Continuing the Prototyping Process

Posted on April 14, 2017 by Charlene Chen

Coming into this week’s class, our team finally has a good grasp of the project in regards to the hardware and the software portion. As stated in last week’s reflection we were able to complete almost all the coding besides some minor adjustments and ensured that the hardware is able to work. During this week’s class we worked on the housing component and started some testing in regards to the sensor.

The first half of the class we worked on the housing unit, we had started off by using Fusion 360 last week and were having some issues especially with creating the correct holes into the housing unit. Thus, Vishal had suggested that we use Tinkercad to create the holes, as it was much easier to do through their website. We downloaded our already created dimensions from Fusion 360 and uploaded it onto Tinkercad. Tinkercad was much more efficient, we were able to edit at the same time. Immediately we had figured out all the hole dimensions for the lid, the sensor and the power cable. We also decided to add on our team name to the product. When we decided to print it we realized the time of the print was incredibly long and we were figuring out methods to shorten the time of printing. Finally, we were able to start the printing of the housing and will be done for us to pick up the next day.

After we had started printing out housing we decided to start working on some of the testing of our product. We were coming up with different inquiries on our product. First, we realized that we wanted to input location when the text sends to the user but that would require us to include some type of tracker and we realized that would be easiest done through an actual application, which would be the next step after creating the actual product. Some other issues we thought about were related to starting up the product, to leave a 30 second to 1 minute leeway before it started up and started sending texts of an intruder entering the home. Finally, we decided to test the sensor because we wanted to make sure it was reliable and we wouldn’t need to order a different type of sensor, as Vishal had suggested other sensor types like the laser sensor. We realized that our sensor went 120 degrees and was like a dome shape in sensing, we were thinking about purchasing a different sensor because a laser one might be more simple or 3D printing two walls around the sensor. However, we thought more about it and realized that it wouldn’t matter if it did sense all 120 degrees because if there were any movement it would be able to sense it. Thus, we decided to continue using the same sensor but reducing the distance it reached so it wasn’t as sensitive.

This is our housing model we created through Fusion 360 and Tinkercad.

Vishal and Brian were getting the printer started.

We began our testing plan, first testing our sensor.

Process of our housing.

Trying to change the sensor range.

Research and Continuous Improvement

Posted on April 8, 2017 by Charlene Chen

In this weeks session we had first started off with a quick presentation on scanners. I found it really interesting that we can scan with just our own phone cameras; they take pictures and stick them all together through a 3D mesh. They are created through triangles, so the more triangles the more resolution on the surface. The application that this feature could be done through is call Trnio and can be downloaded through an app store. After learning about scanning we began to work on our groups project again. Last week we had accomplished the main gist of how we wanted our product to look like, what components we would need and approximately how we would put it all together and into the 3D printed housing. However, in the last class we had only a general idea, which is why in this week’s class we had to go in more depth to understand more in detail what we would have to do and accomplish.

As none of us are engineers, we don’t have a solid understanding of how we should go about the project, which is why we had done a good amount of research to understand what components we would need as well as the placement of them. We had looked into various websites and videos, checking out the different tutorials and the ways other individuals had created a similar home security product. We had decided to use different tutorials and grab code from some of the already made products. Afterwards, we were able to receive all our components from Vishal and grabbed the rest of the components from the FabLab.

We then ended up meeting at the end of the week to work on the project together with our engineering friends. They had helped us with the installation of the Raspberry Pi and helped us with grabbing the correct code to run the system. We were able to put all the hardware together and plugged in the sensor accordingly. We had some difficulties with installing Twilio into the Raspberry Pi so we had tried to use a different method of Google Voice but that also did not turn out as we had expected even after adjusting many settings. Thus, we went back to trying to download Twilio, and to our surprise it could be done but we also had to download some other things to make it work. Finally, we tested the sensor with Twilio and the product worked! We still need to work on creating a way for the system to start on its own when plugging the power on and off so we will be doing more research on how to work that. During this time we had also started creating our 3D printed housing through Fusion 360 and we will begin printing it during the next class.

