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3D Printing Wheelchairs & Assistive Devices

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Background

3D printing has an infinite amount of potential to improve our world and the lives of humans. An area of improvement that I am passionate about is in the realm of improving the lives of individuals with disabilities.

On January 17th, 2018, our Digital Making Seminar class had the distinct pleasure of hearing Arielle Rausin speak on her experience in 3D printing. Arielle has since pursued a career in 3D printing by manufacturing racing gloves for wheelchair racing athletes (see picture below). Her company is called Ingenium, and you can check out the website here: http://www.ingeniummanufacturing.com/.

Arielle was kind enough to chat with me on the phone and allow me to ask her questions. During this time we talked about 3D printing and the opportunities/challenges that Arielle has come across throughout her time in this field. Below I have the questions that I asked Arielle along with her (paraphrased) responses.

 

Interview with Arielle Rausin

Q1: How are you doing? As a person? As a student? As a CEO?

A1: Pretty good. Busy busy life–I like keeping busy. It takes a lot of balance between being a full-time athlete and running a company. I graduated in December, so I am no longer a student. Right now I work part time on campus and train full-time as an athlete.

Q2: Can you talk a bit about the challenges that you faced when first starting to 3D print the gloves?

A2: First was becoming familiar with the software and learning how to do things like manipulate the infill, correct sizing (what you need to scale) and what you need to go in an adjust by hand. Once I bought a 3D printer, it was tough learning the printer maintenance (which needs to be every few months or so), printer clogs, etc. Another challenge is learning to design the file to make sure you are reducing the risk of clogging. Such designs need to be implemented in every file; a lot of the software does that automatically and it keeps improving every year. Additionally, I had to learn how to train my employees in the software.

Q3: Has your company made any progress or performed research in the realm of 3D printing wheelchairs? Are you aware if anyone has successfully done this?

A3: Personally, I have done a decent amount of research. I have not been able to find anyone who has been able to successfully accomplish it. There’s a company in South America that has done pieces of chair, but it wasn’t able to support any weight. I thinks it hasn’t been accomplished because of a lack of people trying rather than it being impossible. I have talked with wheelchair manufacturers that currently weld wheelchairs (traditional form of manufacturing), and I asked if they were interested in 3D printing–most are not interested. An additional note: there is a group in India that is starting to 3D print posture alignments that would attach onto wheelchairs (essentially a wheelchair accessory).

Q4: Follow up question: why do you think the manufacturers that you have reached out to weren’t interested?

A4: I believe it is due to the high upfront cost of learning the new technology and buying the printers. Most of the companies that make wheelchairs in the US have been around for 20-30 years, so the cost of learning a new technology is a big barrier. Also, they are from a different generation. I found this extremely evident when I ordered my previous wheelchair. I actually had to fax in a form to the wheelchair company because they didn’t even have online capabilities. Again, it’s a generational difference.

Q5: What are the most prominent challenges you see with 3D printing wheelchairs?

A5: I’ve talked with my coach about this, and he notes that he is worried about durability. Especially in developing countries, there is a lack of paved roads and stable terrain–thus, the chairs need to be very durable. In a welded chair, you can weld it again to fix it. For a 3D printed wheelchair, it would not have much room to be able to break. That being said, it would be much better to use metal/steel 3D printers for creating wheelchairs because they would be more durable (yet also more expensive).

Q6: Are there any parts of a wheelchair that would not be able to be 3D printed? Do you think it would be too burdensome to use small printers to then piece the prints together (i.e. are larger printers necessary)?

A6: I see a few items that would not be able to be 3D printed. First, the tires would need to be rubber and thus manufactured; I am not sold on the durability of 3D printed wheels. Also, some of the hardware–like the screws–would not be printed. The cushion where the wheelchair user sits would also not be printed.

Q7: Are you familiar with any resources that would be helpful in beginning of production of printing wheelchair parts? For instance, what is the best way to find out each of the necessary components?

A7: To begin, it would be best to directly talk to wheelchair users and see which parts on their wheelchair break the most often. It’d be good to understand which parts need to be replaced most often because those parts could potentially be printed cheaply. A lot of wheelchair manufacturers make “folding frame” chairs, which are completely useless to everyday wheelchair users. The frames that you would want to look at are called “rigid frame” chairs because those are more useful to everyday users.

Q8: I took a course in college called “The Culture of Disability,” and it was one of the most beneficial/educational courses I have ever taken because I learned so much about disabilities in our society. As someone with a disability, what do you wish individuals without disabilities knew in regards to the culture of disability?

A8: I wish people without disabilities knew that people with disabilities are very very capable. As a wheelchair user, I don’t mind if people ask me if i need help. Like I am capable of getting out of my car by myself everyday. People need more faith in the ability of wheelchair users. I think people without disabilities should come to an understanding that we are athletes, travel the world, live independently, etc. It’s depressing when people are shocked that I can drive and live alone. I like the saying “Assume competence.”

Q9: What is your favorite part about your job?

A9: My favorite part is when I hear that it has positively impacted people’s performance. For instance, I like when I get emails and pictures from parents and coaches saying their athlete achieved one of their goals through using our products.

Q10: Do you have a 5, 10, or 20 year plan? If so, what does it look like?

A10: I believe in plans, but I know they can change really really quickly. Currently, I am training for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics (2.5 year plan) in hopes to attend the games and compete. At the end of the day, I need to keep in mind that my athletic training is a full-time job. I would also love to help people with disabilities (by providing them with wheelchairs). I have been able to do this in the past by going to developing countries with non-profit organizations to distribute wheelchairs. In the next 5 years, I think it would be incredible if Ingenium could have fully working 3D-printed wheelchairs and a business model that would allow us to give them out for free.

