2. Computer Aided Design¶
Individual Assignment:
- 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
Download Design Files¶
Click here to download my design files folder
The gimp file, even when compressed, is too large to upload. Instead, I have linked it here in Google Drive.
3D Design¶
In all of the 3D Design programs below, I will be designing a box (intended to be the basis of a pill container design) and compare and contrast the 3D Design programs.
Brief description of the tools I primarily used:
| Tool | Description | Example of How I Used It |
|---|---|---|
| Extrude | Adds depth to open or closed sketch profiles or faces | Extruded sketch rectangles to create box side’s with thickness to them |
| Create Sketch | Enters Sketch mode, where you create geometric profiles that define the foundation of a design | Used every time I start a new design to make the 2D version of a design before I extrude to make it 3D |
| Fillet | Rounds the edges of a solid body by adding material to interior edges and removing material from exterior edges | Used to soften corner sharpness |
| Move/Copy | Moves the selected face, body, sketch, or construction geometry a specified distance or angle | Used to move the circle sketches to my desired location |
| Delete | Permanently deletes selected objects, and everything related to them, from the design | Used to delete incorrectly dimensioned sketches or features that are unnecessary |
| Line | Creates lines and arcs | Used to create lines in my sketches |
| 2-Point Rectangle | Creates a rectangle using two points for the diagonal corners | Used to create many of the foundational sketches for the box sides |
| Center Diameter Circle | Creates a circle using a center point and diameter | Used to create sketch circles that I can extrude to make 3D |
| Sketch Dimension | Create sketch dimensions for sketch geometries. Use dimensions to control the size or position of sketch objects | Used to specify the size of sketch geometries and ensure precision in my designs |
| Coincident | Constrains the position of two points or a point and a line or curve together | Used to ensure sketch lines are connected |
FreeCAD (download here) – I used version 0.21.2¶
Designed following Tim Wilson’s YouTube Tutorial
Pros:¶
- It’s FREE!
- Fairly user friendly
- Easy installation
Cons:¶
- Crashes often
- A bit overcomplicated when designing in depth
- Hard to figure out where to start
- Requires you watch a tutorial to figure out how to design anything
Overall Opinion:¶
I think FreeCAD is a good program - it has many features, is accessible on multiple platforms, and is FREE! However, coming from an extensive Fusion360 background, it was very difficult to figure out the language used for operations called different names in Fusion. Additionally, when the program would fail, I had trouble figuring out what went wrong; errors popped up in a code like form that I had trouble interpreting. I also could not tell whether my file saves actually worked and saved my design.
I had many problems using FreeCAD. I had issues figuring out how to use the software so I had to look up and follow a tutorial to become comfortable with the interface. Additionally, it was hard to make any substantial progress with my designs as it would keep crashing and I would lose my progress. To counteract this, I saved my design more frequently. Overall, the main issue I had with FreeCAD was just building the motivation to keep trying to use the software after I kept having problems with it – FreeCAD was a very frustrating experience overall and online resources/tutorials were actually fairly scarce and required a good deal of searching to find helpful and current videos.
Blender download here¶
Designed using Graylight May’s YouTube Tutorial
Pros:¶
- It’s FREE!
- I like the overall feel of the interface
- Nice to see the physics behind your designs
- Easy installation
- Can figure your way around the program without prior experience/tutorials
Cons:¶
- Not as many features as I’d prefer for a CAD software
- Details regarding videos, images, and simulations crowds the CAD interface
Overall Opinion:¶
I really like this software, however, I still lean towards a more CAD focused program such as Fusion360. Being able to see the physics behind your designs is nice and would be very useful for a civil engineer, but as just a basic CAD student, it’s a bit overwhelming and distracting.
Fusion 360¶
Pros:¶
- Easy to use
- Familiar to me
- Available on multiple platforms
- Love the interface
Cons:¶
- Expensive
- Need to learn how to use the more advanced features
Overall Opinion:¶
I love Fusion360, however, I’ve been using it for multiple years so I am very familiar with it. The number of things you can do in Fusion is incredible and it’s a very powerful platform.
