Inventor
Inventor is a computer aided design software (CAD) that uses 2D sketches and extrusions to create 3D, solid objects. The software has so many different ways of creating different shapes, almost anything can be modeled using this software. This software allows me to model things I want to create through 3D printing or other technologies available to me through the innovation center.
Widgets in Inventor
To make this widget in inventor, I went through several steps using the basic abilities of the program. First, I started by making a new part, and started a 2D sketch on the xy plane. I used the line tool (middle) to sketch a z-shape (right), entering dimensions for each line as I made it using my keyboard number pad, counting each box as .25 inches in the outline we were given (left). After I had completed the sketch, I clicked the Finish Sketch check mark icon.
Next, I moved into the 3D modeling tab and I used the extrusion tool to make this 2D sketch a 3D object 1 inch deep, as indicated by the outline above. This was the final step in completing this very simple widget.
All done! This helped me understand the basic principles of the inventor program, and I moved on to create many more widgets that are more complicated too!
3D printing this widget
In this introduction to 3D printing combined with my new knowledge in inventor, it showed me how capable the innovation center really makes me. In this unit I relearned how to sketch and extrude in inventor from freshman year, and I learned how to take a design from inventor and use makerbot to 3D print it. I will be able to design and create almost any object as I build onto the skills I have attained so far using the technologies and programs available to me through this class. These skills are very helpful for not only this class, but also any other project I might want to take up in the near future. This is a great asset to me, and I'm very excited about any designing or 3D printing I might do in the near future.
More widgets
These are the other 5 widgets that I modeled in inventor, some of them required a more complex procedure than others.