 

Takeaways

I truly appreciated the time that Arielle took to chat with me about her experiences. My two biggest takeaways were in regards to the current wheelchair manufacturers’ generational differences and her advice to talk with current wheelchair users.

As for the generational differences with wheelchair manufacturers, I found Arielle’s insights fascinating. Initially, I thought that wheelchair manufacturers would love the idea of 3D printing due to the increased ability to customize their products at a cheaper cost. However, Arielle informed me that the upfront costs are what deter the manufacturers from fully adopting this practice. Since they have already invested so heavily in fixed costs over the past 20-30 years, they do not currently find much incentive for purchasing even more items that would qualify as fixed costs (i.e. 3D printers, training, and machinery). I find this to leave a tremendous area of opportunity to first-movers in the 3D printing realm for wheelchairs, which I will discuss in the “Moving Forward” section below.

As for talking with current wheelchair users, I find this advice very useful. As a creator, I often find myself wanting to delve right into the details of the product rather than first consulting with the end-users. I am thankful that Arielle gave me this advice because I will be able to save valuable time in the future by first understanding the needs of the end-users before I make assumptions of their needs and begin work on a product. This also ties into Arielle’s quote of “assuming competence.” People with disabilities are able to accomplish just as much as people without disabilities; those with disabilities may just have different ways in accomplishing those tasks. Thus, individuals with disabilities are competent in best understanding their needs, and creators must openly listen to those needs before creating.

 

Moving Forward

I know I threw a lot of information at you throughout this post, so I wanted to utilize this section to let you know some opportunities that you can explore to make tangible improvements in the realm of 3D printing for accessibility.

Our instructor, Vishal Sachdev, has shared a link with our class that talks about a company (called Allianz) that is trying to be the first-mover for the 3D printing of wheelchairs (https://www.3dprintingprogress.com/articles/13633/creating-the-future-of-wheelchairs-through-3d-printed-devices). Allianz is requesting innovators to submit ideas and designs for adaptive mobility devices, like wheelchairs. Personally, I believe that the current wheelchair manufacturers will need to convert to 3D printing once fully-functioning wheelchairs and other mobility devices are able to be dependably created by competitors using 3D printing. I believe this largely due to the lower costs that the 3D printing companies will encounter. These lower costs will thus allow the 3D printing companies to charge their customers less for the products and shift the demand away from the more expensive wheelchairs that are currently being manufactured. Contributing to the efforts of Allianz would be a great way to use your ideas and creating skills to innovate in the realm of 3D printing. Your contributions may also lead to lasting benefits for the community of individuals who require wheelchair use by providing more customized and affordable wheelchairs. Below is an image of a 3D-printed wheelchair concept.

Arielle also told me a bit about one of the non-profits she has worked with: Walkabout. With this company, she was able to go to Kenya last summer and give out wheelchairs to developing areas. She found the opportunity with this company through conducting her own online research and finding an organization that aligned with her values. Walkabout gives out over 10,000 wheelchairs a year, which is a noteworthy accomplishment since the company currently only has 5 full-time employees in London. Currently, Walkabout does not 3D print their parts, but that is great news because that leaves the opportunity open for creators like us to continue innovating in this realm. With our innovations, we can hopefully someday assist Walkabout in adopting 3D printing to then be able to provide even more wheelchairs individuals in need. This summer, Arielle will have the opportunity to go to Sudan with Walkabout. Please see the following link if you would like to explore future opportunities with this inspiring organization: https://walkaboutfoundation.org/

I’d also like to share the following link with you that has great examples on additional 3D printing designs that can be used for assisting those with disabilities: https://3dprint.com/tag/3d-printed-assistive-devices/. One of the designs on this site that I found interesting was of the prosthetic hand (see picture below). Prosthetic hands can sell for upwards of $11,000 (source: singularityhub.com), while there have been creators who have 3D printed prosthetic hands for $10 (source: iflscience.com). These instances go to show that the current expensive costs for medical devices are not necessary. I encourage everyone to explore the diverse needs of individuals with disabilities and see if you can find ways to make their lives easier (both physically and financially) through 3D printing.

 

Thank You

I would like to thank you all for taking the time to read this post. I hope that you were able to find some of the information useful, and I would be happy to discuss anything further if you have any questions.

Arielle, thank you so much again for offering your insights and wisdom. As you may remember, BADM 395 is structured with 3 pillars: Learning, Making, & Sharing. Thanks to your sharing, our class has valuable takeaways in learning and making. I am excited to carry on this tradition by sharing our information with others and continuing the cycle.

 

-Scott Provenzano

 

Sources:

https://www.3dprintingprogress.com/articles/13633/creating-the-future-of-wheelchairs-through-3d-printed-devices

http://www.iflscience.com/technology/man-makes-3d-printed-prosthetic-hand-son-only-10/

http://www.ingeniummanufacturing.com/

https://singularityhub.com/2010/06/30/how-much-is-the-newest-advanced-artificial-hand-11000-usd-video/#sm.00015z0ngm35fdbesv81broawohz2

https://walkaboutfoundation.org/

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My Fusion 360 Creation

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I was having a hard time creating an object. Dan made it look easy. I tried designing a star shaped cookie cutter, but I could not get the other side to be hollow. I tried using shell, but it continuously prevented me from doing it. Instead, I used the star design to make a little container for jewelry. It is like a little plate that you could put rings, earrings, etc in. I hope with more practice I can get better with Fusion 360.

week6

Becoming a Tinkerer

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Guest Speaker

“Are you a professor?” I asked Mr. Banach, our guest speaker for this week’s class session. “No – but I’ve written 24 books and have taught thousands of people all over the world. So, you could call me a teacher.”

