Computer Aided Design (CAD)

 Week 1:

In week 1, we had a refresher course on using Fusion360 by completing the exact same activity as the first lesson of CP5065 [Introduction to Chemical Product Design] which was to make a nametag keychain. Compared to last semester, making the nametag was a lot easier as I already had an idea of what I was supposed to do despite not touching Fusion360 in a while. The video provided was also using the updated version of Fusion360 which also made it easier to follow the instructions.

How to Create the Nametag Keychain:

Step 1: Create a sketch and select the plane you want the sketch to be created on.

 Step 2: Create a rectangle with the dimensions of 65mm x 25mm

Step 3: Offset the rectangle by 2mm by clicking on the offset button followed by the outline of the rectangle.

Step 4: Fillet the 4 corners of the rectangle by 5mm by clicking on the fillet button followed by the 4 corners of the rectangle.

Step 5: Create a line from one length of the rectangle to the other.

Step 6: Convert the line created in step 5 by right clicking it and selecting Normal/Construction.

Step 7: Move the construction line until there is a 7mm gap between it and the border by clicking on the dimension button and putting 7mm.

Step 8: Create a circle with a diameter of 5mm in the middle of the construction line. Do this by creating a point via the point button and allowing it to snap into place. Use this point as the centre of the 5mm diameter circle.

Step 9: Create a text box by clicking on text under the create section and add whatever text you want on the nametag keychain. Finish the sketch once you are happy with the size and position of the text.

Step 10: Extrude everything except the hole [Base and Border] by 3mm by Selecting the extrude button under the create section.

Step 11: Hide the body by clicking on the eye icon on the left of the screen and extrude your name and the border by 1.5mm. Make sure to select the offset plane option in the extrude menu and input 3mm.

Step 12: Hide the sketch and unhide the body and decorate the nametag keychain as you like.

My Nametag Keychain:

Final Thoughts:

This week's lesson was pretty useful despite not teaching me anything new as the quick refresher course on Fusion360 was very helpful. I feel that I am still quite far away from being proficient with Fusion360 as I had to refer to the step by step video provided in order to complete the nametag keychain but I am sure that I will improve in the coming weeks.

Week 2:

In week 2, we were introduced to laser cutting using the CorelDraw software. We were first thought the differences between Raster and Vector images and their respective advantages and disadvantages where the former is made out of pixels while the latter is made out of anchor points. We were then briefly introduced to the functions and workflow of CorelDraw which we will be using in the week 3 laser cutting practical.  This gave me a rough idea of what to expect for next week's practical and makes me more confident in completing the practical as I will not be going into it blind. For the final part of this weeks lesson, we were thought how to create parametric designs in Fusion360 and was tasked in using this new found technique to design a phone stand. My design process is documented below as part of this weeks blog.

My Phone Stand Design:

Step 1: Create a sketch on any plane.

Step 2: Use the line tool under the create section and create a L shape.

Note: The dimensions used does not matter at this stage so just create the L shape with any dimensions.

Step 3: Use the Change Parameters tool under the modify section to set user parameters.

Step 4: Create 5 parameters, Length, Width, Height, Thickness and Stand.

Note: The measurements used can either be placeholder numbers or your final measurements. I used placeholder measurements here.

Step 5: Use the sketch dimensions tool and input the Length, Height and Thickness parameters that you created in the previous step.

Step 6: Finish the sketch and use to extrude tool to extrude the L shape by the Width parameter.

Step 7: Create a sketch on the upward facing plane.

Step 8: Use the line tool under the create section do draw a line across the front of the plane.

Note: This line will have to be adjusted later on if you used placeholder measurements.

Step 9: Use the extrude tool to extrude the new area created between the line and the edge by the Stand parameter.

Step 10: Create a sketch on the side facing plane

Step 11: Use the line tool under the create section to draw a line from the top edge to the front edge.

Step 12: Finish the sketch and use the extrude tool to extrude the newly created sketch by the Thickness parameter.

Note: Make sure that the Thickness is -ve so that it extrudes inwards instead of outwards.

Step 13: Create a Sketch on the opposite side of the previously selected plane.

Step 14: Use the line tool under the create section to draw a line from the top edge to the front edge.

Step 15: Finish the sketch and use the extrude tool to extrude the newly created sketch by the Thickness parameter.

Note: Make sure that the Thickness is -ve so that it extrudes inwards instead of outwards.

Step 16: Create a sketch on the Left/Right slanted area created earlier.

Step 17: Use the line tool under the create section to draw 2 lines across the slanted area.

Step 18: Finish the sketch and use the extrude tool to extrude the area between the 2 lines by the Stand parameter.

Step 19: Create a sketch on the Right/Left slanted area created earlier.

Step 20: Use the line tool under the create section to draw 2 lines across the slanted area.

Step 21: Finish the sketch and use the extrude tool to extrude the area between the 2 lines by the Stand parameter.

Step 22: Use the fillet tool under the modify section the round the corners for both of the nubs created from steps 16 to 21.

Step 23: Use the fillet tool under the modify section to round the edges around the phone stand. Exclude the bottom surface i.e. the surface that will be in contact with the table

Step 24: Go to the Change Parameters tool under the modify section to edit user parameters.

Step 25: Enter in your final measurements based off your phone and make any amendments necessary. [Such as the line created in step 8].

Step 26: Decorate and Modify as you wish.

End Result:

Final Thoughts:

This week's lesson gave me a glimpse of what is to come in the following week(s) and also gave me a chance to work towards my main goal of this module which is to become more proficient at Fusion360. The phone stand activity was actually more interesting than I thought and it turned out to be pretty fun. While I feel like there is still a long way to go in achieving my goal, I can confidently say that I am now one step closer to it after completing this week's lesson.