A reiterative process of trial and error

Posted on April 8, 2017 by Kenny Nguyen

The progression of our ideas came to fruition this week as we heavily began idealizing and seeing how all of the parts of our design come together. The first half of this week’s class was allotted to learning 3D scanning from Ariel utilizing a handheld model. We then proceeded to scan our heads as well however, we learned that the scanner does not like dark surfaces and so we had to scan black hair with a phone light.

The next half of class we were heavily involved in redefining our project’s components with an initial rough print. This taught us that we need to prototype fast and quickly due to the nature of how 3D printing is not perfect and it is a reiterative process in order to perfect a design. We continuously developed our design and got an idea of how to make these modules separate in the case if we want to add more or less at any given time. The Fusion 360 model below shows how we visualized our final product.

However, once we started printing, the holes did not line up correctly and sometimes the printer was having trouble with misalignment or if the filament ran out mid print as that happened to our initial prints.

Then after another run through the printer we were able to narrow down the problems, address it and throw in another print. This one proved to be a much more successful model but it still did not stand up on its own which was cause for concern for us since we need it to be able to not only support its own weight but it needs to support, clay rocks, plants and moving water.

Upon doing further research we found a great resource named “The Aquaponics Source” and it helped narrow down what type of plants, planting media as well as the conditions that are needed to keep our plants happy and healthy.

The next stages that I determined to be instrumental for the project is constructing the actual tank from 1/4″ acrylic sheets from the FabLab but they only had 1 clear one left and that was not enough since they were only 12″ x 24″ and so they are in the process of ordering more and it will come in about 10 days, which will hopefully give us time to cure and test our product. But I was able to use that one sheet and start dimensioning and designing the tank.

Our next step is to wait for all of the components we ordered to get here on time, which is the fish pump, tubing, finish printing the modules, as well as waiting for the acrylic to arrive and slowly put it together.

Week 4 Summary

Posted on February 25, 2017 by Charlene Chen

We all come form different backgrounds and experiences, some of us with the knowledge of using software’s to build parts and others with absolutely no experience. Regardless of which skill level we were at we all were able to takeaway a life long learning experience from Jeff Smith, an individual from AutoDesk that had come to teach us the ins and outs of Fusion 360. We all were inspired by Jeff’s story of reaching his current position at AutoDesk. Even though he had many shining moments he had also faced many struggles. In the end, the struggles he faced had helped him identify the connections he had unknowingly built. Putting together his network and his strong skills he began to learn Fusion 360 in order to empower college students to innovate with the software. Because many commercial companies would like the future generation to be able to maneuver through the software skillfully in order to help the company, they require AutoDesk to provide these lessons for college students. As college students, learning Fusion 360 is an added skill that will only bring us more benefits in our careers.

Throughout the class period Jeff had given us a live tutorial of Fusion 360 while allowing us to have hands-on experience with the software throughout each step of the tutorial. Specifically he wanted us to learn the tools and functions of the software so we would be able to continue creating in the future. Fusion 360 essentially is creating designs digitally and immediately transforming them into real life products. Prior to the class we were all given the task of using introductory videos to learn the tools of Fusion 360, a few of us were able to create the final model from the video while many of us had slowly trudged through the process of creating the model while continuously honing our skills in the new software. The process of learning was well stated by Veronika, “Diving into Fusion 360 during this weeks class session was like jumping into the deep end of the swimming pool in an attempt to learn to swim; needless to say, there was initially quite a bit of floundering.”

Many of the students were amazed with this CAD software, as it was a popular one with very powerful tools. As stated by Jorge, “One thing that makes Fusion 360 such a great CAD program is the whole cloud system they are using…” We all realized that with the software any innovation was possible. We had the ability to design through parametric designing, which included specific constraints and dimensions and free-form designing or sculpting through the Tee-Spline Body. Taofik was intrigued with the software, “They use a top-down componentry/modeling system system unlike other CAD software such as Creo Parametric or SolidWorks which use bottom-down modeling. You could even type code and create a model instead of clicking around the tools.” We were all amazed that the software gave its recommendations of the innovations that were created, a new and powerful concept we had not experienced before, the software had the ability to teach us efficiency on a design.