It was an excellent experience being walked through using Fusion 360 with Mr. Banach. It was evident that he has taught many students – he was patient and methodical in his teaching style. We gathered in a classroom instead of the MakerLab this week, to get a hands-on tutorial on using this common CAD software. Mr. Banach walked us through drawing lines to create shapes, extruding them to give them mass, and cutting them to give them depth. Together, we designed an ice-scraper that we could actually print and utilize. After our session, I felt like I understood the basic controls of using Fusion 360 to bring ideas into reality.

Class Takeaways & Activities

Overall, this class was an extremely informative one and a key session, I believe, as we begin to start digitally tinkering. Beyond the simple physical controls of using Fusion 360, I learned some key concepts about design aesthetics. For example, using the ‘Filet’ tool to round out edges really made designs much more aesthetic than cold cut lines.

Furthermore, we learned the importance of design practicality, in terms of strength, material, and feasibility. We had to be aware of what material we were using to print a design based on its intended purpose. For example, using a brittle plastic (although cheaper!) would likely shatter our 3D printer ice scraper. We learned how to interpret stress simulations on our objects (very similar to a heat map), to see where the weakest points were. However, upping material design involves a much higher cost and “resolution” of the print. All these factors need to be considered when printing an object – it’s not as simple as design, click, print.

Tinkering

For my personal project, I decided to explore making my very own iPhone Amplifier. I looked at various designs on Thingiverse for inspiration, and then decided to take it my own direction. The iPhone would sit directly into the amplifier, sending the sound waves bouncing around the corner, amplifying in resonance, and coming out of the circular hole in front.

I’m not sure if this is a feasible design – my first thought is that there is a lot of excess waste with this model. Regardless, doing this personal project showed me that I am actually able to independently use Fusion 360 to model. I want to continue refining this design and see how I can potentially improve it.

Going Forward

Going forward, I want to grow my skillset in Fusion 360. Ultimately, I only know a few tools – extrude, filet, taper, etc. However, I believe that as I continue learning skills, my designs will get more complex and more feasible. I look forward to gaining this hands-on experience as I tinker – but I found an excellent additional resource online from AutoCad. It is a quick-start guide on using Fusion 360 and could be very helpful to our class,

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How powerful software can help you design for an idea

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This past week, Dan Banach, a representative from Autodesk led a hands-on workshop on how to design in Autodesk’s Fusion 360 software. Fusion 360 is a powerful tool that allows individuals to model out their ideas. Models can be shared digitally or designed with the intent to be physically produced. Although I was not able to attend this past week’s session in-person I was able to connect with some of my peers to review what I missed from Dan’s workshop.

Completing the fusion 360 tutorial really helped me gain a better understanding of how to use the software. I was able to first-hand experience the various nuances of the software and functionalities. For me, there was a big learning curve to learn the software because I do not have very many technical skills. This was a nice way to learn another technical skills and reinforced how beneficial it is to have software knowledge.

Here’s what I learned:

I learned to take my time and understand what I was doing. From connecting with my peers who sat in on the workshop and completing the Fusion 360 Youtube tutorial, I learned that it was more important to understand why I was doing what I was doing and its role in creating the end product.  Additionally, the step by step instructions made it extremely easy to follow along and it also strengthened my understanding of the Fusion 360 design process. The neat part about learning from others and engaging in self-learning through instructional videos was that it compelled me to learn something new. By collaborating with my peers, and utilizing broad resources available on the internet, I have been able to develop a new technical skill.

Although I was unable to attend the session in-person, I was still able to learn how to create the ice scraper. It was difficult to piece everything together, but below is what my design ended up looking like.

http://a360.co/2BUCb8b

This week, I watched a tutorial and learned how to build a lampshade. It was exciting to see that I have now developed a base-line understanding of Fusion 360. Although the directions and terminology used in the instructional video I watched differed from another one I saw, I was still able to follow along. The design I created can be found in the link below.

http://a360.co/2Bnu3Mp

 

 

week4

Creative Freedom

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Freedom to create and design are positive attributes pushing 3D printing technology into homes around the world. These attributes are prevalent across the collaborative community platforms we’ve explored in class. It’s fascinating to see the wide range of designs people have published on websites like Spaceway. I have even more respect for these creations having designed my own.

Dan Banach showed us the basics of Autodesk’s Fusion360 design software this week during class. I compliment him for his simple explanations and more importantly an enjoyable experience. His tutorial focused on designing a windshield snow scraper and a phone charging platform. Although these items seem rather simple, designing the scraper took 2 hours. Familiarizing myself with the nuances of the software took time, but by the end of the session I was confident I had them down.

With the number of tools available on Fusion360, the only limitation is your mind. The feeling of limitless creation is elusive after childhood, but while I was tinkering with my design it felt like I was playing with Legos again. I have had few opportunities to instantly conceptualize my ideas in this manner as a business student. These experiences show how powerful the software can be. When 3D printers become common household items, anyone will be able to customize their common household items. The number of new inventions compounds when more people have access to this technology.

