Automoblox T9 Dimensioned Drawings

In this project, I am still working on sketching the first piece.

Making the star piece was most challenging and I still need to move it in place.  This whole process was very difficult.  How do I use construction lines?  Can I move pieces once they are already saved?  Do I extrude this normally?

Geometric Constraints

In class, we were given 30 toothpicks and a handful of Dots candy and assigned to make the largest and strongest model shelter.  Below is what my group came up with.

In this design, we used many triangles because we know they are very strong.  As a result, there were 60 and 30 degree angles. The surface area, not including the base, is about 23 square inches.  If each inch were equal to ten feet, the structure would need about 2300 square feet of wood to make walls.  The area of the base was about 16.24 square inches.  The floor would be about 1624 square feet, so the structure would be able to hold about 45 people.  We designed our model to support a lot of weight above, but not so much around the sides.  As you can see, it supported a textbook.  In this assignment, we followed form follows function because the shape is not necessarily like that for aesthetic purposes, it is to be a strong shelter.  We designed it with the purpose, to be strong, in mind. 

Exploring Inventor

During this week of exploring inventor, I wondered:
How do I make a sphere in inventor?
View the tutorial I found here.

I then taught Sachi how to make a sphere.  In exchange, she taught me how to make a cone.  Both are very similar, the only difference is the shape you start out with.

Form Follows Function

Form follows function basically means that an object should have a design that supports its function.  Looking around the room, almost all the objects demonstrate form follow function: a chair affords sitting, a water bottle affords holding liquid.  However, by observing everyday objects that we use, we found products that do not follow form follows function, so we could improve them.  Below is my brainstorming and sketching.

Due to time constraints and limited inventor access, I was unable do make the CAD parts, but below is a picture of my presentation.

I designed a new box that would allow you to use the blade to slice the plastic wrap instead of tearing the plastic wrap using the blade for a cleaner, easier cut.  The process for making a box like this would be very similar to that of a normal box, but the blade needs to line up exactly with the edge of which it closes on.  In a plastic wrap box, form does not follow function because often, the blade does not work properly.  My design would fix that, so that it is designed mainly to cut the plastic.  It reminds me or a regular plastic wrap box, but it is different in the way that it demonstrates the function.  My design could be better with extra room on the edge between the flap and back piece to allow the flap more give and easier motion for slicing back and forth.