3. Computer Aided Design

During this week, reality caught up with me…

Explanation:

The task and the goal sounded so simple. I wanted to model the table lighter, which I discovered during my research during the first tasks, with at least three different CAD programs. My original plan was to model the wooden base with the drawer in Pytha 3D. I wanted to model the sheet metal, glass and ceramic structure using Fusion360 or FreeCAD. For the golden lion, I planned to work with Blender to transform the complex structure into a 3D model.

I used my photos from the exhibition visit and another photo from the museum’s digital audio guide as a template.

Source: GoetheStadtMuseum

I started to draw the shape of the component to be modeled by hand in order to familiarize myself with the special properties of the shape and to reconstruct the object without having it in front of me using the original photo.

To start modeling, I successfully installed Pytha 3D. I chose this CAD software because it has been under development since 1982 and I really like the simplicity of the user interface.

We thankfully received a demo version for the Fab Academy period for our node to try out the program.

To familiarize myself with the software, I successfully created a few simple geometric shapes such as a wooden knot and a devil’s knot. When I was finished, I realized that the wooden knot was not quite symmetrical. Unfortunately, I had already created a cohesive shape from the many individual elements and couldn’t adjust anything else. To correct this error, it was necessary to reopen the previously saved file and repeat the last steps.

Here is the corrected version of the wooden knot, still in editing mode.

After I had successfully modeled the first object with a software that was new to me, I started to model a devil’s knot with a similiar construction method.

Once all the individual components for the second knot were modeled, I started to rotate and assemble them accordingly.

Here is a screenshot of the final result:

After working with the first CAD software, I wanted to familiarize myself with the software provided by the Fab Academy, such as OnShape and X-Design. Installing and registering with OnShape went smoothly. I was then able to configure it for my region and work my way through the introduction to the program. Since I am not planning to work in a team at the moment and I have no need for the mobile CAD app, I turned to the next program.

The installation of X-Design did not work so easily and I had a lot of difficulties with the registration, but in the end I managed to register successfully and use the software, but after the installation took what felt like several hours, I did not delve deeper into the program and was satisfied to see a start screen.

Babken and Ferdi offered FreeCAD workshops this week. During these workshops, I was able to work with parametric designs and gain my first experience with free CAD software.

In this screenshot, the design has not yet been parameterized:

In this image section, the rectangle is completely parametric:

The first part of a parametric object can be seen here. The height, width and depth of the clamping block are already parametric. However, the studs on the brick do not yet scale when the geometry is changed.

In another workshop, we were given an introduction to Blender by our instructor Ferdi. As I had never worked with Blender before, this was a good starting point for me. We mainly dealt with shortcuts and navigation. Our goal was to build a simple figure from several standard components in order to familiarize ourselves with the new 3D environment. This is what the result looked like:

I also modeled a free form in Blender.

The next steps are the modeling of the following components, but as mentioned at the beginning, I went through a few iterations on the way to my goal that kept me from achieving it the direct way.

Source: GoetheStadtMuseum

Source: GoetheStadtMuseum

Files
Bone
Gingerbread
Monkey
Knot
DKnot