Week 5: I think I am a designer too!?
Sumin S -
Hey there! Welcome back to my Senior Project blog for Week 5! This week was a super exciting one for me because I finally got to dive into the actual designing phase of my spin coder on OnShape, which is a CAD (Computer-Aided Design) software that’s been such a powerful tool for creating the parts of my project.
The first big milestone was designing the body of the spin coder. I wanted it to be lightweight but still able to support everything it needed to hold. That’s when I discovered this super cool tool on OnShape called Shell. I had never used it before, but it became one of my favorite tools! Basically, Shell removes the inside of a solid part and leaves behind the outer layer, just like turning an object into a hollow shell. It was incredibly helpful for creating a design that’s more realistic and efficient. It reduces the weight and saves lots of filaments, but still keeps the essential outer structure intact. Honestly, this tool truly saved me a lot of time since I didn’t have to remove and add shapes for every detail.
Once the body was complete, I moved on to designing what I call the “bridge”. This part connects the spin coder body to the microscope camera. This section was a bit more challenging because I needed it to be strong enough to support the weight of the camera while also being lightweight and compatible with the rest of the design. I spent a good amount of time trying different shapes and reinforcement ideas to make sure it could handle both the vertical and horizontal forces acting on it.
While brainstorming, I actually found a bridge engineering technique in an interesting article titled What Makes a Bridge Strong? by Areté Structures (n.d.), which broke down the different components that contribute to a bridge’s strength. One key takeaway was the use of triangles. They are super effective in distributing weight and preventing deformation. The article also emphasized how bridges balance tension and compression, which is exactly what I tried to think about while designing my piece. I tried to utilize this logic by adding angled supports and reinforcing the joints where the bridge connects to both the body and the microscope camera.
So, as I shared in last week’s blog, my spin coder design included a structure that used multiple triangles to support the microscope camera in a vertical position. This week, I took that same triangular concept and incorporated the design that I had drawn into a full 3D model using OnShape. I began by sketching it in 2D, closely following my original drawing, and then used the Extrude tool to bring it into 3D form. It was really exciting to see something I had drawn on paper turn into a digital, three-dimensional structure. The triangular framework made the design feel much more stable and intentional, and I could clearly see how it would help distribute the weight of the microscope camera evenly.
That’s pretty much it for this week! I’m really looking forward to printing out some of these parts and testing them soon. Thank you so much for reading the blog! See you next week!
References
Areté Structures. (n.d.). What makes a bridge strong? Areté Structures. https://aretestructures.com/what-makes-a-bridge-strong/
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