After learning the tools of the software we were given the task to create any everyday object by taking apart the object and building it on Fusion 360. As Ian had commented, “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.” The realization of the importance of designers and new creations in the world suddenly seemed so relevant. If we wanted to create products for this world, we needed to continue honing our skills in this software so we could build more innovative and efficient products for future consumers.

Here are some of the models that students had created after taking apart everyday products and rebuilding them on Fusion 360:

Chase had created a water bottle and found that, “The most difficult part of the design was instructing the software as to what parts were components, bodies, joinings, cuttings, etc. Albeit at first it was frustrating, I gradually began to understand how the software functions.”

Kenny had also created a reusable water bottle and commented that, “Every aspect of every object you use has been analyzed and reiterated until it was ready for consumer markets. This means that there are elements of design everywhere in everyday objects and this exercise gave me the insight to develop a product for the class.”

Jorge, who had experience in inventing throughout high school was able to create an intricate model of a flash drive.

Overall, the workshops had created a large spark for each of us and had allowed our creative juices to begin flowing. We all believe that capitalizing on all that the program has to offer will create tremendous results. This CAD software, Fusion 360 allows any individual to create whatever their mind thinks of and that in itself is revolutionary. It is true; Fusion 360 truly has no boundary for future innovation and design.

Creating With Fusion 360 and DIY Biology

Posted on February 21, 2017 by phleung2@illinois.edu

Jeffrey Smith from Autodesk held a workshop in class teaching us about the company and the Fusion 360 software. Autodesk’s Pier 9 is located in San Francisco Bay and is a facility that houses collaborations between artists, engineers, and technologists. One of their latest projects is a 3D-printed model of downtown San Francisco.

During the workshop session, we learned about the different tools on Fusion 360. I found the workshop to be incredibly helpful since I have never used Fusion 360 previously. Using the software, I tried creating a pipe that connected with a rectangular body. Other tools we experimented with were the sketch, modify, and assemble functions. Saving the best for last, we learned about the purple create tool. The tool allows us to deal with multiple faces and build complex, organic shapes. Jeffrey Smith create an aircraft design out of a rounded cube in a matter of minutes. I definitely want to practice using Fusion 360 more and utilize it in semester projects.

Dorothy Silverman presented on Biohacking, which manipulates the genes of organisms to usually create a product. Biohacking can also be thought of as DIY biology, where people of all backgrounds work together in small labs. Projects worth mentioning include using chitin to create biodegradable cups and plates and using fungi spores to grow furniture. I believe that the Biohacking movement is similar to the Maker Movement in that all sorts of people work together to create; however, Biohacking incorporates more sustainability in creating their products.

Merging Biohacking and fashion together, Suzanne Lee created BioCouture, a process in which clothes are grown using microbes. Biohacking is an exciting way to learn about biology and create things at the same time. I definitely want to experiment with the various processes involved to create sustainable products.

First Attempt at Autodesk Fusion 360

Posted on February 21, 2017 by Tiffany Kuo

Autodesk Fusion 360^TM, a phenomenal tool for designing, engineering, and simulating 3D models, turned out to be more challenging but at the same time simpler than I had imagined. As self-contradictory as that statement sounds, that was exactly how I felt after playing around with the program for hours and following Lars Christensen’s video tutorials to create the model shown below.

There were times when I felt excited that with a simple click, I could quickly mirror a specific part of the model to the opposite side. While other times, I would sit in frustration, cracking my head trying to figure out how to do something as simple as changing the view of the model. Overall, I felt pretty happy with what I was able to do with the program on my first attempt and know that through practice, I’ll be able to familiarize myself with Fusion 360 and create even more advanced models down the road. Of course, it’s not easy just watching videos and trying things out myself. This past week, our class was fortunate to have guest speaker, Jeff Smith, come in to share with us not only his life experience as an industrial designer at Autodesk and working overseas, but also an extensive introduction on how to use the Fusion 360 program. We first started out sketching simple 2D shapes such as lines, squares, and circles. Then, we created 3D objects such as cylinders and boxes and learned how to join them together.

