CS291I Assignment 5

This Instructable documents my journey in learning generative designing and using Fusion 360. I created a tablet stand since I would use it often it would bear a nontrivial amount of weight.

I started by sketching the shape of the basic parts of the stand I wanted. This included the base and the part that the tablet would sit on. I wanted the upper part to be a bit a little bit raised so the tablet camera could point to a desired location on a table.

The corners are all perpendicular, and were automatically constrained by Fusion 360. I then rotated the upper part to the desired angle.

From the sketches, I extruded the curves to create two floating arms and two legs. This would serve as the skeleton of the tablet stand, where the tablet would rest on the two arms, placed on a surface with the two legs.

The second half was created by mirroring the first two pieces across the desired distance.

Once I had the skeleton done, I added obstacle geometries for the generative process. I added material where the tablet would be sitting, as well as a majority of the space behind the tablet. This was both for aesthetic reasons and to make sure nothing would be in the view of the camera.

I set the skeleton that I created to be the preserved geometry and added forces where the tablet would be sitting. I chose plastic to be the set material and only looked at additive manufacturing, as I planned to 3D print the model. Once all the constraints were set, I let the model generate.

After letting the model generate, I did not really like the result. It just looked weird to me since the middle was very thin and the edges looked very bulky. So, I decided to modify the skeleton to see the effects.

I added another bar in the middle of the skeleton, hoping to change the aesthetic of the final product. I kept the same obstacles, with slight modifications to accommodate the new body. I kept the same forces and other constraints and let the final design generate.

I liked this model a lot more than the initial one, and moved on to slicing and printing it.

I exported the model into Cura to slice. I added supports due to the large overhands, and the middle bar that hung below the surrounding material. I played around with the parameters and settled on cubic subdivision infill and tree supports after reading some articles online and looking at print time. The print time was around 12 hours.

I started printing on my 3D printer.

About half way through the print, I heard something fall and hit the ground. I quickly went to see what happened and the hanging portion of the middle bar fell off the supports. The printer head moving back and forth probably somehow slowly pushed that part off before it connected to the rest of the model.

I really didn't want to start over so I paused the print thought I could try taping it back on to the supports. I knew it would not be perfectly placed back where it was. After adjusting it around a bit and removing a few layers of filament, it looked like it was working okay. There was a clear scar at where I paused since I didn't place it exactly back, and I had removed a couple layers to make sure it didn't collide with the extruder.

I watched for a bit and kept checking back until the hanging piece connected with the rest of the model.

Overall, I was fine with the result and it seemed attached well enough. It also adds some character to the stand.

After the print finished, I tried using it with my tablet and it worked! If I were to go back and reprint the model, I would probably make some small adjustments. The bottom tabs holding the printer in place are a bit tall and can interfere with pressing the navigation buttons. Also, I would have liked it tilted a bit more.

I really enjoyed the assignment! Especially since I had wanted to learn how to use Fusion 360 earlier in quarantine but never got around to it.