12.02 CNC + 3D Print Ideation Sketches Assignment

Assignment Deliverables

1. Minimum 5 thumbnail sketches
2. Minimum 3 larger refined ideations
3. Upload a series of labeled images or a compiled pdf. (png, jpg, pdf)

Sketch Requirements

• What are Ideation Sketches?
• Thumbnails - These should be 5 completely different ideas. Draw without constraint. Do not limit your concepts. It takes ~ 5-10 minutes to draw a decently developed thumbnail sketch. If you finish a thumbnail under 2 minutes, it may lack depth and consideration. If you spend much more than 10 minutes on a thumbnail sketch, then you might be getting bogged down in details instead of brainstorming multiple ideas. (Time 25 - 50 minutes)
• Refined Ideations - Choose some of your ideas from your thumbnails. Refine them and iterate on the concepts. Which parts do you like and which parts can you change to make your ideas better?

Assignment Overview

Now that you have made a test 3D print and are more familiar with the opportunities and challenges of 3D printing, we will tackle specific design challenges using the 3D printing fabrication process in combination with CNC milling.

Project Minimum Design Requirements

• Use 3/8", 1/2", or 3/4" plywood
• Have a minimum of 1 pocket cut
• Have a minimum of 1 contour or through cut
• Create a joint or connection between the 3D print and the CNC milled piece(s)

Design Challenges

Often creative work has arbitrary restrictions on the creative process. There may be challenges based on material availability, budget, time, aesthetic criteria and countless other constraints on what you can make. Part of your job as an artist and designer is to work around these restraints and still create new and compelling creative works of culture. For this project choose one or more of the design challenges below. How can you meet the criteria of the challenge(s) and still make unique and exciting objects?

CNC Milling Design Challenges

• Support the weight of a person or the intended item
• Use more than 1 type of joint - Combine lap joints with mortise and tennon joints or use a custom 3D printed bracket to make joints at an angle
• Have a considered and designed top surface, this could have engraving or decorative joints
• Use all of the space of the provided plywood

3D Printing Design Challenges

• Make an extension of the body Do you need a helmet? A headband? What about flexible knuckle guards? Does your hand need and custom fit extension for scraping ice off of windshields? To complete this challenge, articulate a problem to solve with a body extension. This can be functional, decorative or both. How does the 3D print solve the problem? Measure your body or the target person’s body and use these dimensions as guideposts when modeling in Fusion 360. 3D Printed Earing Example 
• Use a Print in Place Flexible Joint With 3D printing objects can be created that would not be possible with other fabrication techniques. One such method is a print in place hinge or joint. Print it place means that the two separate objects are printed “in place” or as is on the 3D print bed. Once completed the two parts are forever locked together. Can you make a movable ball and socket figure or snake? What about designing an adjustable cellphone tripod holder for documenting work? Hinges for a box lid? Print in Place Hinge Video Tutorials Version 1  , Version 2 
• Have an interlocking lid Boxes are great. What is better than a box? A box with an interlocking, perfectly fitting lid is better. Even better is a box with an interlocking lid that has a hinge and a clasp to keep it closed. Design a custom box that has a lid. What should it contain? Think of things that don’t have pre-made boxes. Is there a board game that you play that could use a box to contain specific pieces?
• One dimension over 7” Because of the nature of 3D printing, prints are often small. For this design challenge you need to make a 3D print with at least one dimension over 8”.  The interior build size of the Ultimaker 2+ 3D printer at the think[box] is 8.1” (20.5 cm) tall, 8.8” (22.3 cm) wide, 8.8” (22.3 cm) deep. Getting a print over 7” in one dimension is running right up to the limits of the build volume. What about putting the print in diagonally? Can multiple pieces be connected together for a print that is larger than the machine itself? What other creative ways can you increase the size of y our 3D print?
• Sculpt in a 3D Sculpting Program Use Blender , Mudbox, or other 3D sculpting program to make a detailed 3D sculpture that would not be possible with polygon modeling. Export the sculpture as an .obj file for further import and parametric modeling in Fusion 360 or export as an STL file for direct printing. If you use this technique of digital sculpting, you should intentionally make something that could not be make with polygon modeling or solid parametric modeling alone. Consider combining sculpting techniques with a parametrically modeled base or support.

Grading Rubric