One takeaway from this week’s tutorial is the effects different printing materials have on the final product. I was absent from our first 3D print last week because of the flu and thus didn’t get to experience the printing process firsthand. I had been looking forward to seeing the Ultimaker melt various plastics with my own eyes. My interest in the benefits and drawbacks of each material, especially their environmental impact, led me to further research.

In class, we have already established that 3D printers can be greener than traditional manufacturing because they use fewer materials. 3D printing is an additive process that uses exactly enough material. Traditional manufacturing carves the product from a block of larger material, leaving waste. One material mentioned during class that I frequently see mentioned is PLA bio-plastic. It is becoming the most popular option for 3D printing hobbyists. PLA bio-plastic “requires less energy to print (and less energy to manufacture) than ABS plastic; it’s also less toxic, and even has better print quality.” Another example of green technology is a solar tinter that fuses sand into glass using solar energy. I hope researchers focus on sustainability as they continue to innovate. You can read more here.

Check out a fruit holder I made here.

week4

Week 4: Fusion 360 Introduction

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This week in class we had a guest presentation on Fusion 360 from Dan Banach, who has more years of experience with modeling software than most of us have been alive. Although I have some experience with modeling objects on a computer before, Fusion 360 was a completely new software for me and by far the most complex. Going through the process of modeling an object with Dan was incredibly helpful because he showed us how simple it is to create something on Fusion and a lot of tips and tricks that make Fusion much easier to use. His presentation made me a lot more comfortable with my ability to effectively use Fusion.

http://a360.co/2BTNxcA

The ice scrapper we modeled together in class was really cool to go through. For the most part I kept up with Dan as he moved through the steps of creating the object but I did learn that it is easy to make a simple mistake that will essentially stop your progress. As I was creating the 2D shape of the ice scrapper, I forgot to put a restriction on one of the lines and that prevented me from being able to create the thumb grip that goes on top of the ice scrapper. Luckily, due to the ability to go back to previous steps in the design in Fusion, Dan was able to figure out what I did wrong and help me fix it quickly. I also struggled with getting some of the edges to fillet as I kept getting an error telling me it was not possible. Somehow I got it to work although I still don’t know how I got it to work. Overall, this ice scrapper is something I definitely want to print because I can see myself using it a lot.

http://a360.co/2BU36RK

While attempting to make the phone shelf, I struggled with getting the actual shelf to merge to the charger mount. For some reason it kept going into the middle of the mount and would not sit on top. Unfortunately my laptop died before I could finish it so all I have is the shape of the mount.

http://a360.co/2BsHGtA

When thinking of an everyday object to make I immediately thought of a coffee mug because I drink at least 4 cups a day and tend to collect mugs. I also figured it would be relatively easy to model. I’m not sure how effective a 3D printed coffee mug would be but modeling one is great practice.  While making this I used a lot of the steps that Dan showed us and it really made a difference.

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/autocad-forum/view-cube-stops-working/td-p/3026626

While researching some issues I had with Fusion 360, I found that the forums on the Autodesk website are very useful for finding solutions for bugs or other issues. There are hundreds of people out there that use Fusion so if you have a problem there’s a good chance someone else has it and already found a solution.

week4

Real Life Applications

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In class on Wednesday we heard from Dan Banach. Dan showed us how to use Autodesk’s Fusion 360 which I really enjoyed learning about. I have to say, it is my new favorite CAD software. I loved all the functionalities and the fluidity of the application. The software was easy to use and also very useful with an extensive amount of capabilities.

He took us through the steps of making an ice scraper and a phone charger holder. The ice scraper was more complicated by design, but he was a very patient teacher. I loved seeing the design come together and being able to make it my own along the way. I thought it was awesome how you can test the stress and fracture levels of whatever product you’re creating depending on the design and also whatever material you’re using. The program will also tell you how much you’re design weighs so you can use it as a tool to estimate the cost of actually printing the design.

I did not get the chance to actually print my designs, but I hope to find some time this week to make our designs come to life. The products we designed were very useful and it opened my mind to the possibilities that 3D printing and CAD could provide. I want to look for more opportunities in my everyday life to incorporate more 3D printed products like an ice scraper.

week4

Week 4 Reflection

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Class Overview

This week in BADM 395, we spoke with Dan Banach as he guided us through AutoDesk Fusion 360. This lecture gave us a unique insight into custom fabrication of 3D printing objects. When I started this class, I was under the impression that we would be modeling our creations in an AutoCAD like product. I have previous experience with AutoCAD in shop classes. Because of my familiarity with CAD software, I was very eager to work with Dan in designing an ice scraper and iPhone stand. Dan first introduced us to the basics of 3D modeling through a 2D sketch. He showed us how to lock values and angles to produce a symmetrical design. We first produced a 2D sketch of the ice scraper before he taught us how to extrude the drawing into three dimensions. After extruding, we tapered the angle of the scraper to improve functionality. Finally, we used the fillet tool to round off the edges. We did this to improve usability and reduce wear and tear over time. Below is a picture of my finished ice scraper.

 

 

I tried to use Illini Orange and Blue, however, when the colors rendered, the blue seemed much darker than I remembered. Nonetheless, I was proud of my first creation in AutoDesk. Next, we built an iPhone shelf using the same software. Dan showed us how to shell an object and use midpoints to ensure symmetry. Many of my classmates were able to successfully produce the charger stand, but I was unable to successfully connect the shelf to the charger. I suspect that mistook an axial orientation which caused my shelf to bifurcate instead of rest atop the charger. After seeing my fellow classmates print the 3D charger and shelf, I am somewhat relieved my design failed. Many complained that the dimensions prevented a stable connection between the shell and the charger. Below is my improper attempt at the charger and stand.

