Week 4 - 3D CAD Drawing using Constructive Solid Geometry

3D CAD on TinkerCAD

September 9, 2022

Using TinkerCAD web application.

Coursework (the 'what?') 🤷‍♂️

Constructive Solid Geometry

• We start with the primitive shapes (cone, cylinder, cub, etc.)

• We use these shapes to make new shapes, therefore the term constructive solid geometry.

• We can either use fill or a hole out of shape that would alter the final design.

  

  source: Wikipedia article on CSG https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructive_solid_geometry

The other process of making 3D models applies the use of Polygon mesh, which is quite opposite process from CSG. Software like Blender uses this technique.

It is also an interesting fact that the STL file which is going to be used by the 3D printer also uses Polygon mesh rather than CSG.

Tinker CAD

It is a web-based tool from Autodesk Inc. that lets us prototype electronics circuits, as well as build basic designs.

source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9t6d9qOvn4&ab_channel=ThomasNikolaus

Assignment works:

This was one of the assignment samples that we had to make using 3D CSG (Constructive Solid Geometry):

source: CPE101 (1/2022) Assignment

Impact (the 'so what?') 🚀

We were going to use 3D-printed parts for the iBit robot extension (gambler robot project). Therefore, we need a 3D design tool to design such parts. Using TinkerCAD would let us rapidly create and test different designs that are suitable for the build of the robot.

This activity also directly correlates with the professional roles where hardware extension is also involved in the project. Some kind of mechanical parts is attached to computational system mostly in the Internet of Things applications.

Reflections (the 'now what?') 🤔

Certainly, constructive solid geometry is not the right fit solution when it comes to making the best designs. Moreover, TinkerCAD is not as powerful as its alternatives, which makes it a poor choice for building 3D models.

For good quality work, I would least recommend TinkerCAD and rather opt for solutions like Fusion 360, and DS Solidworks. Nevertheless, I would consider using TinkerCAD for rapid prototyping use cases thanks to the speed and level of comfort the tool provides

Further reading 📄

I also enjoyed playing with Fusion 360 for 3D CAD applications (as well as PCB Schematic Design):

source: Reviewing Fusion 360

Here is a sample 3D drawing made using TinkerCAD.

source: my work