This past week the class has started to develop our skills utilizing a CAD system, Fusion 360. This is an entirely new process to me considering the most advanced software I have used has been Tinkercad. These programs are drastically different; although Tinkercad seems to have a friendlier user interface, Fusion 360 allows the user to be more specific with the dimensions and design of the print.
The initial tutorial we had to complete for class was rather easy to follow, but did not give a holistic view of the software. The in-class tutorial was much more beneficial, because it helped us create a more complex product, a phone holder. This product required a variety of complex extractions and measurements in order to reach the final version. Throughout this tutorial we were focused on following the simple steps we were given, but when we discussed the reasoning behind certain aspects, it was clear to see the human-centered design break though. For example, we created a hole in the middle of the holder for a charger. Many people would think that this would suffice, but we had to consider where the rest of the chord would go. While doing this, we created an additional extraction at the back of the holder so it could lay flat on a table while still plugged in. This may seem like an obvious decision, but it can be easy to forget the actual function of a product and needs of a user when it is being observed on the computer as opposed to when it is a physical object. Below are the different versions of the final project: the one created by the instructor and mine.
During this class period, we also found the time to create a few sentences furthering our ideas about how we can improve the racing conditions for the athletes we have been working with. Understanding how to use this software is going to be very useful when moving forward in our semester long project, but we are still not entirely sure how we want to tackle our problem statement. Spending more time on Fusion 360 will definitely benefit us, as we discover more features of the software that will assist in creation our process.
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Gies College of Business
Hi Elisa! I definitely agree that it was much easier to learn how to navigate Fusion 360 in an interactive classroom environment than it was on our own. I thought Dan did a great job showing us some of the more complex features of Fusion 360. I also agree with you that the design exercise was helpful to practice thinking through all of the components of a design. I know that I definitely would have forgotten to add a hole for the charging cord if Dan had not told us to think about it.
Hi Elisa!
I also felt that it was a lot easier for me to learn how to use Fusion versus when I had to follow the instructions in the video on my own. I found Dan to be a great instructor as he was both very funny and accommodating. For me, I also learned a lot more about the product designing phase of a product and the key elements to consider during it. I also look forward to learn more about Fusion 360!.
Hi Elisa!
I was very impressed seeing how fast everyone was picking up 3D modeling through Fusion 360 in class on Wednesday. As an industrial design major I had to learn 3D modeling sophomore year and it was painful! SolidWorks (the program that is industry standard for Industrial Designers) is a bit more complex than Fusion 360, however, I think Fusion does a great job of helping beginners understand how 3D modeling works! I wish this was the first program I learned, I think it would have encouraged me a bit more than the rigid format of SolidWorks.
-Bella
Hi Elisa, I definitely agree with you that it is easy to follow the video before class to have a basic understanding of how to operate in Fusion 360, but it does not give us enough details on what can we use Fusion 360 for, how to use Fusion 360 in an effective way, as well as going through the process step by step to get us to think deeper about each step in our design. Rather than just following instructions, we really get to think about the different ways that can make our design process easier and subject to later customization/changes to be made that won’t require us to redo everything. I think being able to learn how to think when using this powerful software is very important and beneficial to our future product design.