 

Everyone who knows me knows that I take pride in my pens and pencils. I always have a handful of Ticonderoga pencils, Pilot G2-07 pens, and Frixion erasable pens on my person. To organize them when at home, I built a holder for my writing utensils. The larger section in the middle is for my fecundity of erasable pens, while the outside compartments are for the permanent pens and pencils. As I progress in BADM 395, I look forward to creating more useful designs. Speaking with Dan gave me a more holistic view of the 3D printing design process.

Jason

week4

Intro to Fusion 360

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Fusion 360 Tutorial

This past week, we had the opportunity to have Dan Banach, a manager of Autodesk, come in and teach us how to use Fusion 360. While the 3D printing tool did seem intimidating at first, Dan was able to give an excellent in-class tutorial on how to use the program helping us create two of our own designs: an iPhone charging stand and an ice scrapper.

A Closer Look

Below is a brief glance of how Fusion 360 looks like. As you can see, there are a lot of things you can do through the program. I was surprised at how useful and accessible some of the functions were.

What I found most interesting during the tutorial was one of the tools inside Fusion 360 that allowed users to change the material and density of a given object. Not only did the program calculate the estimated weight of the object that was to be printed, it gave exact estimations on how long it would take for the object to be printed.

For those that are interested, here’s a video that walks you through the program:

My Own Creation

Here is a link to the iPhone stand we made in class.

Working with the program also inspired me to try to replicate an object that I could print in the future. I wanted to print something on a smaller scale that had a practical use. The creation that I thought would be most helpful was an object where wires and cords could go in and out to better organize an office desk space.

Below is a picture and here is a link for a closer view.

The idea behind this object is quite simple. There are four openings to a filleted rectangle. Cords and wires would enter into one entrance and weave its way through another to exit. This would help wires and cords to not get tangled up against one another.

 

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A Look Into Fusion 360

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This week we welcomed Dan Banach into our class to teach us a little bit more about Autodesk Fusion 360. I thought Dan was a phenomenal teacher and was very patient with all of us in class. I could tell he definitely knew his way around Fusion 360. Dan was able to make sure everyone was on par with the products we were making. In class we created an Illini ice scraper as well as a holder for you phone while it is charging. He showed us several different useful things in Fusion 360 such as the fillet, chamfer, and extrude tools. We were able to use these to our advantage while making both of our different products.

While making the first product, the ice scraper, I was a little overwhelmed with all of the different capabilities within Fusion. Luckily, Dan was a great teacher could help us one-on-one if we were having trouble with a step in the process of making. By the time we got to the phone holder I was feeling more comfortable with the way Fusion worked and could maneuver a little easier through the software.  We also learned other things in Fusion like cutting holes in shapes and setting proper measurements for products. The links to the two products I made in Fusion are copied below.

http://a360.co/2G5BFSP (ice scraper)

http://a360.co/2BT5doy (phone holder)

For the object I wanted to create on my own I chose a lamp shade. I followed directions using a youtube tutorial. There were different functions I used in creating this that we did not use in class. For example, the mirror function and duplicate function. I copied the link below to the lamp shade I created.

http://a360.co/2BUyWO7

I found there are several youtube tutorials for objects to create in Fusion. Once again, thingiverse is a great resource, but youtube is good for following directions and watching someone else create the object with you. I simply searched ‘create in fusion 360’ into youtube and a myriad of videos showed up providing instructions on how to create any object you can think of. I copied the link below which showed my search results

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=design+in+fusion+360

There are many different resources online to get inspiration for making objects, and I am excited to utilize these in the future.

Uncategorized, week4

Learning Fusion 360

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This week in class, I enjoyed getting to learn a new modeling system. Mr. Banach was very knowledgeable about Fusion 360, and his step by step instructions and assistance was very beneficial to my learning. It was pretty amazing that he was able to help us design an ice scraper and also a phone charger shelf in the duration of the class, especially since we missed out on a significant chunk of time when the technology assistance took a long time before arriving. I learned not only how to create circles, rectangles, and other basic shapes, but how to extrude an object to make it three dimensional, how to fillet edges (and what the word “fillet” means), and how to insert holes into objects. Making my own object on this system would have been intimidating without having as in depth of a lesson as we got, but I felt more than comfortable designing on Fusion 360 for this assignment. I designed my very own Chief Illiniwek Koozie to keep drinks cold. I would, however, need to be able to print with some sort of squishy, spongey material in order to have a koozie that successfully insulates a can.

Through my research on Fusion 360, I was most surprised to see how many free instruction articles and full online classes that are offered on the Autodesk website. There are classes on the webpage called “Introduction to CAD and CAE using Fusion 360,” “Fusion 360: Foundational Concepts,” and even “Modeling and Prototyping for Mechanical Engineers.” These classes range from thirty minutes to over three hours long. The length of the one that is three hours and fifteen minutes (entitled Fusion 360: Introduction to CAD, CAM, and CAE) especially surprised me- that seems like it would be an especially thorough class for a free online class. It was also interesting to me that essentially anyone could sign up for three full years of access by saying they were a student; this got me wondering whether a person needed a University email address to sign up for free access, so I tried to sign up with my Gmail account, and it worked! It’s crazy to me how much free access to this product a person can get, even if they’re technically not a student. I know this isn’t really on the “digital making” topic so much, but I think it is something Autodesk may want to look into, in order to capture as much revenue as possible and to have money to put into improving the software when necessary.

