Computer Aided Design ( CAD)

 CAD Keyring using Fusion 360

By the end of this tutorial, I should be able to:

• Have a general idea about what is Computer-aided design(CAD)
• Familiar with the Fusion 360 such as Sketching and Extrude.
• Design a keying by following the tutorial video.
• Explain each step clearly.

This tutorial is a very good chance for me to practice my CAD skills. As a chemical engineer. It is important to express my ideas using CAD, to prove that the ideas are relevant and present to others. It is also the step taken before 3D printing Hence, mastering these skills is essential for me.

The tutorial video I watched:

Create a Keychain in Fusion 360

The step to create a keychain are listed below:

1. Sketch out the keychain dimension.
2. Offsite the sketch.
3. Fillet the corners.
4. Draw a circle on the sketch.
5. Add text on the sketch.
6. Extrude.

1. Sketch out the keychain dimension

To design a keychain, it is important to know the dimension of the keychain. In the tutorial video, they use the 65mm/25mm. I followed this dimension and sketch a rectangle on the plate.

2. Offsite the sketch

Next, I use the 'Offsite' to sketch out a smaller rectangle inside the big rectangle. The offset can be defined as a specific value. I offset -2mm from the original rectangle.

3. Filet the corners

Select 'Filet' and click the 4 corners. you can adjust the radius of the corners on your own. For this keychain, I used a 5mm radius.

4. Draw a circle on the sketch

Step 1                                         Step 2                                      Step 3

     

 Step 4                                               Step 5

To draw the circle at the correct place, the guideline needs to be drawn. First, create a line across the rectangle. Right-click the line, choose 'Normal/Construction'. A guideline now is created. Move the guideline to the correct place by selecting the 'dimension' and defining the distance between two lines. Create a point in the middle of the guideline. Move the cursor along with the guideline until a triangle is shown. That represents the midpoint of the guideline. Select 'create circle' and define the radius to 5mm.

5. Add text on the sketch

Select 'create text' and type what you want. Select the font type and adjust the height to fit the rectangle.

center the text accordingly then select 'finish sketch'.

6. Extrude

Select the rectangle without the hole. Click 'Extrude' and define the distance to 3mm. then select the border and the text. Click 'Extrude' and type 1.5mm. From the extrude menu select 'offset plane' and enter 3mm.

Conclusion

Nowadays, CAD is getting more popular in engineering design. Hence, For me to become more competitive in the chemical engineering industry.  It is important to practice more and master this skill. By doing this keyring tutorial, I believe that I am able to use the sketch and extrude function proficiently. I hope I would able to create a more complex design smoothly in the future.

Final product display

Create a phone stand using Fusion 360

By the end of this task, I should be able to:

• Create an object in Fusion 360 using parametric design.
• Sketch an object with a curve and arc.
• Sketch the object from a different plane.
• More familiar with different types of extruding.
• Create a phone stand for 3D printing.

After going through this week's tutorial lesson, it introduced me to the parametric design in Fusion 360, It allows the creator to define the dimensions of the product before sketching it out. These dimensions can be changed proportionally.  This method is a good way to improve my productivity.

I watched a few videos and decided to create a phone stand by following a tutorial video.

The tutorial video I watched:

Phone Stand, Fusion 360, Parametric

The step to create a phone stand are listed below:

1. Set the parameter for the phone stand.
2. Create a phone model for reference.
3. Sketch out the phone stand.
4. Extrude the phone stand.
5. Final adjustment

Set the parameter for the phone stand

Before I start sketching, select Parameter from Modify. Below the User's parameter, I defined the Phone dimensions and angle. These values are given before I create the phone stand to help me do my job more simply.

Create a phone model

Steckch out a rectangle and define the length and breadth using the settled parameters. 

Extrude the rectangle by using the defined thickness.

Adjust the angle of the phone model by using the defined angle. This position is where the phone is been held on the phone stand. The model is a reference to help me design the phone stand in the right proportion.

Sketch out the phone stand

Start a new sketch from the right view plane of the phone model, draw an offsite line below the phone. Define the length using the settled offset value. This represents the height distances of the phone above the base.

Sketch out the phone stand by using lines, rectangles, and arcs. define and the line by using the fixed parameters. all the parameters that have been defined at the start can be calculated by using an equation. For example, I can define the base of the phone stand as the length of the phone multiplied by 0.6. This ensures that my design is in the right size.

Extrude the phone stand 

Extrude the phone stand to the origin which is half of the phone stand. this is easier for me to do the next step which is to design the shape of the phone stand.

Sketch the lines on the phone stand. This gives the final looking at the phone stand. Extrude it!

Final adjustment 

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Used the mirror tool to help me to create another side of the phone stand. Filet all the right angles and change the texture to the wood.

JOB DONE👍👍👍

Conclusion

Parametric design is an efficient and accurate way to create our design. Exespecily, when we want to perform laser cutting or 3D printing on the product as the dimensions must be very accurate. After I did this task, I believe that I had already mastered the use of the parametric design and was able to apply it afterward.  In this task, I had tried different types of extruding when I follow the video. However, I still have a lack of understanding about how it was done. I will watch the video again and find out how. I hope I can use this technic in the upcoming tasks.

Final Product Display