Tower Design
In 3D Printing class, we learn how to work with programs like TinkerCad and openScad to create 3D projects. One of the biggest projects for this class included building a tower using openScad. The design challenge of the Tower Design Project was to create a tower design using no more than 6 rods, 12 connectors, and the tower must be able to support the weight of a golf ball without falling apart. My tower met these requirements because I used less than 6 rods and less than 12 connectors. My tower was also able to hold up the golf ball without falling apart.
Some of the things that I learned about in 3D Printing class include learning how to use TinkerCad and openScad to build 3D structures and objects. I learned how to apply actual measurements and sizes to help build 3D objects like the nameplate and the connectors for the tower. There were different ways that we were able to make our towers, for example we could have made a base and the top of the tower using a triangle or a square.
My personal assessment of my effort on the project is designing the tower and its connectors and then building the actual tower. First, I got onto openScad and began planning how my tower was going to look while also making sure it met all the requirements. After I had planned out my tower design, I started to make the connectors for the tower to allow me to attach the rods together. I then printed out the connectors and began to cut the rods according to the measurements on openScad. Finally, I began to assemble the actual tower by connecting the rods together using the connectors and then tested to see if it could hold up a golf ball.
The evidence and specific steps I took to meet these goals were making sure that I had enough connectors to put the tower together and testing it by putting the golf ball on top of the tower to see if it would hold or not. From doing this project I learned and got better at choosing measurements that would allow part of the tower fit with other parts. Things I struggled with in this project include getting the sizes and dimensions correct and trying to make the pieces of the tower fit with one another without having the entire tower fall apart. My overall experience with using a computer to make a 3D design and create parts on the 3D printer was somewhat low. In the beginning, I had no idea how to even begin creating the tower or how to make the connectors fit with the rods without making something either too small or too big.
Some of the things that I learned about in 3D Printing class include learning how to use TinkerCad and openScad to build 3D structures and objects. I learned how to apply actual measurements and sizes to help build 3D objects like the nameplate and the connectors for the tower. There were different ways that we were able to make our towers, for example we could have made a base and the top of the tower using a triangle or a square.
My personal assessment of my effort on the project is designing the tower and its connectors and then building the actual tower. First, I got onto openScad and began planning how my tower was going to look while also making sure it met all the requirements. After I had planned out my tower design, I started to make the connectors for the tower to allow me to attach the rods together. I then printed out the connectors and began to cut the rods according to the measurements on openScad. Finally, I began to assemble the actual tower by connecting the rods together using the connectors and then tested to see if it could hold up a golf ball.
The evidence and specific steps I took to meet these goals were making sure that I had enough connectors to put the tower together and testing it by putting the golf ball on top of the tower to see if it would hold or not. From doing this project I learned and got better at choosing measurements that would allow part of the tower fit with other parts. Things I struggled with in this project include getting the sizes and dimensions correct and trying to make the pieces of the tower fit with one another without having the entire tower fall apart. My overall experience with using a computer to make a 3D design and create parts on the 3D printer was somewhat low. In the beginning, I had no idea how to even begin creating the tower or how to make the connectors fit with the rods without making something either too small or too big.