 

Attached below is my koozie design.

http://a360.co/2EBmRhJ

Also attached are my ice scraper and phone charger shelf designs.

http://a360.co/2BUMFEJ

http://a360.co/2G7J9F5

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Patience and Exploration Are the Keys to Mastering Fusion

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Class Summary

In class this week, we began working with Fusion 360 software to design our own 3D models. At first, I was skeptical of the prospect of drawing our own models given the multitude of resources at our disposal on websites like Thingiverse. But as the class moved along, I began to see why having these design skills will be critical to our advancement in 3D printing. The ability to truly customize something on Fusion stuck out to me as a major advantage of using the software. On Fusion, there are endless possibilities of not only what we can make, but how we can make it. The software has a plethora of features that I have grown more and more comfortable with as I use them more frequently.

Speaker Notes

I thought Dan did an excellent job keeping us moving and engaged throughout his lecture. Though I must admit, I struggled to keep up with the pace a bit. That being said, I think that my struggling to keep up with the speed of teaching was actually beneficial as it allowed me to do some tinkering and screw a few things up before getting it right. Through this process, I feel that I learned more from Fusion than I would have if I was blindly following directions at full speed. I think I was most interested in the parallel and perpendicular lines tool that Dan showed us because they are quite forgiving of unequal designs and allow us to create and draw and then go back and edit later. I didn’t quite finish the iPhone stand in class, I got a little bit behind and then class was finishing up and I wasn’t able to catch up in time.

My Designs

Below, I’ve posted a photo and link to my ice scraper design. As the first thing I have truly designed using Fusion, I am quite proud of my ice scraper.

http://a360.co/2H4MMN4

When I went to make my own design, I definitely struggled with coming up with something to make. What could I make with relatively low skill in Fusion that would actually be something I could use practically. I came up with a sunglasses clip for my car that I saw on Thingiverse last week. Using the existing model as a reference was extremely helpful in making my own design. A relatively simple structure still forced me to use many if not all of the tools that Dan showed us in class. Below is a photo and link to my design:

http://a360.co/2Bp95wv

Learning More

http://www.learningfusion360.com/lesson-0-before-getting-started/

I found this website to be a helpful refresher of what we learned in class, as well as providing some useful information about when things go wrong. It was cool to see how the author was messing up a lot of the same things that I messed up, and learn how to correct those mistakes with ease.

I’m excited to continue the making process and begin printing!

week4

Discovering the Beauty of Autodesk Fusion 360

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Overview:
This week we had Dan Banach from the Autodesk 360 company run a workshop introducing Fusion 360 software, the uses for it as well as walk us through creating our own models. We went through and made 2 different items, which I will discuss in detail later, while introducing many different functions and tools within Fusion 360. Dan had a slide discussing the various industries and companies that use Autodesk software, one I was surprised by was the movie industry and special effects. Many films use Autodesk software to design and create special effects. I am absolutely amazed by the capabilities this one software has and look forward to honing my skills in the coming months to be able to better design and create objects of value.

Fusion 360 Creations:

Our first item we designed was an ice scraper. In this workshop we walked through over 20 different tools within the software in order to create the exact look we wanted. One neat feature within Fusion 360 is that you can change the material of your creation. This then allows you to determine the specs, for example how much it weighs, which would then tell you how much it would cost in time and money to 3D print. I was also amazed by how many material options there were to model items in including metals, ceramics, paper, canvas, and even water.

In class we designed 2 items: an ice scraper and an iPhone charging stand. The phone charger I kept as the plastic PET material (since that is typical for 3D printing) thus why it is transparent, while the ice scraper I applied a “paint” layer to color it teal.

Ice scraper: http://a360.co/2snHF7x
Iphone charging stand: http://a360.co/2BpSWas

I thought the iPhone charging stand would be a useful item for my everyday life and was interested in seeing how the fusion file transferred into Cura to 3D print. I ended up printing this model and was excited to try it however, it is not very functional. The section that goes around the charger is too large to stay easily and when you put a phone on the shelf it is thrown off balance and falls to the floor. I was happy that I printed it because I got to see the iterative process, not everything comes out exactly as planned however you are easily able to go back to the drawing board and adjust the design for improvements. 3D printing is a series of trial and errors which makes it that much more exciting when you print something that works exactly as planned.

My Own Fusion Creation:

As for my own creation, I decided to make something to keep my electronic cords organized on my desk. I plug quite a few different cords into an outlet below my desk and have been getting annoyed that they fall off my desk and get tangled thus I’m constantly picking them up. This figure is a way to help keep the charging ends of cords on my desk. I incorporated a small shalf to keep it from sliding all over my desk however I still think it will need to be secured with a command strip. Hope this is of use to others! I’m excited to try printing this this week and will share updates on how it goes!

http://a360.co/2Bov1bl

Resources:

The most useful resource I resorted to throughout this small project is actually Autodesk’s Support & Learning page. They provide wonderful tutorials, explanations and examples of many different tools as well as products that you can use when creating your model. I found the tutorials quite helpful.

http://help.autodesk.com/view/fusion360/ENU/

week4

Week 4 Reflection: Fusion 360

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This week in class we had Dan Banach present to us and host a workshop on using AutoDesk’s software Fusion 360 to create 3D models of objects and things we can later potentially print out on a 3D-Printer. This session was very informative and hands on which I really enjoyed because we all got to fool around with the software and learn its capabilities as well as mess up a lot but having Dan Banach there, we were able to learn how to fix our mistakes which can be very beneficial for our future mistakes that are bound to happen.

