https://farm1.staticflickr.com/684/32957373326_cbec8d94f1_b.jpgI
n week 4, the class took a major step forward in working with 3D printing / making. We were introduced to the CAD deign software, Fusion 360 from Autodesk. During our class we were fortunate enough to have an individual named Jeff Smith, who works at Autodesk help us out. Jeff came and walked us through how to use the many features that Fusion 360 offers. While I found this particularly helpful, it was easy to feel a bit lost in the software. Personally it was not that Fusion is disorganized or to broad, but I have never worked with a CAD software before. Being introduced to a new software in any industry can have its challenges, however going from tinker cad to Fusion 360 is taking some time for me to adjust to. Nevertheless, the more I have worked within Fusion 360 throughout the week, the more comfortable I am in using the vast amount of features such as sketching, and adding components to the objects we create.
One challenge Jeff gave us at the end of class was to continue practicing at home, and to make an object from our homes with 2 components to it. At first I struggled to create a flash light that I was designing. Not being able to figure out how to shape the part within Fusion was extremely frustrating. I decided to start with something more simple and designed a reusable water bottle I have at home with a cap on it. One thing that helped tremendously was searching online tutorials that other people have used for similar projects. The tutorial site that is sponsored by Fusion is one I would particularly recommend to beginning users as I still am http://help.autodesk.com/view/fusion360/ENU/.
Overall, I am excited to continue learning Fusion 360 software because I am starting to see the implications for how this can help my team design almost any shaped object that we want. Fusion seems to be quite advanced and detailed, in allowing us to shape what ever type object we want and add components (parts) to it to make a functioning prototype. Using the capabilities of Fusion 360, highlighted in this video (http://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/overview) will be of the utmost importance when it comes to the design of what ever product solution we choose to do. After week 4 I feel I have a solid understanding of the software capabilities, but have am not quite where I want to be yet in terms of producing results. I am sure practice will continue to produce better results!
My Fusion 360 w part Water bottle :
https://myhub.autodesk360.com/ue29cca13/g/projects/2017020461928201/data/dXJuOmFkc2sud2lwcHJvZDpmcy5mb2xkZXI6Y28uOWdOY0E4UWxRUGVVSnJnT1ZDMnl6UQ/DTeca0eQT04f53b9510047dfc35a3a1139fe?show=overview