After this, it was time for us to gets our hands on the software and do some building.

Learning CAD software is a meticulous job and even a tiny mistake can make the entire design go to waste. Jeff started teaching us the basics of the software. He first told us how to create a new file and where can we save files. Then he talked about the sketch tool. He first drew something with the sketch tool and then asked us to try it on our own once he was finished demonstrating it. This way we got time to examine and play with each tool. After the sketch tool, we learned how to extrude things and scale it to the size that we want it to be. This was the time when our model actually looked 3-D. There are so many ways by which you can make a model; there is no particular step. After learning to extrude we were allowed to use the purple button that is the ‘create form’ option. This tool looked so organic with all the rounded edges. My favorite tool was the assembly tool. This tool made your single part interact with other parts and one could see how it would function as a whole. This gave us a sense of step-by-step building process.

To conclude I would like to say that the workshop made me more inclined towards using this software and play with different tools. I am really looking forward to the assignment in which we have to create a product on Fusion360 that has different/separate parts to it and make then interact with each other.

After a rough night of trying to figure out the Fusion 360 software from the set of 20 minute YouTube videos, I was already so frustrated with Fusion 360. This was so difficult for me to accept since it seemed as if everyone else finished their tutorial while it took me nearly 2 and a half hours just to get half way through with designing my object. I kept having to re-watch and rewind portions of the video because the right click on my history didn’t work the right way, or I couldn’t see what was really going on in the video, or I simply just messed up. I felt so defeated. Usually, I am really good and quick at learning to new programs. I guess I just have to keep practicing.

In high hopes of bettering myself, I attended class at the Armory to hear a lecture on the Fusion 360 Software by Jeff Smith. Jeff Smith works for Autodesk which sells the Fusion 360 software. Smith gave us an overview of Fusion 360 similar to the video playlist we viewed as homework, except he divulged more details on the many ways the user can zoom, change views, object visibility and move around. This was extremely useful to me as it really helped me navigate through the site and can help me build quicker in the future. Smith taught us how intuitive Fusion 360 really is during class. He said that Fusion 360 is positionally aware and allows for “time travel” in a timeline. Additionally, he taught us about parametric modeling, explained the difference between bodies and components, and how to create joints. It took some time but I eventually go the hang of some of the things he taught us. However, sometimes, I got hopelessly lost as shown in the gif below. I have to keep practicing if I want to become better and use the software flawlessly for our project.  Thankfully, I have wonderful team members and being in a group often helps foster learning and creativity. Each member is a piece of a puzzle. Some of us understand how to do certain function of the Fusion software and some of us don’t. It’s a matter of teaching each other and helping each other grow to put the pieces together. With each other’s help, I was able to make a few object in fusion (shown below).

I still have a lot to learn so I plan on working harder on learning how to utilize this software and fully understand how to navigate and build on it. I plan on trying to learn how to make many objects through step by step videos similar to the tutorial video playlist I reviewed as homework earlier in the week. Additionally, my group and I have talked about possibly setting a time and date for us to collaborate and teach each other what we know. A few resources I plan to use to supplement my learning are shown below as follows:

Shortcuts in Fusion 360 to help navigate:
http://www.cadforum.cz/cadforum_en/keyboard-shortcuts-in-autodesk-fusion-360-tip10167

Making Parametric Models in Fusion 360:
http://hackaday.com/2016/02/02/making-parametric-models-in-fusion-360/

Fusion 360 Projects on Instructables:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Fusion/

Puzzle Cube Project
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Cu3I4rTYsY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-u1u02ZeiLg