2D Design¶
For my 2D design work, I will be trying out Gimp and test the features to get a feel of the program.
Brief description of the tools I primarily used:
| Tool | Description | Example of How I Used It |
|---|---|---|
| Move | Move layers, selections, and other objects | Moved the background image and brush strokes to the location I wanted |
| Crop | Remove edge areas from image or layer | I cropped the background image to the size I wanted |
| Paintbrush | Paint smooth strokes using a brush | Used 2. Hardness 100, Acrylic 05 #2, 2. Star, and GEGL goat brushes to make the squiggly lines, bushes, stars, and goat |
| Text | Create or edit text layers | Used to create the “Alana Duffy” text |
| Color Picker | Set colors from image pixels | Used to set paintbrush color as a shade of blue/green I saw in the background image |
| Zoom | Adjust the zoom level | Used to zoom in so that I could see certain area’s details more clearly |
| Layers | Create different layers which can be adjusted so layer’s contents (e.g. images, text, brush strokes) appear in front or behind other layer’s contents | Used to have the background image behind the brush strokes which are behind the text, all in their own layers |
Gimp (download here)¶
Tutorial I used: Brett In Tech YouTube’s tutorial
Background image from Unsplash
Pros:¶
- It’s FREE!
- Available on multiple platforms
- Tons of image editing capabilities
Cons:¶
- Not beginner friendly
- The overall interface is a bit confusing and jarring on the eyes
Overall Opinion:¶
I think this is a super cool program - tons of opportunities and ways to create. I honestly had a lot of fun messing around in this program. I did have to watch a short tutorial for Gimp before getting started, but after that, it was fairly straightfoward. I like the layers and how you can manipulate layers, text, images, etc.
VR¶
My Fab Academy Node experimented using Gravity Sketch with VR headsets. We were asked to evaluate the usefulness of VR CAD and if we believe it’s a technology with a successful future.
Gravity Sketch¶
Tutorial design
Elephant I designed
Pros:¶
- FREE to download (the VR headset, however, is not free)
- Wonderful for visualization
- Good to quick rough sketches
- Gives a good concept of scale and size
- Fairly easy to pick up after some exploration/tutorials
- Easier to work with others; will speed up product design/production
Cons:¶
- Doesn’t have all of the CAD features that I use commonly in CAD design like extrude (or at least I can’t find them)
- Although VR headsets are becoming more affordable, widespread availability is still a concern; not all schools are as fortunate as mine is to have VR headsets readily available.
- Disorienting after awhile
- Unaware of physical surroundings while using (…I hit my hand on a table)
- Hard to make concrete, measurable, 3D printable designs
Overall Opinion:¶
I think the future of VR CAD and Gravity Sketch is blindingly bright. However, there is a long way to go. Currently, Gravity Sketch is great for visualization and rough sketches, but in terms of commercial product quality designs, it has a long way to go. I believe there is a good demand for technologies such as this, however, serious consideration needs to be put into the widespread accessibility of the technologies and resources necessary for this to ever rival current CAD software. If these boundaries can be breached, I see Gravity Sketch and other VR CAD programs having a significant stake in CAD software.
Reflection¶
Through Week 2, I mainly grew in my exposure to other programs. Charlotte Latin School is very Fusion360 based, and while Fusion is my favorite CAD software (even after this week), being exposed to the other software really helped me to see the different uses for different CAD software. Gravity Sketch is great for visualization and quick rough sketches, Fusion360 is great for printable and well-made CAD designs, and Blender is great for realistic, physically possible CAD designs. Furthermore, I learned how to streamline an idea and clearly identify the benefits and downsides to different programs independent of my personal opinions/biases.
References¶
Brett In Tech YouTube’s tutorial
Graylight May’s YouTube Tutorial