This week, we had an awesome opportunity to get Dan Banach from Auto Desk to teach us about the basics of Fusion 360. Before we met Dan, we got a taste of Fusion 360 by going through an activity so most of us were very new to this platform. It was the same for me as well. I never touched Fusion 360 before and I was going in blind folded. However as Dan was going through the exercise he’s provided for us, I realized it was very similar to “SolidWorks”, another 3d modeling platform. So, the whole process was like a review for me. It was a lot of information for us to cover but with Dan explaining each step clearly, I think I was able to remember a lot of the tools. I feel like after the class, I was in a good position to start mocking up some prototypes for our project.
This Friday, we met up with our mentor, Jenna and scanned her prosthetic leg. We were very grateful that she was able to allow time in her busy schedule to work with us. Using the scanner for the first time was a great experience. I missed a few spots, so I got assistance from the lab assistant and got a great scanned version of her prosthetic leg. With this model, we can create the sleeve that will go on top of the prosthetic leg and create the hole for the battery charger. This is a great reference for us to look back whenever we are stuck.
Another thing I’ve realized is that, the prosthetic leg and the knee pad has a very organic surface area which we have not yet learn from Dan’s class. So, I asked Dan how to model organic shapes in Fusion 360. He told me I should use this tool called, “T-Spline Geometries”. This function can modify a mold like a Play Doh. This is a tool that isn’t in SolidWorks which makes it easier for us to create these quick prototypes of organic shapes.
Overall, I think the next step for us is to meet more people with similar experiences and expertise to get a better understanding of our direction. And this week, we are going to scan our knee to get the optimal shape of the knee pad. We are going to meet again and further discuss about this matter and in the mean while, we will try to find other expertise and interview them for further inspirations. I felt like we have learn so much through this week and I am looking forward to using Fusion 360.
Hi Jae,
Wow, seems like you and your team achieved a lot of things this week! I am curious to know, are you and your team aiming to create a sleeve and a knee pad that will fit prosthetic legs universally? Or are you focusing more specifically on Jenna’s? Is it even possible to create a universal one? I am not aware of how uniform the prosthetic legs are in the market, so I’m curious to know whether this is something that can be applied universally or if it would need to be customized for each person.
Also, would it be more accurate to scan your knees or more prosthetic legs to identify the optimal shape of the knee pad? Although scanning your knees may yield more of a natural shape, I’m not sure if prosthetic legs have the same or similar shape as actual knees. I think you and your team have a very realistic goal that can truly help many people in the world, so I am looking forward to seeing where this will lead to! Good luck!
I’m really impressed by your group’s progress this week, and the T-Spline Geometries function is something that also seems really interesting! For more people that have similar experience, you can probably ask Adam to connect you with other prosthetic users. Another thing I wanted to mention is that you might have to consider if the are any changes which will need to happen to the knee pad/sleeve if the prosthetic is on the left or right leg as well as if the prosthetic is a different model.
Hi Jae. The Autodesk Fusion 360 is definitely a helpful technique for us to model our products. It’s great for you to have experience in using similar application. It might be more easier for you to handle Autodesk. Also, it’s great to know that you guys did the scanning. That’s also a really cool experience. It’s really helpful for you to have an electronic scanned version of something you might work on in the future. When you need to examine some details or design of Jenna’s prosthetic legs, you can just take a look at your laptop and figure it out. Thank you for sharing the “T-Spline Geometries”. It’s a really useful term that we need to learn about when we work on our projects, since we have to make sure that our products can perfectly fit our customers.
Hi Jae,
Thanks for sharing how your week went with us. It is pretty cool that you and your team was able to scan Jenna’s prosthetic. My team was also considering the route of creating a sleeve. I am looking forward to hearing about how you guys plan on constructing the sleeve and the materials used in the process.