Here is a very simple model of a prescription vial that I created, something I get to handle a lot at my job (I work at a retail pharmacy).

Just like how Jeff said that back in his college years Photoshop was barely in beta version and how I personally experienced the disappearance of Dreamweaver, a program I was taught to use back in high school, something that got me thinking was that due to the rapid development of technology, would a program that we learn today be quickly replaced by other more advanced software by the time we get into the workplace?

Week 4: Fusion 360

Posted on February 21, 2017 by Odelia

This week in class, Jeff Smith, a speaker from Autodesk introduced and showed us how to use Fushon 360. Fusion 360 is one of the more powerful CAD programs out there that enables users to be innovative. To be totally honest, I had a hard time with Fusion 360, even now I still cannot fully understand and figure out how it works. However, I must admit that it becomes more user-friendly as one gets to understand the functions more and the program is quite effective. What I do admire about Fusion is its ability to help the user be more productive. It helps users create more complicated objects with different layers that would normally take hours on end to create in a normal CAD program at a faster pace with the same amount of quality. Finally, Autodesk, the company behind Fusion 360 offers this program, as well as many others, free to students for 3 years.

Personally, I still have so much to learn within Fusion 360, but as someone that has had previous background in design software such as Photoshop and InDesign, I must say that I am very surprised and have great respect for this program no matter how frustrated I get with it. Jeff really dove in and taught us the full potential of Fusion 360 and each function has a blurb that loosely summarizes each functions’ capabilities and actions. I think that applications like Fusion 360 really pave the way for people to understand that design is something that anybody can come up with and that anybody can make their own objects. For the students in this class, Fusion 360 will eventually assist us in designing our concept and plausible ideas for our projects.

This object/figure would have taken a longer time in a normal CAD to shape.

Another speaker we had was Dot Silverman. Due to time, Dot could not really go into depth about her topic on biohacking, but we did learn about the basics of biohacking, a “do-it-yourself” type of biology. She introduced fungi product design in which products such as sturdy chairs were made out of fungi and were environmentally friendly.

Designing in the Digital Realm

Posted on February 21, 2017 by Kenny Nguyen

This week we had the pleasure of meeting Jeff Smith, an AutoDesk representative, as he taught us how to utilize the Fusion 360 Software. This intuitive software allowed us to create complex geometries and objects in a digital space. This also allowed us to easily manipulate the object and even allow us to test for the integrity of the object and much more. Prior to utilizing the software, we had to watch a Fusion 360 tutorial on youtube by Lars Christensen, which was nice as we could go at our own pace and rewind when necessary. This model was to create a conduit box for electrical equipment that will be used in house remodels or construction.

Our next assignment was to create anything and everything you can think of during the presentation that Mr. Smith gave us and so it was reassuring that we had an expert in the room in case there was any difficulty with the software. We first started by learning the fundamentals of the software, such as lines and then shapes and then 3D shapes. We then proceeded to utilize the create form tool and that was very interesting since it allowed for complex shapes of all sizes.

The next stage was to build our own model of something that we use on a daily basis with 2 or more components. The object I created was my Hydro Flask water bottle. I was able to shell it for the double walled aluminum construction as well as create the necessary threads for the cap to fit in the mouth. The images below reflect my actual bottle and the rendering.

Link to the A360 Model http://bit.ly/2lxACnS

This exercise made me think of everyday objects as different elements that needed to be joined together and thoroughly designed. Every aspect of every object you use has been analyzed and reiterated until it was ready for consumer markets. This means that there are elements of design everywhere in everyday objects and this exercise gave me the insight to develop a product for the class. Each component of each object is as important as the one prior, this means that as we begin to design our product, we must be able to think in terms of each element of the product and how it all fits together like a puzzle.