 

Ice-Scraper (http://a360.co/2H8bCMj):

One of the objects we worked on in the workshop was an ice scraper for when there is a lot of ice stuck on the windows of your vehicle. This was a very neat object to start with as it had us make use of a lot of different tools within Fusion 360 such as the extrude function, sketch tools, fillet tools, how to make a hole and chamfer tools. Many functions that will be used for a lot of future projects. We even got to mess around with the material type for the object and the colors to show the design as a UIUC Scraper for my object.

 

Wall Outlet Shelf (http://a360.co/2H8cWyL):

The second object we worked on during the workshop was a wall outlet shelf that you get to use when you are charging something small like a phone, you attach this object on your wall charger, then you have a shelf located directly on top of the charger for you to lay your phone or other small device that’s charging. I really likes this object because it taught us about the shell function in Fusion that was really interesting. I also thought it was funny that this object was chosen since I originally wrote about this one from the pinshape website on an earlier reflection.

Dog Bone Cookie Cutter (http://a360.co/2G2wcfq):

This object was one that I worked on individually after the workshop. This is a dog bone cookie cutter. I thought it was something fun for me to make that would not be too complicated as I am still new to this but also let me explore how to make rounder objects and taught me how to use the arc functions under sketch and further practice the shell functions.

 

Fusion Shortcuts

Link: http://help.autodesk.com/view/fusion360/ENU/?guid=GUID-F0491540-0324-470A-B651-2238D0EFAC30

I found this article from the AutoDesk Website that can help make using this software a lot more simple/time efficient with the use of keyboard shortcuts. I personally find the use of keyboard shortcuts very beneficial and I hope others find this link as helpful as I did.

 

week4

3D Modeling with Fusion 360

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Another software has been learned!

This week, our class focused on gaining the skillset and an understanding of the Fusion 360 software. We did this by watching beginners tutorials and learning the interface of Fusion before class which made it easier to follow the guest lecturer Dan Banach. Dan is an instructor  from Autodesk and he is very much experienced with this software. He did a great job at explaining the locations of each function, shortcuts to reach them, the purpose of each tool, as well as providing an understanding of the capabilities that Fusion has to offer. Fusion is the first 3D CAD, CAM, and CAE tool of its kind. It connects your entire product development process in a single cloud-based platform that works on both Mac and PC. ( I recommend using a mouse, I assume it’s easier than my touchpad).

Now, onto the fun stuff! Dan displayed two objects that we would be creating in class: An ice scrapper, and a wall outlet shelf. At first, I didn’t think it was going to be possible to create two objects given the time constraint, but I’m glad to say that we were able to design, test, and fabricate them both.

Ice Scrapper 

The Ice Scrapper was the first object we created and I was very proud of myself for how it came out! I ran into one complication designing it since I created the object on the wrong plane. With assistance from Dan, and a little arithmetic, the ice scrapper is on par and  ready to get 3D Printed.

Wall Outlet Shelf

As for the Wall Outlet Shelf, I had much more difficulties creating it and unfortunately did not complete it. But, I do have an image on what it was intended to be. The shelf fits around most standard outlet charger adopters but it can be customized on Fusion. It is a very clever design with a practical benefit.

The Making of The Martian

One thing that stood out to me during Dan’s lecture was when he mentioned how the film, The Martian incorporated Fusion.  Apparently, there were work flow challenges in creating the stereo 3D world of The Martian which was  fixed using Fusion Studio!

“The shots would come from our artists as EXRs, and we would then run them through our Fusion script which would bake in a new color grade and a heavy sharpen. This meant I could view not only the plate version as provided by the client, but also a heavily graded and heavily sharpened version in the theatre, so I could easily identify any of these small edges. What we produced really hit the nail on the head for the client.”

–Prime Focus World, the company tasked with creating post 3D conversions for the film.

Fusion is a very powerful software that I never thought I would learn, but I’m glad that I did. I hope you enjoyed reading,

See you next week!

Uncategorized

Fusion 360- Fusing Your Creativity

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Unfortunately, I was unable to come to class this week because I was sick. However, I was able to learn Fusion 360 on my own through the YouTube videos and found it quite fascinating. It has a lot more capabilities and features than Tinkercad, so I was excited to explore this software on my own time and speed. The YouTube videos were quite helpful and the instructor lead me through, step by step. First, he talked through the basic functions of Fusion and some short cuts. I first made a very simple rectangle and extruded it, allowing it to become three dimensional.

Then, I made a hole in the center, making it semi hollow.

The next part was definitely the most challenging. I had to put two circles on the surface of the rectangle and then put a smaller circle inside that circle and push it through the rectangle. This is the part of the video I had to rewind and pause a couple times, but after doing it fully through, I got a hold of it.

After adding all the final touches, (the fillet and making sure the dimensions are all correct and lined up) I finished the box! Now all I had left was the holes for the screws and the lid. Adding the holes to the screws was simple because I only had to do it once and then I was shown the “mirror” feature on Fusion. This feature allowed me to create the screw holder on one side and then mirror it to the other side using a plane. This would be very useful when creating objects with similar features on all sides. Below is the final product (without the lid).

Then, came the lid. This was simple because all you had to do was select the top face and extrude it farther up. Below is right before I extruded it upwards.

Overall, I liked learning about Fusion 360 on my own time and being able to pause and redo things I didn’t understand. After playing around with Fusion on my own, I created this simple watch.

