Computer Aided Designing

Objective

Model (raster, vector, 2D, 3D, render, animate, simulate, ...) a possible final project,compress your images and videos and post a description with your design files on your class page.


Introduction

In week 2 we were given an introduction about CAD and different type of 2D and 3D design

2D design and 3D design


2D Design

Types of images

  • Raster
  • Vector

Raster

Raster is something thats used for working on pixels.
Raster or bitmap images are a majority of the digital images you generally encounter. They are the default output of everything from digital cameras to most graphics editing software like Paint or Paintbrush. They are made up of pixels , which is to say a grid of colored rectangular dots. The advantage of raster graphics is that at high resolutions (lots of pixels in a small area) you can have very fine control over color and shape; raster images can contain millions of colors and look very realistic.

Examples
  • GIMP
  • Pixlr
GIMP and BIMP
GIMP

GIMP is a cross platform image editor that works creating raster images

Interface
Interface

    Key
  • 1.ToolBox
    2.Tool Options Pane
    3.Layers Pane
    4.Brush Pane
    5.Canvas
Tools

There are three types of tools

    Selection Tools
    Paint Tools
    Transform Tools
    Others
Selection tools

These tools are used to select a specific area in an image and used to work
Eg:- Lasso Tools, Rectangular selection tool


Paint Tools

These tools are used to fill colors or paint a specific section or selection in an image.
Eg:- Adding a mesh or a transparent layer.

Transform Tools

These tools are used to transform a layer or a selection like scaling a selection up or down.

Other Tools

These tools are used to perform other tasks like zoom in or pan or adding a text on the image etc.
Eg:- Zoom In,Zoom out

BIMP

BIMP (Batch Image Manipulation) is an extension of GIMP used to compress,resize and do other operations after editing or making changes to an image. I mainly use this tool to compress images of MBs in sze to few hundred KBs. Even after compression the images looks almost simiar in quality to the naked eye. Remember it is a raster image therefore compressions take a hit on quality if compressed more than whats needed.

Here are the setps to using BIMP

  • Go to File → Batch Image Manipulation
    • Interface

  • The BIMP window box will appear where we can do some operations.
  • Click the Add button to select operation like Resize, Compression etc.
  • Select “Resize” (Note:- Multiple operations can be selected.) The resize window is shown below.
  • Make changes to the parameters provided and the click “OK”
  • Then Add Images by clicking “Add single images → Add single image” or “Add images → Add folder” to add multiple images in a folder.
  • Set the “output folder”
  • Then Click “Apply”
  • The changes are made and saved to the “Output_folder" .


    • Vector

    Vector is used for working with lines or curves or a point or strokes
    Vector images are created with vector graphics software (like Inkscape). Instead of being made of dots, vector images are made of mathematically-defined lines and curves. Those lines can also be joined together to form larger objects, each of which can be given its own style (colors, patterns, etc.). All of the elements of the vector image are defined by mathematical formulae and not by a grid of dots as in a raster image, sharpness is maintained regardless of how much the image is enlarged. However large or small you make it, the curves are simply recalculated and redrawn, without losing quality.

    Examples
    • Inkscape
    • Illustartor

    A walkthrough of Inkscape

    So I tried out Inkscape for the first time and experienced the power that the software offered. Can't belive that open-source software could be so robust. Though it takes sometime in the begining to work on the softare but its Awesome!
    There is an extension for each and every tool that you might think of....
    It is easy to work on but not the easiest thing.


    inkscape

    To learn inkscape in the begining I had to refer its documentations. Trust me if you are a beginner do check it out here. Another link is to the gallery thats usefull for its extensions developed by the Inkscape community.

    Interface

    Shown below are the different panes and interfaces of inkscape

    inkscape

    rectangle tool First I chose a layer in the layers tab and setup the canvas after which I used the rectangle tool to create a rectangle of my choice.
    This is important as it is the outline of the sticker that I wanna create during the vinyl cutting assignment.
    Use the fill command to adjust the fill and strokes of the rectangle as needed and choose the type of line,thickness etc.
    ellipse Click the ellipse tool and then draw an ellipse for an ellipse to the desired dimensions and use the fill and strokes tab to adjust the borders.
    After this add another layer in the layers tab and press the lock button on layer 1.
    Now Layer 2 will be active.
    text Now click the text tool to create a text by choose the font-style and weight and font-size.
    This will personalize the logo that I wanted to make and lock layer 2.
    Give some finishing touches if needed.
    Unlock all the layers in the layers tab and export the images as PNG by going to File → Export as PNG Image.
    Our BMW logo is ready.

    3D Design

    Any sketch that shows a more than two dimensions like a cuboid

    Examples

    Fusion 360

    Fusion 360 is a CAD/CAM design software developed by autodesk mainly focused towards hobbists,takers and inventors
    It is a cloud based software that can perform simulations and renders.
    From a beginners perspective the software is user friendly and we can design a model is an hour.
    Shown below is interface of Fusion 360.
    I tried to create a covering for the project and it ended up to be like a batmobile.


    How did I build a model in under an hour using Fusion 360.

    1. First open Fusion 360

    2. The select "Design" in the left handside of the toolbar

    3. Construct a 2D design
    sketch

    Create a small sketch as shown in the as shown in the picture

    4. Then use the "Extrude" command
    extrude

    Extrude the sketch to a certain measurement to obtain a solid adjust accordingly

    5. Then use the "Champfer" command
    Chamfer

    Champfering the required edges gives a good look for the solid

    6. Sketch a Circle
    circle

    Sketch a circle and extrude to get a cut

    7. Then use the "Mirror" command
    mirror

    Use the mirror command to duplicate the solid on another axis as shown in the images

    8. Use the "Group" command

    Use the group command to group objects

    9. Repeat Step 7 and 8

    Repeat the mirroring and grouping process

    mirror2
    10. Use the "Hole" command
    hole

    Use the hole command the create a hole in the centre of the object

    11. Insert a sphere
    sphere

    Use the mesh tool to create a sphere or use the sphere tool to do it then create a sphere.

    Click here to download my file
    Result

    3d Model by deveshsnair on Sketchfab

    I have linked a video below.


    An update on a possible final project
    Casing

    For the final project I designed the casing that was necessary for keeping the PCB, electronic components and to do the wiring in a prpoer fashion.
    It is just a box that had a cut out for an oled and provisions for wiring eventually it turned out to be something like this:-
    casing
    Here is a look of the casing in Fusion 360.

    Video Compression
    FFMPEG

    ffmepeg is cli based video compression software. Though it doesn’t have a GUI but is a powerful tool to work with. I had a 30MB file which I compressed to 8MB.
    It’s just awesome.
    I used the command below that compresses the video to a constant bitrate.
    ffmpeg -i render1.mp4 -vcodec libx264 -b:v 1000k -vf scale=-2:1080 -acodec mp2 -b:a 256k -ar 48000 -ac 2 fusion_new.mp4

    How did I do it?

    Following are the steps that I followed

    Goto FFMPEG.org → Download


    copy the git command


    Paste in the terminal


    Ffmpeg files must have been downloaded


    cd ffmpeg


    ./configure


    make


    make install


    Ffmpeg must be install in the directory that you are in.


    (Note:- By default libx264 is diabled)

    Original Design files

    Here are the design files that I created during this assignment click below if you would like to download them.
    Casing fusion file.
    BMW sticker
    Casing STL file
    Cap dxf
    Batmobile

    Creative Commons License
    Fabspace by Devesh S Nair is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.