Week 4: Fusion 360 and the basics of not-so-basic CAD

Posted on February 21, 2017 by Brian Xu

In the prior week, we we participated in a workshop that outlined the basics of the design process. This week, we given a visit by Jeff Smith, an industrial designer working for Autodesk, who explained the basics of Fusion 360 and demonstrated the capabilities of the software. Jeff was trained in the “analog” method of design, in which all the blueprints and 2D models of a products were handmade with paper and pencil, a stunning but arduous process. In this digital age, one can do the same and more with CAD software like Fusion 360.

The base of CAD software is relatively straight forward: by using computerized tools, one can create a model of their choosing in real-time without the crutches of actual drawing such as drawing utensils or having to start from scratch every time. Jeff demonstrated that Fusion 360 can be utilized to create models in a variety of formats using a variety of methods. These range from organic to inorganic shapes, sketches, revolutions, scaling, etc. Fusion 360 possesses an extensive amount of tools and edits at the user’s disposal, giving the user a plethora of options. This also, however, makes using the software quite difficult, especially if one has never used CAD before. Fusion 360 is a intermediate-to-expert level software, unlike TinkerCAD (https://www.tinkercad.com ), which is a beginner software. The interface is rather unconventional, and there are many “hidden” tools throughout Fusion that make it uncomfortable for even experienced CAD users. Even with the plethora of tutorials out there (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTuzDPYYeEeJ9E-xBX2n-dUo6p8fQeA_b&jct=Ae3fFWiQBw0JsXyUzPflRHCUzfNjKQ), adjusting to Fusion can be cumbersome. However, once one gets used to these quirks, the software can be more easily used to its full potential.

In Jeff’s workshop, he portrayed how many of the characteristics of 3D modeling, while used in a different manner, were very similar to real life drawing and design. You can use a pencil-like tool to sketch shapes, if you made mistakes you didn’t necessarily have to start all over, but would have to do something similar to erasing. It really depends on the person on whether designing on paper or in CAD is more difficult. The main core similarity of the two is that they are both an art form. One can translate their creativity and design thinking onto a platform that allows them to portray it to others. The reason why CAD such as Fusion 360 is arguably better is that others can both observe AND edit your designs easily, all of which is saved through the cloud. This makes prototyping and customizations significantly easier, all through a single abstract. It allowed me to design a mockup of a mechanical pencil and it’s components. I can also use this to explain to someone how it functions without actually needing a physical one. CAD is wonderful tool for both expression and creation. Many believe it to be exclusively for engineering purposes, which maybe true, but in reality it is for portraying your technical expertise and creative process.

Using Autodesk 360: A powerful CAD tool

Posted on February 21, 2017 by Taofik Sulaiman

Another day, another tool that you can use to create and make innovative products. This week in lecture we were not in our usual maker space but in the Armory to hear from Jeff Smith, an expert in AutoDesk Fusion 360 and an industrial designer for Autodesk. He gave us an overview of the Autodesk work environment, including their innovative makerspace called Pier9 which is for making digital into real. He also showed us how powerful and unique this software is and different ways of designing:

Parametric designing which entails specific constraints and dimensions, and
Free-form designing or sculpting using the Tee-Spline Body

The way Fusion 360 is setup is in order of the different design phases: model, patch, render, animation, simulate, etc. They use a top-down componentry/modeling system system unlike other CAD software such as Creo Parametric or SolidWorks which use bottom-down modelling. You could even type code and create a model instead of clicking around the tools. He also introduced the new and powerful concept of having the computer learn and design your product for a more efficient design. Learning from about Fusion 360 was a great experience the way he likened designing with time-travelling. I really felt inspired more to be a maker and get more into modeling. Using the skills that we learnt from him and the Fusion 360 tutorial, i was able to replicate the model of the wire conduit below,

and go further to design a model of a product I use on a daily basis – A Chapstick:

If you would like to dive into this powerful tool, Autodesk offers Fusion 360 free for students at their website.

After Jeff Smith, we had a representative from the CU Biolab, Dot Silverman, tell us about the various creative endeavors they do in combining Biology and making into what she called “BioHacking”. There are so many endeavors involving biohacking going on around the country such as the MIT Silk pavillion and so many others included in the picture below.

Digital Making at the Makerlab- Spring2017

Learn. Make. Share.

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