In order to make this, I had to create a rectangle and put small holes at the end and one “clasp” at the end, extruding the hole.  Then, I added a simple circular face with a smaller circular face in order to create the actual clock part of the watch. Of course this is a rough design of a watch, however with some more training and time I believe I could create a more complicated version.

Overall, I believe Fusion 360 is an extremely useful and easy to use and I am excited to learn more about it in the future!!

week4

Learning Autodesk Fusion 360

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Overview

Hello! This week we learned how to use Autodesk Fusion 360. I originally thought that Tinkercad online was the coolest software, but now I understand how much more superior Fusion 360 is in comparison. While both of these programs are owned by the same company, I was ecstatic to jump into Fusion 360 because of the extended capabilities within the program.

We were fortunate to have Dan Banach come talk to our class and walk us through creating a few designs (shown in the next section). Dan is an instructor from Autodesk,  and he was extremely knowledgeable and helpful as we learned this (to most of us, completely-new) program. One of the neatest things I learned from Dan is that Fusion 360 is used by many large movie production companies to add in animations and special effects to films. As someone who would love to work in the entertainment industry someday, I found this extremely interesting. I think it is so neat that a company can essentially create a character within this program, animate it, and make it come to life in a film. I plan to dive deeper into the animation aspect of this software as I gain more expertise in designing objects. Check out some of the designs I’ve created over the past week in the next section!

 

Autodesk Fusion 360 Designs

Valentine’s Day Paperweight – I created this when I was playing around with Fusion 360 because I figured that with Valentine’s Day coming up, some of my peers might find it useful. As a college student, it’s easy to let holidays creep up on us. Thus, I thought it’d be useful to share this idea with the class incase they would like to print a Valentine’s Day 2018 heart paperweight for their significant other: http://a360.co/2FVSKP6

 

Ice Scraper – This was the first object that we created with Dan. He walked us through each and every step, so we were able to learn a lot of crucial details right off the bat. This design essentially consists of two shapes: a long T-shape on the bottom and a rectangle block on top. We used the fillet tool, used the chamfer tool, and created a hole. It was also neat to learn how to apply paint to the object. This skill will definitely come in handy when using this program to create objects and present to clients/managers! http://a360.co/2GTF1JP

 

iPhone Charging Holder – This was another one of the designs that we created in class with Dan. It was surprisingly simple to make after extruding the rectangle on the bottom, putting a hole in it, and then extruding a rectangle on the top. With some minor tweaks with the fillet tool and some additional details, we were able to come up with the following design: http://a360.co/2EqneLX

 

Pen Holder (Everyday Object) – For my everyday object assignment, I chose to create a pen holder. I chose this object because I was looking at my desk and brainstorming what I could use on it. With many pens/pencils laying around, it was a no-brainer. I began by extruding a square (2” x 2”) up by 3”. I used the fillet tool to smooth out the side corners, and then extruded a smaller square from the top of this block down towards the bottom (thus creating the open space within the pen holder). I stopped extruding before I hit the bottom so that this object would not be open the entire way through; I used the fillet tool once more to smooth out the inside walls and was left with the following object: http://a360.co/2G3LQHJ

 

 

Further Thoughts

Overall, the skills I have learned over the past week have been very useful in my path to becoming a better creator. My plan is to stay fresh with the content that I have learned and continue creating more in-depth/complex objects.

Since I noted how interested I am in this software being used for animations in movies, I found the following video that shows how animations work (for beginners) in Fusion 360. Definitely check out this short video because it shows how simply we can now animate the designs that we create: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJkI6N8VAiY

Thank you for taking the time to read my post. I hope you are having a great day, and I look forward to checking back in with you in a week!

 

-Scott Provenzano

week4

Fusion 360: A Handy Tool for Just About Anyone

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This week, we learned how to use Fusion 360, a CAD design software created by Autodesk. Dan Banach from the Education group at Autodesk was really helpful in showing us the ropes and walking us through two designs using the tool. We had the chance to build a custom Illini ice scraper, as well as a really handy iPhone charging tool—I was able to build upon my knowledge of Fusion 360 shortcuts and I also got a sense of how to go about designing from scratch, which is what I really wanted to learn. One of the coolest features of the software is its ability to conduct stress testing—while I didn’t get the chance to actually implement this tool, I’m sure that it will be useful in the future.

The iphone tool I created
My ice scraper ended up looking a bit different from the original model, but it’s still functional

With this newfound confidence, I attempted to recreate one of the design ideas I had seen on Thingiverse. I made a simple heart cookie cutter- even though it wasn’t that complex, it still gave me an opportunity to apply the skills I learned during the workshop. I started with the line and arc tools to create the basic heart shape, and then used the extrude and shell tools to create the hollowed out cookie cutter form.

Heart shaped cookie cutter
I adjusted the thickness to make the shape more suitable for cutting into dough

After doing more research on Fusion 360, I read about how other people used the software to bring their ideas to life. One of the most interesting articles I found was on Fusion 360’s own blog, and it profiled Calvin Lee, who designs kid’s plush toy pillows for Brookstone. He talked about how the software made it simple to sketch soft forms in 3D, and how he planned to use it to design Brookstone’s signature massage chairs as well. The versatility of the software not only allows designers to sketch the electronic or mechanical components with ease, but also enables them to create more ergonomic shapes.

I’d like to experiment with different applications of Fusion 360 further in my semester project, if possible. I’m still getting a hang of the software, but I look forward to discovering more of its infinite capabilities and learning as I go!